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The past two weeks have been a happy fortnight of sunbathing and swimming in the crystal clear Adriatic at Dubrovnik, Brac Island, Hvar island, Split, and Zadar. Croatia is a fantastic country and perfect for a bit of relaxation after lots of sight-seeing!
If you're in your seventies and have just got off a cruise ship you'll love Dubrovnik. I lasted 45 mins in the old city which is full of expensive cafes, tourist shops, and people following their tour group flag. The guide books call Dubrovnik the crowning glory of Croatia, but I thought it was awful and was very pleased with the little beach 100m from the old town. As promised, it does have shiny white marble streets and buildings, but you can see these everywhere else in Croatia too.
After two days in Dubrovnik I arrived in Bol on Brac island where life slowed down another notch or two. Everyone and everything was completely laid back here. When I asked the guy at my hostel how long it would take to walk to the beach he replied, "15 minutes...or 2 hours, depending on how fast you walk...and if you stop for a drink".
Onto Hvar
island via an excursion boat and a captain who agreed to drop me off for half the price of the day trip, as there was only a scheduled boat going to Hvar in the afternoon and a bus going to Hvar town (on the other side of the island where I wanted to be) in the morning! Hvar is gorgeous, just as relaxing as Brac and a little more lively. We were rubbing shoulders with celebs here with Frankie from The Saturdays (I didn't know who this was either!) staying at a hotel up the road, and Sean Bean filming a tv show around the harbour much to the delight of me and two girls from London. Apparently being on the island was consent to being filmed, so you may see me if The Missing ever comes to UK screens! Apart from sunbathing and trying to avoid the cameras, I did a whistle stop tour of the island with Luka (of Luka's Lodge where I was staying) and some other girls staying there. We were allowed a quick 10 mins in Jelsa, Vrboska, Stari Grad, and Luka's home village before heading back to the hostel for a fish barbaque and
some grappa! The next day I hired a boat with a few people for a look around the Pakleni islands which involved a nerve-racking 20 mins watching three guys cliff jumping off some very jagged and not very perpendicular-looking rocks, and a wonderful beach bar with huge beach bean bags to end the day. I stayed in Hvar for 4 days instead of the 2 I originally planned and could easily go back here again.
Back to Split which I had written off as a tacky tourist town, but after hearing good things from too many people I decided to stay...and am so glad I did as this turned out to be one of my favourite places in Croatia. What a surprise, Split is amazing! Go now before it DOES become overrun and taken over by all things touristy! Although I don't think that will happen - the old town has a charm which I don't think it will lose. It feels very Italian here and is the kind of place that is nice to wander round, get lost in, and take pictures of beautiful crumbling buildings which have been patched up with new bits but still look beautiful.
There are lots of interesting boutiques and jewellery shops here, as well as nice squares with cafes and fountains. The ruins of Diolectian's Palace has a bar with cushions and candles set out on the steps where you can hear live music in the evenings. I had a lovely weekend here with Gen and Mev who I met on Hvar island. We stayed at a hostel with three turtles in the garden, and tried some traditional Split food one night which was lovely (although I couldn't be tempted by the squid ink risotto). Split has more to do than I could fit into one weekend, so once again...it's somewhere I'll have to come back to.
Onwards and upwards to Zadar another coastal town which, bizarrely, you can't get a boat to. The buildings in the old town were much grander here and there it also has a sea organ - holes in the walkway next to the sea which all play different notes as the waves move under it (sorry not a very good explanation!) However it works, it was very relaxing to hear the sea making music while watching the sunset. Next to the Sea Organ is the
Sun Salutation - a huge circular solar panel which lights up with different colours at night.
Last stop in Croatia was Zagreb, which is just another big city after many happy days on the coast. Cars, roads, old buildings, new buildings...oh, and lots of market stalls all selling strawberries. Not very inspired by the city, but I found lots of interesting grafitti to photograph which seems to be a theme for me in the big nondescript cities!
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