I forgot to mention that when we reached Koper (our 3rd and final visit to Slovenia on this tour) Donna was convinced we were in the wrong place for the digs we booked as we went down a dodgy looking alley, but Gary the Garmins directions were correct. We were met by the apartment owner and his parents. They didn't live there or near but were all sitting inside awaiting our arrival. They showed us a wall outside where we could leave Titty and advised we locked her up. Little did they know she was coming inside with us once they were out of sight. Great apartment, free cakes, milk and more importantly beer. The outside didn't look much but inside was immaculate. Heading south into Croatia the road got lumpier but the weather improved greatly. What a beautiful coast, we decided on some shorter days so we could enjoy the scenery and seeing as I am suffering from man flu that wasn't a bad idea. Through Umag and onto Porec, staying in the old town. One closed road en-route, invariably when roads are closed we can still get through on Titty and alternative routes normally add on a substantial distance so we always ignore the road closed signs and carry on. We have got through everyone so far but this was a major road rebuild that went on for miles, coasting changed to walking and then we were advised to ride through a closed holiday park and re-join the road further on. We thought that Porec was nice but Rovinj was even better. Narrow cobbled streets, bars spilling over onto the rocky coastline, beautiful marina and a glorious sunset. Before we got there though we diverted to explore the coastal town of Vrsar. It transpired that some of the route I plotted to take us round the coast was on a private road going through a holiday park. The park was closed, no one around, so we weaved around the barriers and carried on regardless. Eventually we were confronted by a tall fence and locked gates, a little exploring and we found an unlocked turnstile and an unfenced section with some large boulders blocking the way, neither of them easy options. We were going to turn around when a local appeared behind us and offered to lift Titty over with us. He wasn't convinced that we needed to take all the bags off first and he was right, a short but heavy lift and we were on the public side. He asked where we had come from and was amazed at the answer. His response was to ask me if I liked massage? Eventually he thought about what he was trying to say in English and massage changed to mussels - 'stop at the Limski canal for the best mussels' he said! After more climbing we descended to the Limski canal stopping for a photo on the descent by some stalls. One lady stall owner saw the tandem and she offered us a free brandy! It was only 11.30am and we had a three mile climb coming up so we declined. We had only just started the climb when a youth on a moped offered us some assistance. We had no idea how he was going to pull or push us up and declined his offer, fearing we would end up on the tarmac. From Rovinj we headed to Pula riding alongside olive groves and vine yards under a clear blue sky. A day off at Pula to visit the Brijuni Islands by boat. One of the passengers was an Aussie who visits England regularly and loves the Lake District, he was describing walks he had done up some of the peaks and I was filling in the blanks of the peaks, tarns, etc that he couldn't remember. The cycling the past few days has been delightful let's hope that continues.