Game of Thrones and Lokrum Island

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Slow start to today as I enjoyed not being on tour and my new apartment. I had booked a tour for this morning that was a 3 hour walking tour covering history and Game of Thrones locations. I met my local guide Jelena at 10am at the Plocë Gate, after a quick coffee nearby. There were only 8 of us in the group so it was really great and personal. Jelena spoke really well and knew her stuff - I actually learnt a lot from her about the history. Old Dennis may have told us the same info but who knows!

The tour started on the Plocé Gate, which was used in GoT as the walk of shame location. We then went into the old city and she explained about many of the famous landmarks and how they were used in GoT. She also pointed out restaurants that were more affordable, markets where the goods are more genuine and the best ice-cream and pancake shop. After walking through the old city we headed to the St Lawrence fortress. There are quite a few stairs to get up into the fortress but she stopped us halfway to point out a lovely bay and where we could go for swims, if we so desired. Which reminds me - the weather was back to its beautiful sunny, warm self again! What a shame it wasn't like this yesterday but hey, can't do much about that! We continued our climb to the fortress, where quite a few scenes from GoT are filmed. Jelena always had up a photo of a scene and we could tell that it was shot there. The Red Keep was only ever CGI so it was also interesting seeing a landscape without it but then comparing the scene where it was visible. Very clever. After getting some great photos of Kings Landing and Blackwater Bay, we walked down the other set of stairs to the bay. This was where our tour finished. It was a fantastic tour and I am glad I did it.

It was now after 1pm and I was pretty hungry as I hadn't eaten yet today. I found a nice place in the old town and ordered the seafood risotto, which was really yummy. After lunch I checked out some shops then decided to head to the old harbour and get a ferry to Lokrum Island. The ferry only goes every half hour so I got the 3:30 ferry, even though the last ferry off the island leaves at 5pm. I had heard this island has a lovely nature reserve and was worth the visit. I loved being on the ferry on the water - it was such a beautiful day and the views back over the old city are spectacular. Once I got on to the island I headed towards the Dead Sea, as it sounded interesting. Along the way I noticed all these rabbits, just freely jumping around and eating the grass. I walked over to see some of them and squatted down to take a photo when one of them came barrelling towards me as I think he thought I was going to feed him! When I didn't have any good he started nibbling on the cork of my Birkenstock! I thought I was in a horror movie where bunnies attack!

From here I found the Dead Sea which was a big Inland lake where water from the sea enters from a cave and you can swim there. I then walked along the coast which looked quite inviting but I just didn't have enough time to swim if I also wanted to see other parts of the island. I continued on to the monastery and the botanic gardens. Asninwas standing in front of a sign that showed the layout of the island and was trying to work out where I was and what I should still try and see, two ladies approached who were also pleased to see the sign. They were both from Australia so we chatted for a bit before going out separate ways. We did all discuss the last ferry and how there seemed to be a lot of people on the island so wondered how that would work. Anyway, I continued walking around and exploring but not long after 4:30 I thought I would head to the ferry wharf, to stake my spot in the queue. The 2 ladies came up behind me and we got chatting again when we noticed how there were some people who didn't believe in queuing and were just walking on up ahead of us. We, plus others in front of us, tried to stop this happening to no avail. One lady really started getting stuck into a group who were just walking past us to get in front and she was speaking in Croatian I suspect. Still nothing seemed to stop this activity. When the ferry final came it was a free for all! I managed to get onto the very front of the ferry and the two ladies also did. We were then joined by two guys who were from about an hour out of London (although one was Irish) and we were all laughing about the whole carry on. Some people got left behind - not sure what happened to them as no one can stay on the island. By the time we got into the old port of Dubrovnik, we were all best friends! So we decided to head to a beer garden the guys, Eamon and Pete knew. The two ladies were Sally (from Brisbane) and Priseilla (from Sydney) and it was amazing how well we all just got on. Both Sally & Priseilla were travelling on a 'sail croatia' boat and had only just met a couple of days ago. Funny story about Prisella - her parents are Lebanese and when she was born her Dad wanted to call her Priscilla but he spelt is wrong and the c became an e. So, she just tells people her name is Priscilla as it's easier and of course everyone says 'queen of the desert?'. Anyway, after a few drinks at the beer garden we headed out to dinner. I had the mussels - this is how I started my trip so it was how I was going to end it!

Funny how things work out when you're travelling and open to meeting people. The two guys are both veterinarians and live in a small country town and they had so many funny stories to tell. It really was a great way to end my holiday!

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