Fri 19 Sep- Relaxing in Kastav

Fri 19 Sep- we had bread from the local bakery for breakfast; Stan had a chocolate croissant and Kiyomi had a vanilla-filled donut. Kiyomi worked on her report for a while. Then we went to the library and while she filed her report and looked for a hotel on the waterfront in Lovran while Stan read the exciting conclusion of 'Triple'.
The weather is still partly cloudy and chilly 15-16 C. For lunch we decided to try the highly-recommended 'Bistro Pizzeria Loza' just down the street from our apartment. We had draft 'Hirter - since 1270' and split a large combo pizza. It was indeed delicious, and the bill was just $12.
We stopped by Drazen's restaurant Vidikovac (which means 'a beautiful view', and is no exaggeration) to pay the weekly rent and had a white coffee (an espresso with lots of milk) while we had a long talk with him about the restaurant business and the rental apartment business. Even in Croatia it is expensive to renovate and maintain a restaurant or apartment. He is optimistic that the economy will continue to improve, and tourism will become even more important.
The temperature had warmed to 19-20 C, so we decided to take a walk. We went down a street we had not taken before, past very nice new or recently renovated houses high on the hill facing southwest, overlooking the Adriatic and Opatija and the Istrian peninsula. We are impressed by the economic recovery over the past 10 years or so since they became independent. We passed a very nice stone building that houses the local school; it was as good as any in the USA. The school kids also seemed just like their American counterparts, talking and laughing as they walked with their friends, dressed in fashionable young peoples' clothes.
Kiyomi fixed grilled vegetables, salad and boiled beets she got fresh from the local fruit & vegetable shop. With the white wine we got from Ivan, it was a satisfying and enjoyable meal.
We listened to CNN and CNBC report on the amazing recovery of the world stock markets and the huge bail-outs and wondered how that will affect our taxes and lifestyle in the future. We expect painful unintended consequences for poor and middle class people as the rich and greedy take advantage of new opportunities and loopholes.