tcreath

travel2live2,

OMG you are buying a house in Croatia?! I am so green with envy right now! Wow...how awesome. Can I ask which part of Croatia your house will be in?

I think Barb on this board was considering a permanent move to Croatia because of her love for the country. I haven't seen anything about it in a little while so I'm wondering what the status is with her as well.

Croatia is just delightful and to live there really would be a dream come true. Best wishes!!

Tracy

Mimar

So, Luv, how long was the "fast" bus ride from Trogir to Split? Did it stop at the airport in between? Or is that another bus? We're planning a trip in this area next fall.

LuvToRoam

Mimar, It's only about 12 miles or so between split and Trogir, so depending on traffic it can take as little as 20 minutes. The fast bus (coach) is direct; the city bus (#37) stops at the airport and other places, however they are more frequent than the fast bus.

travel2live2

Luv, you are welcome to drop in! Our house is in Istria, totally off the beaten path, in the forest yet only 10 minutes from the Adriatic. It is traditional Istrian stone and darling.

For the first while (due to foreigner laws and all that, including starting our own company which is another requirement in our situation) we are only able to visit up to 90 days. That is no problem as we are still young and not retired yet. We will go 2-3 times a year, 2-3 weeks at a time. We will do a lot of traveling from there - only two hours' drive from Venice, one hour flight to Glasgow, Frankfurt, Rome, etc. Then we will live there six months of the year, and six months here.

I am so excited I can hardly bear it. The surrounding villages are lovely. The village that is 3 km away is so real and untouristed. I can hardly wait to go the markets and such there! My husband is already fitting in - he was invited out to meals about 10 times.

This is our dream and we are actually in the process of living it! We do not want to just talk about it but decided to act. Now is an excellent time to buy there because when Croatia joins the EU home prices are said to double or triple.

Barb

Luv -- great report. I am reallly enjoying it and missing Croatia so much. I got back the end of Oct. Maybe we were in Dubrovnik at the same time? I arrived there on 10/3.

OMG I am green with envy too, travel2live2!! If I could swing it financially, I would be doing the same thing. Next year I am thinking of going back for 6 weeks and staying in Gruz, like a local, just to see if being there, not as a total tourist would change my mind about living there. tcreath it is because of my love of the country and a certain handsome guy, wink wink.

LuvToRoam

Well travel2live2 you never know, maybe someday we'll get to your town... How perfectly wonderful. We have so many kids and grandkids here in my heart I know it would be hard for me to leave. And then the money. Retirement looked pretty good a few years ago but this market has to do a big comeback soon to help our "spending" fund. We do have about 7 years yet so we'll see. We did not get to Istria at all. We have tossed around a few scenarios to get us there in the next few years, so we'll see. I can't talk about our next vacation until I get this trip report completed, that was the devils deal I made with myself. I wish we could have 6 weeks, but alas, it just doesn't work out. We have been doing almost 3 weeks at one time and that is a treat. I sure do applaud you living your dreams though, best of luck and health to you and your hubby!
Barb, glad you are enjoying our notes; we left Dubrovnik on the 21st of September so our paths would not have crossed. How was the weather for you? We found it sort of chilly when we left. We spent a day in Germany after that and it was downright cold.

tcreath

Barb...oooh, that's right! It sounds like everything is going wonderfully for you and your Croatia gentleman! It all sounds so romantic....

Tracy

Barb

Luv, I was there from 10/3 to 10/24 and I only had one day of rain. Every other day was glorious, warm with a lovely breeze and just needed a light coat or sweater in the evenings. It was perfect.

tcreath

Okay, now I have to admit that after all of this talk about moving to Croatia I found myself researching real esatate! Just daydreaming for now, of course, but I found the perfect little place in Rovinj and could happily see myself there...

LuvToRoam, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of your report!

Tracy

travel2live2

tc, that's cool! Watch out - dreams can lead to reality!

It is a long and drawn out process (also very involved) but I KNOW it will be so worth it! Just think - we will be able to make daytrips to Rovinj, lots of islands, Venice, and so on. I keep on having to pinch myself!

LuvToRoam

Trogir and the beach, September 13, 2008
This morning we all were lazy. Enjoyed another breakfast out on the balcony and watched as the city across the bay came to life. We decided to browse around the town some more as there were a few things we wanted to pick up (items we should have bought when we first saw them). Also wanted to get some cards off so needed the Post Office.

