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Published: October 24th 2011
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Saturday, October 22
We had to leave House Tereza early because we had to drop off the car rental in Dubrovnik by 10:30 am. It was great having the GPS system to find both the apartment to drop off the luggage, and then the Imperial Hilton Hotel to drop off the car. After I dropped off the car, I walked back through the old town of Dubrovnik to the apartment--about a kilometre.
Our place is up the hill from the entrance to the old town--about a 5 minute walk. We met our host and started to unload the car. We were carrying luggage up the stairs, turned a corner, then up more stairs, more corners, and more stairs! Finally we got the apartment after nearly 70 stairs! We then turned around to go back for the second load! The apartment is old, but nice. We decided to stay put for the afternoon to let the cruise ship passengers use the town, and then go out later in the afternoon.
I must say that Dubrovnik Old Town lives up to its spectacular reputation as a superb example of a medieval walled town. During the war of the early 1990's,
some parts of the old town were destroyed by bombs. All of the exterior walls, forts, bastions, battlements and guard houses have been rebuilt. Where you see destruction is inside the walls where buildings have been destroyed and not yet rebuilt. Most of these buildings are hidden behind the reconstructed sections, and are not so noticeable.
Walking through the streets inside, you would not know that there had been a war as the town looks great. It is the largest of the Croatia's walled towns, and has an uncluttered look. They've been very careful to try to keep the town looking medieval by instituting special bylaws which greatly limit how you can "decorate" your store, restaurant, etc.
Sunday, October 23
This morning we did some laundry, and then headed into town to beat the tourist rush. We spent the morning walking the lofty stone walls of the town. It is a two kilometre walk around the town on the walls. In some places the walls are 80 feet high! On the water side, they are shorter, but they are on top of sheer rock cliffs, and so are 150-200 feet above the water. The pictures we took
cannot begin to show the scale of the old town.
We had lunch at the apartment, and then lazed around our upper terrace for the afternoon. At 5 o'clock, we went back into town looking for Buza, a recommended cliffside bar clinging to the outside of the walls high above the water nestled amongst the rocks. We had drinks there while we watched the sun set. Very cool!
We walked back through the small gap in the wall to the inside to find the Taj Mahal Restaurant which serves Bosnian food. We had very good and quite interesting meals. For example, I had pljeskavice which is basically a large hamburger patty that is about five inches across and really tasty.
After dinner, we walked about the town. It has quite a different feel to it at night with the churches, walls, and buildings lit up with flood lights. A very beautiful effect. The town is much quieter with fewer people strolling around.
Monday, October 24
We woke to a bit of thunder up in the hills this morning. However, by the time we had coffee and breakfast, it was clearing quickly and a sunny day
was ahead. Fred and I went to do some shopping...camera supplies and food. We managed to get it all and were returning to the apartment when we met the girls heading into town for coffee and pastries. So we went with them. After sitting in the main square having treats, we then wandered around the town into areas we hadn't yet seen.
After lunch, we went to the beach just at the foot of our stairs. There were a few dozen people already there including a fifty something overly endowed topless bather. She was not a pretty sight! As well, lying near her was a sixty-something overweight man in a thong! We must be in Europe.
Be that as it may, the afternoon was very warm and sunny, and the water was lovely for swimming. It really is amazing how crystal clear the water is, next to a beach that is 200 metres from a fairly large European city. We all went for a swim. Jill used her goggles and snorkel, and swam for about 15 minutes or so. The ladies had a nice glass of wine while we sat in the sun and dried off.
We
returned to the apartment, read, rested and went back into town for dinner. After looking at, and rejecting, two recommended restaurants (one because of my allergies and the other from lack of menu choices), we decided to go back to the Taj Mahal for the second night in a row. We had another great meal there. When we left, there were people lined up outside to get a table!
We agreed that we had had a great final day in Dubrovnik after nearly two weeks in Croatia. Tomorrow we go to Palma de Mallorca, Spain!
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Michael
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Show me the Thong
Hey Ger: Another great blog- but I was kind of disappointed you didn't include a pic of the dude in the thong!