We woke up early this morning. Not because Julie was excited for her birthday but the curtains hadn't been closed and the sunlight was just flooding in. Despite the early hour it felt so good. As per usual, the British Winter spilt over into Spring and bright warm sunshine has been scarce.

We had breakfast on the balcony. I toasted some bread in a dry frying pan. I was surprised how well they turned out, especially smothered with lashings of butter.

I opened a pot of what I thought was cream cheese but it had the consistency of a thick yogurt. The image on the packaging showed it spread on bread so I wasn't acutally putting yogurt on my toast, but it felt like it. 

Julie had a portion of pate which she really enjoyed. We both had chopped tomatoes to add something else on the plate, and I had a boiled egg. I forgot how much I liked a boiled egg. It's something I don't do nuch at home. 

After breakfast we walked down to the beach, making use of a series of steps that took us downhill a little quicker than following the road looping down.

It looked absolutely stunning in broad daylight. The colours appeared brighter and more vivid. The blue turquoise of the sea, the taupe of the limestone houses, and the intense terracotta of the roof tiles.

There was a security booth at the start of the causeway. Staff ensured only residents could go any further. We stood looking at the oppulent luxury disguised as a 16th century fishing village.

It opened its doors as the Aman resort in 2010 but the transition to hotel happened years before, during the 1960s. Even before then it was the favourite retreat of the rish and famous. 

To the right hand side there was a lovely pebble free sandy private beach for the exclusive use of the resort. Non-residents could hire a lounger for €80 a day. No wonder it was empty.

We made do with the pebbly public beach on the opposite side. It  wasn't the most attractive of beaches. It was looking a bit neglected. Although, you could argue it was in its natural state, littered with stones. If you took away the horrible concrete apartments then it probably would have been a lovely bay.

Then, when we turned around, the view of Sveti Stefan transformed the beach into some where worthy of a glossy brochure. Even the pebbles on this half looked better.

Sun loungers were also greater value for money at €15 per day but we hadn't brought any swimwear with us. Instead we headed to a small cafe restaurant on the beach.  

It hadn't turned midday day yet, but it wasn't too early for a beer. Julie was more reserved and stuck to a coke zero. We sat outside sipping our drinks whilst marvelling at the view.

The waiting staff brought out their lunch menu to temp us, and it worked. 

I just ordered fries with a bowl of tzaziki, whilst Julie went for grilled chicken and fries. It was a most pleasant way to spend an hour.

After we were done, we made our way slowly back up the hill to our apartment for a wonderful siesta, from which we didn't emerge for another three hours, not until we had to get up. 

We showered and got dressed in our tidiest clothes. We had a dinner reservation at Restaurant Olive which was located back down on the beach, overlooking the private beach.

Our table was booked for 7pm. When we arrived the sun was setting gloriously.

Our table was ready for us when we arrived. It was quite a popular restaurant.

I browsed the menu and was disappointed. It didn't have much in the way of choice for me, but at least they had something.

I began with a cream cheese, slow-roasted tomato and black olive crostini. They served it on a piece of slate, which I quite like vibe but you can see why some think it's style over substance. Regardless of its pretentious presentation it was very tasty.

Julie had gravaladax, which wasn't presented as nicely. The smoked salmon slices were quite thick, as if hacked by a blunt knife, and the dill sauce was a bright yellow.

For our mains my only choice was a mushroom risotto. Thankfully it was really nice. They had added cream which I didn't appreciate much, but there was a hint of rosemary running through it which brought out the woody earthiness of the mushrooms.

Julie had her go-to chicken and potato. It was seved as two fillets hammered into escalopes and flamed-grilled over barbecue coals, served with a charred lemon.

The fries that accompanied were cut into a design for scooping up dips. Unfortunately their curved shape didn't elevate them from a proper chip.

For dessert we had a thoughtful surprise. We had mentioned in passing that it was Julie's birthday. After we ordered cheesecake for dessert a large wedge of chocolate fudge cake arrive, with a candle.

They didn't sing Happy Birthday but at least they had put some effort into making it a memorable moment. The chocolate fudge cake was sensational. The deconstructed cheesecake paled in comparison.

We paid our bill. Our bottle of wine cost €25 which surprised us. The exact same bottle was for sale in the mini-market for €5. It's understood that restaurants put a mark-up on the price to cover other costs but 400% extra was a bit much.

We walked back along the private beach. There was no one there at this time of night keeping an eye on non-residence, so we made the most of it, walking barefoot across the sand.

It was a lovely way to end our day. 

We made our way back up the hill, stopping briefly to admire the island of Sveti Stefan lit up in the dark. Then at our apartment we enjoyed a nightcap on our balcony before calling it a night.