Dubrovnik

As we approached on our Ferry into Dubrovnik harbour we had to skirt around 2 very big cruise ships. It was quite a sight in such a small harbour. We were however a little concerned as we could not see the walled city which is what all the pictures we had ever seen of Dubrovnik showed.

Undeterred we got straight into a taxi, showed the driver the address of the apartment we had rented, and off we went. He had then only driven about 500m when he asked if we had a phone number for someone at the place we were going to. He then called them to clarify was he to go to "upper" or "lower" of the street. He said it was a very long street. All was cleared up and we were dropped at our destination within 5 mins. The owner of the apartment said he would be waiting for us.

There he was waiting.. Nika, a very good looking young man of around 30 yrs old. He offered to take my bag and said... "we are just up here" pointing up some stairs. So up we headed. And up... and up.... we then asked how far to go... as all we could see were stairs going up and up the mountain above us. After what we now know is just over 100 steps up, Nika opened one of the gates leading off the path. (As there are many many gates off this pathway Mark noted it is "cactus 17" for the plant and hidden number). Mark on the stairs down the next morning.


We soon discovered our apartment was the attic of a 3 storey building that was Nika and his family living there as well as his 88 yr old grandmother (who walks the stairs easily). He showed us in and then out onto the terrace to get an idea of the lay of the land around us. Well to our absolute delight we have the most amazing, beautiful, stunning view of the Old City of Dubrovnik. As we cannot fit it all in one picture here are 3 to show how gorgeous it is.

This is one of Mark enjoying his morning coffee on the terrace. We have both the lounge and our bedroom with double glass doors onto the terrace. The kitchen and bathroom are ok but not as great as the rest of the place but the view more than makes up for the fact that the fridge is actually a small drinks fridge from a cafe, complete with FRUCTIS lit up on the front.

Once we got settled into the apt we were keen to get down into the old city to explore. WOW!!! is all we can say about this place. I literally had to stop Mark once and pick his jaw up for him... we have both been speechless on several occasions.

There are heaps of cafe´s and restaurants throughout the city. We took pot luck and ordered a much needed coffee. We chose this particular one as it is right down on the harbour and we would have a great view (there are no bad views here). Well well... being the coffee fusspot that I am.. damn if that wasn`t the best coffee we have had since we left home. Needless to say we have been back everyday for coffee and also had dinner there the first night.

Its so hard to describe this place. It is so lovely to see that there are still a very large population of locals living within the walls. As we stroll around we have come across such things as a high school complete with its own sports field, local fresh food market, tiny piazza with markings for the kids soccer field painted on the stone path and walls, many churches, we have heard dogs sniffing at doors from within a home on a narrow lane, tiny gardens that are about the size of 1 sqm. The extremely close confines that they live in is amazing. One of the great things we have noticed in Croatia (and have since seen a write up on) is that Croatia is fighting the influx of global "name" shops and food culture. So unlike Prague which was filled with McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Burger King, and endless designer label shops here there is still an element of local. It is so refreshing. What is caught and grow today is often what is available for dinner that night.
This is the view from the harbour looking up the hill to our apartment. Its hard to explain which is ours but basically we are smack bang in the middle of the photo.

A shot of the harbour from the timber drawbridge we have to cross to enter the city walls.
After a late lunch and a big walk up the hill last night we decided to stay in for dinner. A bottle of red and a few nibbles watching the sunset from our terrace.
There is a 2km walk you can do along the top of the wall of the city. It is a complete circuit and stunning is all I can say. In some places it is as narrow as 1.5 m and in others it opens up enough that they have set up little cafes you can stop for a drink. It was so hard to comprehend how they built such high walls on top of the existing rocks in the sea. Here are a few shots we took during our walk. You will note in one there is a cafe outside the wall. We sat there yesterday (25C) enjoying a beer listening to Dean Martin classics. It was very cruisy and relaxing.





That is it for now... this Internet cafe wants to close and is hassling us out....

xD