Dubrovnik, Croatia

Wednesday - Friday, July 4-6, 2018

Wednesday morning we woke up early, as we had a three-hour ferry ride to Dubrovnik. After breakfast and checkout, we walked from our hotel, rolling our bags along the stone promenade to the ferry port to join the queue, which had already started to form. We passed the time chatting to a nice couple in line behind us who were from Seattle. The guy was a mechanical engineer who worked at Boeing, so he and Gavin were totally geeking out in Engineerspeak about airplanes. Once on the ferry Ewan found us seats at the very back of the boat, and we soon found out RIGHT above the engines. Very loud, with terrible vibrations, plus we were right under the A/C blaring full blast, and so of course I was freezing. Luckily at the next stop, Gavin went in search of better seats and found them upstairs. The rest of the ride was smooth sailing.

We summoned an Uber as soon as we were off the boat and were whisked away to our hotel, which was 6 miles south of the Old Town. As it was just after noon, our room wasn't quite ready, and so we went across the street to a lovely gastro pub for lunch, where we met an adorable, but scrawny orange kitten, who was happy to partake in some of the tuna from my Niçoise salad and a few bites of Ewan's lasagna.

After lunch we got the keys to our room, and then headed to the pool. After hanging out for a couple of hours, we decided to head into the Old Town for dinner. We had our concierge help us with a dinner reservation, and then summoned an Uber to take us into town. As we drove into town, I was very impressed by the massive walls of this fortified city, but as we went in through the main gate (called Pile gate) I was instantly turned off by the hordes and hordes of tourists! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. Hvar and Split had been busy too, but it was nothing like this. I know that we were part of the problem, but it still made me a little grumpy! My attitude shifted slightly after we strolled down the main drag and arrived at the restaurant 45 minutes early, and they were able to seat us. I felt much better after a delicious Croatian meal and sharing a bottle of white wine.

The next morning we decided to postpone our sightseeing until later in the afternoon, as we had read that the cruise ships descend upon the city between 9:30 to around 2:00 in the afternoon, which would have been unbearable. Instead, we enjoyed lounging poolside, soaking in the sun and splashing in the swimming pool to cool off. Oh, and drinking iced "coffee" (which really was more like a milkshake!)

We enjoyed lounging so much that we probably stayed longer than we should have, and definitely with less sun protection than we should have, and well, you know how that works. As we made our way to a beachside cafe to grab a late lunch, once sitting in the shade, we surveyed our skin to find we were all glowing more brightly than we should have been. Especially me. Ouch. Never mind, that's what aloe vera is for. Fingers crossed it will turn into a tan!

After lunch we showered and slathered ourselves with aloe and moisturizer and Ubered back to town. Our plan was to walk the ancient walls of the city for a birds-eye view of the Old Town and the harbor and sea beyond. Our driver dropped us off near one of the lesser gates into the old city and we soon found one of the staircases that led to the tops of the walls. Up above the city, the heat radiated off of the stone walls that were baking in the late afternoon sun, which was less than comfortable on my fresh sunburn. However, once we got up there and saw the views I soon forgot my discomfort and quickly became preoccupied with capturing every new and amazing view, which changed with every step. We learned that much of the beautiful old city sadly had been bombed during the war in the 1990's, but they have done an amazing job of rebuilding. You can easily tell what has been repaired, however, by the bright orange color of the roof tiles. 

The perimeter of the city is about a mile and a quarter, and it was so cool to begin our walk on the inland part of the city, and then work our way around to the harbor as the fortification jutted out into the sea.

The other really fun aspect of walking the walls was the cat-spotting game we began to play to engage a certain tired, hangry tweenager, whose mood softened once he started peering over the walls into local's gardens as well as back alleyways, locating dozens of new feline furry friends.

Hard to tell from this photo, but we counted at least 40 cats and kittens in this garden.

We stayed up there for at least a couple of hours, soaking in the sights and sounds (lovely to hear bells tolling!) We had made a dinner reservation at the same place that we had eaten the night before, as we had enjoyed it so much. Once again we showed up early for our reservation, and they were able to seat us, which was great. 

This guy's nose and lap are worn brightly from years of
children and tourists climbing up to touch his prominent beak.

Dubrovnik is incredibly touristy, with mobs of people descending upon the city daily, especially in high season. This at first turned me off, but I learned that it has been this way for centuries, with the city being a big crossroads for many cultures and civilizations. The most surprising thing to me was in talking to the locals, they were all so incredibly welcoming, and appreciative of the tourists and the money we bring to their economy. I would have thought that they would hate us and be so sick of us, but on the contrary, they are so proud of their country and eager to share their heritage, that it made it such a joy to visit and learn about this beautiful place.