We walked around the town, did some shopping and stopped at one of the waterfront bars for a drink. Drinks are expensive in these frontage places compared to what we have been paying. We decided since we had not been to a beach yet that is what we should do. We got information from the tourist office (not to be confused with the TI (tourist information) that all the cities and towns have. This was the same place that had the Internet we had been using. We for some reason do not have the name of the beach or the boat that we took and I can not find any information on it online-it is just lost in our brains somewhere. We think it was Donji Okrug Beach, but really can't say for sure. It was a total "veg out day". We caught the boat almost in front of the ruins in the bay and it traveled around the point of the island we were on. We were the only ones going but on the ride back home there were about 4 other people besides us.

The boat ride there was very nice. Once docked we walked down a path that led to the beach area. We stopped at a place to rent some chairs and ordered some drinks. Unfortunately they didn't rent towels. We did not have beach towels, it didn't even occur to me we would have to bring our own (don't ask me why). While it was very nice outside I knew if I went in the water and didn't have a towel I would simply freeze to death. Bon and Tom ventured out though and really enjoyed the water. The beach was a pebble beach, not sand and not big boulders (which we ran in to at a later beach). Rollie and I sat on our lounge chairs and enjoyed the peacefulness of it all. There were a few families enjoying the water as well. The little children did not have suits on, truly a European thing. Parents in America wouldn't dream of letting their kids run naked at a beach. All you see at American beaches are babies with sopping wet diapers hanging down to their knees. Our waiter was from Bosnia and he gladly told us how he loved Americans, especially Bill Clinton. We were like slugs on this beach, two ventured out in to the water and two just sat there. We only went exploring to find a potty. They do have very simple little set-ups for changing your clothes, right out there on the sidewalk. It is like two U's together, no door, you just step in and get around the bend and change your clothes. Only Tom used this one. I wasn't wet and Bon dried out on the beach and then just slipped her clothes on over her suit.

We took the boat back, some time around 6 I believe. We decided to climb up the ruins when we got back, as that is right where the boat dropped us off. Views from the top were very nice. Of course the pigeons have really taken the place over and the stairs in these places, well they certainly wouldn't be OSHA approved. They had a stage set up and chairs across from the area all set up so they must have open air venues there. Nothing was happening while we were there. Behind the ruins looks to be a soccer field. The entire area is really beautiful. That night the moon was big, white and full. Took a few snapshots and then headed back to our place.

We cleaned up and then headed back out for dinner. We ate at Kamerlengo, tucked inside the old town. We had passed this place several times and the menu looked interesting. I would say we found the waiters here to be a little on the hovering side. I get that whole stroll by the table thing but when there aren't any other tables where you are, it just gets annoying. We had soup and salads before our meals and they were good. All enjoyed the meals except for Tom. He had ordered a pork dish and it was just not good, the meat was very tough. When the waiter came back to take dishes and ask about our meal Tom let him know he didn't enjoy his (and in fact he hadn't eaten it, I shared my meal). The waiter took his meal right off the bill. We were quite surprised. Then he came by with after dinner shots, a shot of Grappa for Tom & Rollie and some kind of fruit schnapps for Bon & I, on the house he said, to make up for the bad meal. That was very nice of him, obviously he wanted to salvage our "dining experience" at this place and he did. A meandering walk back to our place. Tomorrow we have to get up and out early as we are going on a rafting adventure on the Cetina.

LuvToRoam

Adventure on the River Cetina, September 14, 2008
We awoke to gray and threatening skies. We telephoned the rafting place (it was before 7am) and they said weather was okay in their area and the adventure was still on. So off we went. We managed to get the van out of the parking spot and driveway without taking out any of the stone walls or shrubs lining the area. The ride to the small town of Omiš was a pleasant one, we had no troubles getting here at all. We met the guides and then followed them to a parking spot (a restaurant we would later eat at) and then got in their van and made the ride to the starting point of the adventure.

The other group heading out at the same time as us were six Russian women. Each raft had one guide and they were very entertaining and certainly seemed to know what they were doing. You get a brief lesson on how to handle the oar and they give you a few key command words. We donned our helmets and life vests and then were off.

The water was wonderfully clear and quite still when we began. The shores were bursting with greenery, shooting towards the sun in some places and dipping in the drink in other places. We had to duck down to clear branches in a few areas and we did have to guide ourselves with the oars through narrow passages on some parts of the river. There were dips and bends, some sharper than others. At one point they "docked" the rafts and had us all get out, walk (climb) up a rocky hill and then take a path, roughly a quarter of a mile and then down a very rocky slope to the waiting rafts. Wild rapids are what we missed, one guide tied one raft to the other and maneuvered through while the other guide walked us over. After that there were more rushes and dips, but all very manageable. At one point they got us under a waterfall, which was a big laugh for everyone. There was one pretty good size dipity-do and we had to remember one of the commands that had us dropping into the raft (normal position was sitting on the side rowing). Another of the stops was at a huge rock formation (about 3 stories high). They invited anyone adventurous enough to get out and make the climb to jump off the ledge. Only the guides were jumping. At this point there were several other rafts converged and we assumed they were all from the same company. From here it was a nice jaunt to the end point. The sun really only peeked out a few times but the rain stayed away the entire time we were on the water. You work up a pretty good sweat, we were glad to not have had the sun beating down while we were working so hard.

