Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is in Croatia on the other side of the Adriatic Sea and a little further south on the Dalmatian Coast. As the ship approached at 6 am, I was amazed by the steep mountains, many islands and charming coastal settlements. Again, never having been to Dubrovnik, I was somewhat unprepared for what to expect. Well it was wonderful.

On approach

We docked in “new” Dubrovnik but the jewel was the walled city of old Dubrovnik which we reached by shuttle bus in 30 minutes. Dubrovnik and Venice used to be trade competitors which is why the original city of Dubrovnik is encompassed by a city wall. The old moat is now a roadway around the city! Once again, as in Athens, Santorini and Venice, the weather was hot – high 30s – and the crowds were thick. One consequence of the crowds has been a spate of pick pocketing reported by passengers. Two of the people I have met were robbed in Dubrovnik. One, a man, lost his wallet containing his passport, credit cards and cash. A lady lost her cash. Apparently it is mainly Romanian immigrant families, working as teams to bump, distract and rob with deft fingers. Neither realised they’d been robbed until sometime after the event.

Old Dubrovnik is a compact city with one main street leading to the town square and cathedral with numerous very narrow side streets filled with shops and sidewalk café/bars. I thought is was magical.

City walls

Old city entry gate

Main street

a crowded avenue

Dubrovnik busker

Outdoor restaurants

Musical beer garden

Leaving Dubrovnik for lunch

Lunch venue

After the city we boarded the bus and went inland to a vineyard for wine tasting and then onto lunch at a beautiful outdoor restaurant adjacent to water mills and babbling brooks.

After lunch we went on to a gorgeous seaside resort – Cavtat – where Edward VII and Wallace Simpson honeymooned and where last week Goldie Hawn and famous hubbie were seen eating after coming in on one of the luxurious yachts there.

Cavtat seaside resort

Cavtat sidewalk

Once again, I could have stayed longer and it has gone into my “must see again” filing cabinet!

Some shipmates

We are now at sea again heading for Civitavecchia – the port nearest Rome. At lunchtime we rounded the toe of Italy with Calabria to starboard and Sicily to port in the Messina Straits – less than 2 miles across at the narrowest point.