Beyond Budva
From our spot in Budva, we explored a few areas. To the south, we found Sveti Stefan. It was such a beautiful spot! We first saw it on a long walk along the beach to the south of Budva in our first couple of days in this area. We didn’t quite walk that far, but it immediately intrigued us as we sipped on a glass of local wine at a gorgeous viewpoint not too far away.
The first time we explored this area, we just stopped for a drink at the local hotel and restaurant at the top of the hill on the highway. It was such a beautiful spot! We had already been out exploring another area and stopped in here on a whim to enjoy a cocktail and the view on our way home. The girls played with bubbles the entire time, leaving us free to enjoy each other’s company and marvel at the beauty of the area.
We returned two additional times, driving down the hill to park and explore. We walked across the bridge to Sveti Stefan, the old and beautiful-looking monastery. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public, so we could not go inside. We spent time on the beaches, had some food at the restaurant while the girls played in the playground, and walked on a pathway through the nearby wooded area that led to another beach. It was such a gorgeous little area to spend time!
There was another little town, Sutomore Beach (just north of Bar) further south of Sveti Stefan that had a nice beach area. We brought a picnic lunch to enjoy on the beach. I did some suntanning while Jon and the girls got busy building a breakwater structure with rocks they collected on the beach. Jon finally got a chance to relax in the sun, while the girls played bubbles and read. It was a beautiful day! Unfortunately, Katia’s sunglasses we got her in Australia in 2019 were accidentally left behind at the beach when we left for the day. We didn’t realize until the next morning after turning the house upside down, looking for them.
The next day was going to be another beach day, and Katia begged us to go back to the same beach we had been to two days ago, so she could find her sunnies. When we left, the beach was full of families, a group of boys was playing soccer in the area where we were stretched out, and it had been two days. We agreed to go but told her not to get her hopes up. But wow… we showed up at the beach, and there were her glasses! Exactly where we had been sitting, completely intact and undamaged. That child is one of the luckiest people ever, so we shouldn’t have been surprised it turned out so well for her! Unfortunately, the rest of that beach trip did not go well, as she had an epic meltdown about the state of her breakwater structure. Katia can be the most amazing, thoughtful, loving kid in the world. But when she has one of her rages, look out world. Thankfully, her rages are infrequent now that she’s getting older.
The host at the first place we stayed in Kotor had recommended a farm-to-table experience to us at a place called Carevici Restaurant. We decided to go out there for the day for Jon’s birthday. And it was a truly epic and memorable experience! The farm had all kinds of animals – pigs, cows, horses, deer, chickens, other birds, wild boar, bunnies, goats, sheep, and so much more! It was right on the water, with a beautiful swing overlooking the Adriatic Sea. They grew olives and other produce there and made their own wine, cheeses, sausages, jams, yogurts, and other products with meat, dairy, and produce from their property.
We walked around the property. The girls’ favourite was watching the deer and bunnies. These are two of Emmeline’s favourite animals of all time. When we had explored enough, we went inside to enjoy a meal. They had free samples of all their homemade cheeses in the cheese counter, which we tried first. There were some extremely delicious cheeses! We ended up buying some to take home with us.
We decided we would order a charcuterie plate with their homemade meats and cheeses, which was an excellent decision. It was massive and soooo good. They were also able to customize it by putting our favourite cheeses we had sampled onto the platter. We got a bottle of their homemade red wine to drink with it. We also got some Montenegrin pancakes with their homemade jam and a spinach and feta pie.
Their homemade jam was amazing! It came with apricot jam, which the girls practically devoured in no time! The waiter asked if we wanted more jam and recommended we try his favourite one next – raspberry. Oh my god. It tasted exactly like Swedish berries! It was unbelievably delicious. We asked if they sold any to go, but unfortunately, they did not. But, the waiter was so nice and said since it was for kids, he’d see what he could do. He came back with a big container of raspberry jam that he gave us for free. I was sooooo grateful at that moment that Montenegro is one of the many European countries that adores kids so much and are always giving them special treats!
We left the restaurant completely stuffed, with a good portion of our charcuterie boxed up, a couple packs of cheese, one litre of raw milk, and some strawberry jam. It was such an amazing and unique experience. We are so grateful that our first host recommended it. It was not something I think we ever would have found otherwise.
Montenegro definitely has some beautiful sights and beaches in this country! And it was nice to get out and about to explore some of these areas as a break from our time in Budva. I really hope that we can one day find a way to get another farm-to-table experience like the one here!