Once landed we helped carry the raft up and then changed clothes-we were soaked. There was another of those double U type changing areas, but it was off towards the woods so wasn't that disarming to use. There was a restaurant right there so we decided that is where we would lunch. We had left so early we really only had a coffee and a piece of fruit. All were good and hungry.

Restaurant Radmanove Mlinice obviously has the hoards of tourists arriving all at once down pat. There were several long, long banquet tables all set and ready to go for tour buses that would show up while we were there. Then of course they must get the rafters and since it was Sunday, families were everywhere as this was a park as well. We sat down and ordered our beverages. The table next to us had this huge platter just filled with all sorts of meats, etc. It looked wonderful! Additionally the specialty at this place is bread and it is to die for. Each loaf is about the size of a medium pizza, round with a truly appetizing golden brown crust. They had huge slices of this bread along with the tray of goodies. When the server came back we simply pointed to the table next to us and said "we'll have that". It had pork, sausage, the special little "hamburgers" Croatians make, potatoes, and several other yummy items. We left here thoroughly satisfied.

This complex used to be a mill that has been converted in to a restaurant. There is a trout stream and you can see them swimming around as you walk over the bridge. The huge brick oven has bread going all the time. After our wonderful lunch we walked over to the gelato stand and had a little treat.

It began to rain as we were heading back. We sort of settled in and then the rain really came. Several of us decided to nap, Bon settled down with her book. Once the rain stopped we decided to run out and get some snacks. First grocery store was closed and we worried we might not find one open, but the little store across the bridge and down the road was open. We got our stock and enjoyed the brisk air as we walked back. It was a lazy night for us all to kick back, organize the bags and prepare to head out the next day.

Thoughts on Trogir: We liked that it was a small town. Everything was easy to get to and our accommodations were wonderful. Our place was in the jet path though and they did fly over on a very regular basis but it really didn't bother us. The city itself could be heard but it wasn't an overwhelming blaring kind of noise. Certainly there was very little traffic noise although the road could be quite jammed when trying to get to the bridge to head out of town once everyone was up and moving. The people here were very friendly as well. The dock area was always abuzz with activity. We would return and we did find it a nice base for day trips.

travel2live2

Luv, am enjoying this report. Travel really does broaden cultural views, doesn't it? You have so many experiences and adventures to look back and re-live (until you return!).

LuvToRoam

travel2live2, your encouragement really helps keep me on track. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked a question that I have run to my "trip-notes" for once we return, even years after the travel. I stick all those things (notes, stubs, torn placemats, etc.) in the photo album I make as soon as we return. I've been really good about that but the actual full report, not so much. I have learned to take pictures of the town signs (most times) and next trip I will be snapping shots of the menus and even the food, even though that drives my hubby crazy at the time. What the heck, it is a digital camera-you hit delete at some point if you don’t want to take up space. He is always happy when I can come up with the answer to one of the travel questions… All those things prompt my memory at a later date. Get ready for the romantic Dubrovnik. I'll be working on that this week.

travel2live2

That is wonderful - I cannot wait to read about Dubrovnik as I have not been there for two (long) years!

LuvToRoam

Dubrovnik, September 15, 2008
Monday, Monday, time to pack up and head out to Dubrovnik. There we will catch up again with our friends and begin the vacation wind down. Grabbed our water bottles and the nice fresh bakery for the ride, maneuvered out of the driveway and did the slow trek out of town. Our ride was going to be a good one, all along the coast.

It was a very manageable ride, we stopped to stretch our legs once and drank in the beauty of the sea. Sailboats out in the water, small towns built in to the hillside and islands covered in green. It was a taste of what was ahead. Missy, the GPS got us in to town and really quite close to the area of our next place. Believe it or not, we really didn't have city maps to get to our places, considering that, we did pretty good. We ended up stopping and calling the gal that was renting us the place. She gave us directions from where we were and then planned to meet us at the site. We found the address but were unsure about just which doorway was going to take us to the proper rental unit. She showed up and our place was down from the road we parked on. This place did not really have a designated parking spot. Here we were with this big whopping van... We did find a spot-will talk about that later. All forgiven when you got on the balcony and looked out on the Adriatic Sea and saw the beautiful walled city. Breathtaking, no other words, just simply breathtaking.

