And now something less adventurous—As travel agents, we often get asked by our clients, what to take home, what are the best and most authentic souvenirs? And our answer is usually always the same: get olive oil, wines, fig spread, truffles, rakija… It is better to support a local wine maker than an importer of foreign made fridge magnets. And there are plenty of choices all over the country! Istria, has so much to offer that I always get a bag or two of Istrian stuff before heading home.
One of my favorite places is definitely a Natura Tartufi store in Motovun, Istria. These guys have EVERYTHING!
Let’s get one thing straight: this is a touristy shop. It caters mostly to the hundreds and hundreds of tourists visiting Motovun daily. But, there are many different local delicacies that I don’t mind paying a bit more for a jar of truffle paste, bag of Istrian pasta or a bottle of great malvazija wine.
Another great features is that one can sample almost everything worth sampling! Starting from famous Istrian pršut ham and cheese with truffles.
Yeah, one can argue that there are better and more authentic stuff somewhere else, that wines can be bought in a different place or that truffles are better in another store. But I am usually trying to be as efficient as possible and cannot be visiting 10 places to do my “shopping”. In short – I don’t waste time visiting many stores as long as these guys have such a superb selection of Istrian delicacies. Definitely worth stopping at.