The third match up in this year’s big international football tournament.

Spain

Spain vies with France & Italy as my favourite European country to visit. So many iconic cities, Moorish & Roman architecture, fabulous cuisine.

In a tough competition, Seville wins as my favourite Spanish city. An amazing alcazaar & gardens, mammoth cathedral, incredible flamenco, an atmospheric river, a stunning bullring, an impressive tower and so much more.

It is also home to the oldest tapas restaurant in Spain, the incomparable El Rinconcillo that has been serving up delicious fare since the 17th Century.

The place is manically controlled with gorgeous dishes arriving at a rapid rate. You just keep ordering as you go with your purchases written down in chalk on your table to be totted up when it’s time to pay your bill. Just as it always has been.

Croatia

My first visit to Croatia was by bus along the Adriatic Coast from Montenegro to Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is described as the jewel of the Adriatic and despite taking a pounding in the Yugoslavian war it has retained all of its charm. At least that is before all the cruise ships arrive to make the small walled city overcrowded.

We walked the walls early morning and had them virtually to ourselves. We spotted the passengers disembarking and when we came down from the walls there were long queues of people waiting to climb up, and every cafe & restaurant was full to bursting.

Match Prediction – Spain 2 Croatia 0