Couple of
months ago me and my favourite 'crew' headed down the royal city of Madrid, without much
planning or preparations, at the spur of the moment. I was counting on free
wifi as promised, planning to surf through some good blogs on our arrival and
do the best we can with the 5 days we planned to spend in this truly remarkable
city. To our disappointment, we found out there was no more free internet in
our cute little apartment situated in the very centre of Madrid. Out of all
people, it happened to me who always emphasizes how important it is to ask around, read blogs and reviews. Completely
uninformed, I managed to eat the world's worst paella, have drinks at the most
tourist-crowded bars, wonder the streets hoping to find some cute piece of
clothing made by some famous Spanish designer, just to end up feeling disappointed,
with bags full of Italian designer clothes
instead. In order to keep you from doing
the same mistake I did, I checked the
streets of our little town and found some cool new places definitely worth
mentioning.
In the
close vicinity of St Ivan Church, right next to the well known concept store
Vino&Ino, there's another gorgeous little store, Bibich Vinery (Vinoteka Bibich).
I use the word 'store', cause they offer not only the wide range of famous
Bibich wines, but also some 'useful' souvenirs which will thrill you with their
taste as well as their design. Home-made lavender products by Sapunoteka, a
company from Šibenik, cute cheese packages, home-made brandies, prosciutto
packed in envelopes with a cool 'Greetings from Dalmatia' note.
Just across
Bibich store you'll stumble upon a little art work gallery. Except it is not an
ordinary gallery, and those are not ordinary paintings. It is actually a store
supported by Udruga Kamenčić, an organization which helps mentally challenged
people. For many years it has been organizing art colonies for professional and
amateur painters at the island of Zlarin, whose works are given to the
organization and sold in order to provide money needed to keep the organization
working. It truly is a memorable souvenir with a warm message from
Šibenik.
Few steps
further, at number 5 Faust Vrančić Street, you'll find recently opened
organization Škart, which gathers under its roof creative people of different
age and profiles. Mostly they are just ordinary people who were finally given a
chance to make progress and show it at that same place. Cool pieces of
renovated furniture, precious and semi precious stone jewelry, hip chandeliers,
designer clothes, hand-made dolls.
Tired from
all the shopping? :)
I guess a good restaurant tip would be just what you need right now. Tomaseo Restaurant, at the very beginning of the seafront, is nothing new, but it has been a good place to eat for a while now, and you simply can't go wrong by choosing it. My friend always points out that that's where he had the best steak ever. As for me, I would recommend zvancet, and you should also try their orange cake which is like a bite of pure perfection.
I guess a good restaurant tip would be just what you need right now. Tomaseo Restaurant, at the very beginning of the seafront, is nothing new, but it has been a good place to eat for a while now, and you simply can't go wrong by choosing it. My friend always points out that that's where he had the best steak ever. As for me, I would recommend zvancet, and you should also try their orange cake which is like a bite of pure perfection.
If you're
wondering where's the best place to spend your evening, chilling out with a
drink, listening to some good live music in a nice and cosy atmosphere right on
the seafront, you don't have to go very far - just down the stairs from St
James Cathedral is art and entertainment bar Azimut. Recently opened but
already with an excellent reputation! The name Azimut suits it well cause it
has completely changed the direction of social and cultural scene in our town.
You can enjoy cultural programs and concerts on weekends and on weekdays as
well. If you come here once, you'll definitely come back for more.
The best
way to finish your day would probably be chilling out at Banj beach, where you
can also have a swim under the moonlight, enjoying the unforgettable view of
the old town and St James Cathedral . :)
