Pula was one of the ancient cities on our list of places to see. Pula was once under Roman rule and this is ever present in the city’s architecture. The Pula amphitheater is the sixth largest in the world and the best preserved. Michal and I spent most of our day here learning about history and baking in the sunshine.

It’s always strange to stand in a place and know that thousands of years of history have played out right where you are standing. The history of this amphitheater is quite disturbing. Prisoners were forced to battle wild beasts with no weapons while the townspeople cheered on their death. Gladiators fought to the end. If one fell down, they were prodded with hot irons until they either got back up or were killed.

Today the amphitheater entertains crowds without bloodshed. There are concerts and even a film festival hosted inside. Crazy to think about everything the walls of the amphitheater have witnessed over the years. Everything from bloody deaths to concerts by Sting.

Since we were so close to Italy today it was necessary to have pizza. The pizzas were served on a large plate and were not cut into slices. You were supposed to eat the whole thing with a fork and knife. We split a pizza and there’s no picture of it because we were just too hungry. Trust me, it was delicious.

After wandering around Pula we decided to drive back along the coastal highway. Once again we went up and down steep, twisty roads nestled between mountains the sea. It took much longer but the views were worth it. We drove through a couple of small towns that we plan on exploring tomorrow.