Day 7 - Our last day in Dubrovnik

It’s our third day in Dubrovnik and just about everyone we’ve spoken to has recommended taking a boat out to Lokrum Reserve island, so that’s what we did. Lokrum is a beautiful, forested island full of cypress pines and olive trees, and it’s a popular swimming spot (although the beaches are rocky). Apparently, there is a nudist beach but we decided that may not be our cup of tea. Instead, we wandered around the remains of the large medieval Benedictine monastery and botanical garden. It’s so peaceful, I think we could have stayed there all afternoon - somehow, the boat-loads of people coming across every half hour seemed to get absorbed into the greenness and tranquility. It was such a difference to the constantly busy city that it seemed like there were only a handful of other people on the island. Not to mention the bliss of an island breeze! We made some new friends with a few of the peacocks that were keen to share our lunch and strolled around the monastery ruins for a bit in the sun. Although the small saltwater lake looked quite inviting in the heat, we decided to return back to the city and get a few things organised ready for boarding our cruise tomorrow. The Tonies headed back to their hotel and we agreed to catch up again just before 6:00pm to walk the stone wall that surrounds the city (ok, not all of it….just the less strenuous front half…it was still really hot) and then head out for a fancy dinner at a restaurant called Marco Polo that came highly recommended - it didn’t disappoint. The walls around Dubrovnik are really impressive - genuinely like something you’d see straight out of a medieval film. Stretching for just over 2km, they were built between the 12th and 17th centuries to protect the city from invaders. Fun fact: these walls are some of the best-preserved in Europe, and they were never breached, not even once! The views are absolutely stunning - endless blue sea on one side (decorated with cruise ships and tour boats - even a pirate ship!) and the distinctive terracotta rooftops of the old city on the other. Dubrovnik has been amazing, a fantastic start to the Croatian part of our trip. The people are really friendly and it is a fascinating and beautiful city. Hot though…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 9 - Farewell Korcula, Hello Hvar

After a good night sleep, we had some breakfast onboard and got ready to head back into Korcula for a guided walking tour of the city. Although we’d had a wander around the the evening, the tour was definitely worthwhile - we got a really knowledgeable guide with a very dry sense of humour, and the city was quite a different place without so many people (most of the cruise ships that had been in the previous day had left). We did a bit more wandering after the tour, just to make sure we’d seen everything and then it was back onboard the ship for lunch - three courses! I think we could very easily get used to the idea of lazing around on a boat and having everything done for us….. While we lunched the captain sailed us out of Korcula and up the coast to the island of Hvar. Another walking tour of the old city - again, well worth it (we’ve officially become those disoriented looking tourists that you see wandering around with earpieces in, trying to keep up with the guide). Onto a bus to...
Read more

Day 30 - Cinque Terre

Image
An early start again today as we had a bit of travelling to get to our pesto making class. First a taxi to the train station and then over an hour on the train to get to Cinque Terre where the class was scheduled to start at 10:30. Unfortunately, the whole scheduling and ticketing thing with the trains is not straightforward so when we realised that we’d missed our stop and tried to double back, it was the start of a bit of an issue. We’d left plenty of time to get to Cinque Terre but when we went to the ticket office to try and get back to the correct station, the queue was nearly out the door. Barb tried to order new tickets online but that also seemed to be taking forever. We decided to just board the next train going back (so that we’d at least be on time) but that’s when it all came to a head - we got sprung by the conductor and despite trying to show that we’d tried to buy online tickets, we got a hefty fine. Although it was pretty rubbish, we didn’t have a lot of choice so we tr...
Read more

Day 24 - Last day in Puglia

Image
There were no solid plans for today because the weather forecast was for stormy weather all day. But looking again at the weather apps over breakfast, the report was for fine weather for most of the region (and by just looking out the window, it seemed that the day wasn’t going to be that bad). Barb did some online research to find a recommended beach nearby, and since we had food left from our visit to the supermarket a few days before, we thought a picnic would be a good idea. After making sure our ferry tickets were booked for our trip across to Capri tomorrow, we gathered everything up and set off to find a sunny spot with a bit of sand and some surf. Mission accomplished - we spent a few hours at a beach just south of Monopoli enjoying the sun, having a swim, and eating alfresco. The perfect way to end our time in Puglia - although it is another reminder of how lucky we are in NZ with our number and quality of sandy beaches. After drying off, we all piled back into car to take a ...
Read more