Our rooms were very nice, bright and clean, as all of our places have been on this trip. Bon & Rol took the space that had a tiny little kitchen area right in the bedroom, just as you walk in the door (so it wasn't facing the bed), with a very small bathroom off the bedroom. We had the room that had a sitting/dining/kitchen area, separate bedroom and nice size bathroom. Each place had silverware, place mats, glasses, dishes, etc., very well stocked. Additionally there was a washer we could use in a utility room right on our level and a clothesline in the yard. The gate locked so you were quite secure. There was a large porch with two tables, four chairs each. We spent a lot of time out there.

We got our stuff out of the van and settled in a bit. Wine, beer & snacks out on the porch and we laid out a plan. We popped down to the grocery store and got a few supplies. I had heard many good things about Mea Culpa, a pizza place in the old city, so that is where we were going to head to for supper. It took us awhile, but we found it. We sat at a table outdoors and all had pizza. We enjoyed the meal and took leftovers with us. This would be a part of a later breakfast. Our plan after dinner was to meet up with our other friends and so we did. Strolled around the old town a bit and then of course, had to find the Buza Bar and have a cocktail there. Leave it to Tom T to know the exact route. He got us there and we all enjoyed a nightcap out there on the rocks, facing the Adriatic. The sun was down by now and it was beginning to get a little chilly. This is why one should never travel without a scarf/shawl. A lifesaver when the sun goes down.

As it turned out our friends were staying in a place that was about 150 steps directly down from our place (and their place was about 150 steps from the bottom road that goes to the old town). Good Lord, old ladies with their bags of groceries do these steps every day! We checked out their rental and then headed back up to ours. There was a grocery store at this street level (the one that was 150 steps down from our place), right next to the Biker Bar. Talk about your unfriendly staff, the chick running this bar was unbelievably unfriendly. We stopped and asked a question once and she was quite rude and another time we just parked the guys for a drink while we did the grocery shopping (needing 4 people to carry groceries-come on beer and wine bottles are heavy). No points for smiling faces here. She had a neck brace on and we surmised someone probably tried to knock her block off (I know, that's mean).

The four of us had a last nightcap out on the porch. We could see the lights of the cruise ships out in the water and here and there a shot of light from a small boat working its way to the port. There was a huge harvest moon in the sky and it just beckoned one to linger. We laid out a plan for the next day and then settled in. All slept very well that night.

LuvToRoam

Day trip to Lokrum-nightlife in old town-Tuesday, September 16, 2008:
Waking in this lovely area was a treat. It was relatively quiet where we were, especially in the morning. You could hear the sound of heels on the cement steps as people were heading off to wherever and neighbors saying their good mornings to other neighbors, but you didn't have any street type noise. The sky was bright and blue, it was almost impossible to tell where the sky and sea met. We never tired of this view. Lokrum island was right across from where we were staying and that is what we decided our day trip would be, a swimming excursion on Lokrum. This time we would not hit the beach without towels. Before we headed out lovely piano music drifted out from the place next door. It was something we would enjoy the entire time we were here.

Tom was up and out early and brought back fresh treats for our morning meal. We had a terrific "European" breakfast on the porch. Bon and I hung a few items out on the line and planned to do wash either later that day or the next morning. We got ourselves ready and walked down to the old town, this is where we would buy some towels and catch the boat to the island. Once on the boat you are on the island in a mere 10 minutes. We walked around a bit and stopped for a drink at the little restaurant/bar that is there. Peacocks are all over the place. Rollie had on a blue shirt and one of the bright blue peacocks jumped up on the back of his chair. We figured he (or she) was hitting on Rollie because he had some good colors. At least it never bit him. After the drink we decided to head back down to the water. We ended up swimming in the area right near where the boat drops visitors off. There were other places on this island that had nicer swimming spots, unfortunately we hadn't done our homework on this island so we swam at the first "swimming hole" we came to and while it was nice, it probably wasn't the nicest they had to offer here. They have a small bathroom, not really a changing room, but we did put our suits on there. There are little ladders going down in to the water and the bottom is huge rocks buried in sand. The salt water almost lifts you up so you float with ease (well they all did, I seem to sink like a rock no matter what). The water was perfect temperature-wise and the air was fresh and warm. We laid in the sun for awhile after swimming and it was very relaxing. We decided to walk the garden area so got dressed and headed out. We purchased the little brochure that had a map, outlined the island, what was there, some history and routes one could take from here to there. This is not a big island. We walked some of the paths, didn't go up the hill to the cross, but did see some very nice swimming areas we wished we had explored before jumping in earlier. The water is just unbelievably clear. The gardens were very nice and we watched some locals fishing on one bluff. We stopped back at the little restaurant, split a small sandwich and had a drink. There was a fellow playing the guitar and he was pretty good. Naturally he had some CD's out in front of him in his guitar case, so we bought one. It turned out to be a very nice CD. After awhile we ventured down to get the boat back. This little island sleeps at night. It is amazing, from our place we can see most of the northeast side of the island and at night there was one sail boat sort of tethered off the shore and we could see the light on that boat, otherwise it was all dark. There were cruise ships and yachts that dotted waters in between the island and the mainland as well. We were now in the land of the rich and famous. The boat got us back to old town in short order. We headed back to our place to freshen up.

