Mondo the American football lover – that’s what I call him.  He was one of my favorite hosts in one of my FAVORITE countries in the world – Croatia.  If you’ve never been, put it on your list!  I planned a great 2 -week trip to several countries in Europe with my husband and then 14-year old stepdaughter Katie.  She had never been to Europe (and Brian hadn’t been to most places on our trip) so I was really excited to show them both some of my favorites.

I found Mondo through Couchsurfing.  He was an amazing guy and reminds me a lot of myself.  He really went the extra mile for his guests.  He picked us up at the Trieste train station in Italy and drove us to his house in Porec, Croatia. I had been to Croatia a couple of times, but never to Istria.  Porec is located on the western side of the Istrian peninsula.  We stopped at the grocery and stocked up on easy to fix meals and snacks for our adventure.  He had a nice room with a twin and queen, perfect for the 3 of us!

Every morning Mondo came home from work and took us to the beach 10 min from his house.  There are beautiful beaches in Porec with lots of activites to keep you busy.  We packed a simple picnic and spent every day relaxing on the beach and exploring the resort town.  He would come by after work, pick us up and take us sightseeing through other towns like Motovun (where Mario Andretti hails from), Pula to see the Arena of Pula built in 1AD (same as Coliseum in Rome), to the crystal clear Limski Fjord for swimming and to local watering holes to watch the world cup.

I know that none of us will ever forget that trip.  I hope to take my daughter Ellie there someday to show her mommy’s favorite country to visit.