Currently on leg two of my Croatia trip. The original plan was to have two weeks here in September. However, due to Li-Ann's availability, we decided to have a week here in October, this time focusing on Dubrovnik.
We've been here since Saturday and it's been very enjoyable. The most different thing is the weather! Although a month ago it was glorious, very sunny and we were able to swim every day, this time it's about ten degrees colder and has rained nearly every day! Oh well...
We are staying in a private room right in the middle of the Old Town here in Dubrovnik. The house we're in has the only private courtyard in the old town and we have a kitchen at our disposal and TV! So it's all very handy. The decor seems to be stuck in the 70s but never mind!!
We've eaten out at lots of great places - lots of seafood to eat. At our favourite place, Lokanda, which is right by the old port, we had cuttlefish risotto, mussels and small fried fish. Fried calamari is also a favourite and we've had some nice wine and local beer.
We walked around the infamous city walls on Sunday afternoon which took us an hour or so - surprisingly our legs were still operational the next day! It was a fantastic walk, amazing views over the city and we were so impressed at the way the fortifications are still so intact.
Very little damage is still in evidence from the war in 1991 - 1992. We've seen a couple of places still with damaged roofs but that's it. Very impressive reconstruction, especially after we've seen some photos of the damage. The war isn't really mentioned though. I would imagine people are sick of talking about it.
Lots and lots of tourists here. It must be hell in July and August the peak season. Even in October it's pretty full on. Lots of people are either staying at the big hotels out of town or on the enormous cruise ships that are moored in Gruz, the new port nearby. They get bussed in during the day which does mean that the evenings are a little quieter.
Yesterday we did a day trip to Montenegro, which is the next country down the coastline from Croatia, and also a part of the former Yugoslavia. It was very different from Croatia, it seemed a lot poorer and less Westernised. Much more reminiscent of Russia. We visited a few towns and the former palace, but the real highlight was driving up the 'Serpent' road which gave great views over the bays on the coastline of Montenegro. We ended the day at Budva which is a seaside town and probably very nice during the summer! It was a bit desolate when we were there!
Today we caught a boat to the village of Cavtat, about an hour away. Because the weather was a little rainy and windy, the trip out was a bit miserable! Even though there was a cover on the boat, we still got wet and one poor woman even threw up! It got a bit brighter when we finally got there and we had a nice wander around the streets.
Tomorrow we're off to Korcula for a couple of days before we head back to Dubrovnik on saturdaz morning and fly back to London.
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