Shifting down a gear and donning the flip-flops, we’ve spent the last few days in the historic seaside fishing town of Rovinj, roaming the cobble-stoned streets and hanging out in the cafes and restaurants along the picturesque waterfront.

Rovinj is one of those places where you can just fill the whole day without really doing anything, which speaks to its status as a tourist getaway. Indeed, we managed to fill our days here by just wandering around the streets, finding twittens and waterside hideaways off the well beaten (and quite slippery) cobblestone paths. With a multitude of aromas ranging from clean washing, food and sea air, the glorious weather and the relative peace of a waning tourist season all added up to a vibe that was just perfect for just chilling out.

Our digs for the duration was the luxurious and deliberately difficult to find Villa Tuttorotto, a self-described museum-hotel converted from an old merchants villa up to modern standards, with antique and reproduction artefacts and from the locale decorating the various areas. Our room was big, comfortable and equipped with all the mod-cons (including an audio system that piped continuous Michael Bolton that you couldn’t mute completely, which was a shame). A communal area was available which resembled a quality furnished sitting room, and breakfast came topped off with a glass of champagne.