Dubrovnik, Croatia!

Dubrovnik is the most beautiful city I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. It is the pearl of the Adriatic, an awe inspiring haven of history and charm, a refuge for romance. It is an awesome and grand port with its city walls covering the Old Town, but also a cozy and intimate location with the streets contained within. I cannot imagine a better choice for our last country. It’s so different than any place we’ve discovered. So many people had told me Croatia was lovely, but seeing it first hand overwhelmed my senses.

This morning I woke up around 7ish, and prepared to disembark the ship in a way unlike we’ve ever done before. Since Dubrovnik is basically the coolest place ever, there are too many cruise ships alongside the port, so we are actually anchored in Gruz Harbor and have to take the tenders to shore. We had never done this before so it was a tad exciting and still is, a little. This morning it was packed but on our way back there were only a few others on the boat. When our feet finally touched Croatian soil, we found a place to exchange money and looked to get on a bus to get to Stari Grad, or Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We were told we could take 1 of 4 buses to get to Pile Gate, one of the entrances into the city walls. It was extremely crowded on the bus and we got to the Gate about ten minutes later. The first thing we did when we entered the Old Town was bought some waters and head to climb the city walls. This was one of the most fun things I’ve done this entire trip and provided us with perhaps the most beautiful views. It cost us about 12 dollars and took around 1 hr and a half to walk the whole wall. The whole city was crowded with tourists and since the walls are the most popular thing to do, we were never alone. And the sun! I have never been hotter! We were all sweating horribly the entire time! Goodness gracious….so hot. I really can’t imagine senior citizens doing this walk and on this day…honestly, if you visit Dubrovnik (which everyone should!!!!!!!), do not go in August. The place is bombarded with tourists and heat. The whole time I was walking the city walls, I imagined coming back in fall…how lovely it must be that time of the year…the walls are 1,940 meters long and date from the medieval period. In the city, there are two great fortresses, four forts, 12 towers, and five bastions. I think my favorite part of the walk came at the end, when we climbed the highest vantage point, Minceta Tower. We could see the entire walled city and it was wonderful. All the roofs are this wonderful reddish hue and it unites the city in a remarkable way. I forgot that I was in the Croatia, or in Europe at all. This place was something else…something that belonged in a fairytale or surreal dream. Something that lived within the history of the past…I was enamored. When we got back down (after I embarrassed myself in front of all these tourist by running into the side of the wall, I have a large bruise on my leg to prove it) we were right in front of Onofrio’s Fountain, which dates from 1444 and still provides water (I filled my water bottle up here). From here, the main street is Stradun (also known as the Placa), which starts at the Pile Gate and leads to the Sponza Palace. The Stradun is the usual main street of a touristy location-lots of restaurant and shops. Also at the end of the street is the large Clock Tower, first built in 1444 as well. Right beside is Rector’s Palace, somewhere I have yet to visit but look forward to seeing. This area is known as the Luza, the main square of the area. In the middle is Orlando’s Column, a place were people met, declarations were read, and criminals were tied. The statue is actually of Roland, the legendary knight. Very close is the Cathedral, but we were less impressed with what we saw. There wasn’t anything spectacular about this church and honestly we could have skipped it. But it was free and open to the public so a peek didn’t hurt. What was nicer was the Jesuit Church, finished in 1725 and at the top of a grand staircase. The Church is also known as St. Ignatius of Loyola and is particularly interesting for its four side altars. It was also nice to get some shade for a few minutes-which was actually the best part. We had lunch at a great little restaurant called Oliva Pizzeria, which was recommended to us by a fellow SASer. I had an AMAZING pizza…

After lunch we headed to the Dominican Monastery, near the Ploce
Gate and built in the 1300s. My favorite section was the 15th century cloister that greeted us when we first walked in. There was a museum attached, which we briefly visited to see the religious paintings. All in all, we were there for about 20 minutes. Honestly, you may be able to see all of Dubrovnik (Old Town) in one day. Besides walking the City Walls, there isn’t much to do. But it so amazingly wonderful just walking around, sitting down to a café, watching the world go by…besides a few other sites, that’s all I have planned for the next day or so. Tonight we’ll go out to celebrate my birthday and try to find the Olympics playing somewhere…okay, that’s it for now!