You don’t always have to travel far to visit beautiful places and create wonderful memories. Sometimes spontaneous excursions and simple day trips are the best ones. I visited Villa Botanica and spent a great, relaxing and fun day with my friends. The scenery was absolutely delightful, charming and so peaceful. We spent one day there enjoying nature, cooking, having fun and taking photos. That was just enough for me and I didn’t need anything more for a perfect day.
Villa Botanica
This luxury wooden three bedroom house is situated approximately 40 kilometres from Zagreb in Krapina – Zagorje county known as Zagorje region. This region of Croatia is famous for green hills, beautiful castles, vineyards and rich history. It’s also a home of lace making. The famous Lepoglava lace is on the UNESCO‘s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Photo credit: Putopis
We arrived to the villa by car and it took us less than half an hour from Zagreb. It’s situated on a small hill and surrounded by vineyards. Our host Kristina prepared everything we needed for our stay and she also checked if we needed something during the day. I felt welcomed and I really appreciate that extra care from the host. Click here for more information about the villa: contact & address
Photo credit: Domagoj Sever
Beauty is in the details
My first impression of this place was that someone invested a lot of love in it. Villa Botanica (whose design is obviously inspired by nature) is decorated with so many wonderful details, combined with a touch of romance and a lot of style. It’s personal, it evokes memories and also a feeling that you’re are in a really unique and special place. And you are, just look at those photos of the villa we took ….
Photo credit: Putopis
Photo credit: Putopis
Photo credit: Putopis
Photo credit: Putopis
I would say that Villa Botanica is perfect for families as well as group of friends. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 living rooms and 3 bathrooms. There is also a wine cellar, spacious kitchen and terrace. The villa is also suitable for small, intimate ceremonies as well as exclusive small events.
Photo credit: Putopis
Photo credit: Putopis
You can choose to spend all of your time there and just relax in the villa. Or you can use the villa as a base and go on day trips and explore Zagorje – the baroque town of Varaždin, the most popular Croatian castle Trakošćan or Krapina where you can visit the Neanderthal Museum, a modern and interactive museum of the people of Krapina from the Stone Age. For more ideas on what to visit in Krapina – Zagorje county click here Visit Zagorje . You can even explore Slovenia and be situated in Villa Botanica. The choice is yours and you won’t make a mistake opting for any of the ideas I mentioned.
Summer lunch on the terrace
It was so much fun to prepare lunch in Villa Botanica. My friends and I agreed that we’ll make chicken tortillas and I must say they did an amazing job. Since they are both great cooks, I just assisted and enjoyed the process.
Photo credit: Domagoj Sever
We stewed the chicken on the red and white onions, but before that we spiced it up with smoked, sweet paprika. After about 10 -15 minutes of stewing, we added fresh tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, red, yellow and green paprika. We mixed it all together to blend the tastes, aromas and juices. We added a bit of lovage, salt and pepper for better flavor.
Photo credit: Domagoj Sever
When it was all done, we wrapped it in tortillas, covered it with cheese, cream and parsley and put it in the oven to bake at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. We put tortillas on lettuce leaves for the touch of freshness and that was it. So simple yet delicious recipe.
Photo credit: Domagoj Sever
Thank you Željka and Domagoj for delicious lunch :-)
Photo credit: Domagoj Sever
I hope this will be an inspiration for some of your trips. Villa Botanica is really ‘an idyllic location for the secret escape‘ as the owners say. I now know where I’ll ‘escape’, when I need my ‘batteries’ to be recharged :-)
Jasminka Đaković