The walk up to our place was beginning to be a drag. I have this problem when I eat and then walk shortly afterward. Yes, I get "seasick" and normally find myself puking alongside the road. So there I was, I had sent everyone else ahead, puking on the side of the road in front of the place the other group was staying and lo and behold, here they come only to find me on the side of the road looking gray. Poor gimpy Rollie is across the street at the crabby chicks bar with Tom and Bon is shopping by herself hoping I will get over what ails me. Sorry, not a pretty story.

We enjoyed our front porch again for before dinner drinks (not me, only water, I had to walk again) and a gorgeous sunset. It was beginning to get a little chilly out. I took a nice warm shower and then we headed out to find something to eat. We meandered around town, found the Internet and the guys had drinks while Bon and I wrote home. The bartender at this place was from Bosnia. At first he seemed unfriendly but then really opened up and talked with us and about himself. We left there in search of some place to eat and ended up at a little place on the steps side of the center, in one of the pathways heading upwards. I don't remember if we were late and places were filled up or if the menus didn't look right or why we ended up at this place. By now the night air was really chilly but we did eat outside. It was a pasta and pizza place and it was okay. Didn't write down the name of the place. I find it amazing how these restaurants, that have one or two tables on the inside and maybe six or so tables lined up on the sloping walkway, manage to make enough money. Our waiter was friendly though and the area was hopping. Further up the walk was a group of young people enjoying the evening and the music on the outside portion of a bar. We have noted on all our travels to Europe, American music, especially rock and roll is prevalent everywhere. It seems universal and Croatia was no exception. The young people responded wildly to various lyrics to several of the songs that were playing, especially the techno-mix of the Mama's & Papa's singing "California Dreamin". Yelps and clapping, all were having good fun.

On our walk back home we ran in to Tom & Suellen, they were on a mission for TP. We told them to come back with us, there was TP at our place they could have. So they did. We had a nightcap with them and they were off and we went to bed. Plan for tomorrow is an excursion that boasts a "fish dinner". Cool night and snuggled under the covers, another good nights sleep.

LuvToRoam

Day trip to Cavtat, September 17, 2008
We all were a little lazy today. Originally we had thought about the fish picnic-boat trip but decided to do it later this week (we should have done it on one of these bright sunny days and not waited). Instead we took a boat down the coast a way to Cavtat. The ride was pleasant and it looked like we had plenty of time to explore the town if we wanted to.

Right near the boat landing is a nice walk way with benches and tropical looking trees in planters. We parked ourselves at a little place and had a drink. I don't know why we didn't do the Rector's Palace that was here. We sort of walked around, peeked in a few shops (all the wares here were the same that we had seen), picked up a couple of trinkets at the outdoor market and tried to locate the TI. We did find the office, but it was simply an office space and the woman there appeared tied up with someone else. There were no brochures or anything like that. We did find a large map on a wall down the road and it outlined the area. Unfortunately if we wanted to explore more of the area (Konavle and the restaurant Konavoski Dvori -which I had read some nice things about) we would need a car. We had not come in our vehicle because for one, we didn't want to lose our parking space and two, it just was too big for these narrow roads. Unless you are a party of 8 don't accept an upgrade to a van. We would have ventured out differently if we would have had something a little more reasonably sized. In Dubrovnik the parking was a huge issue. We did end up moving the van because someone left a nasty note on it. Our apartment rental (Simply Angelic Apartments) insisted we could park anywhere on the opposite side of the street we were on. I think we sort of doubted this. We wished there were better parking arrangements here. A smaller vehicle would have helped, but honestly, parking for her place was a problem.

We were sort of bummed to find out we really couldn't venture away from town on this excursion. This is probably a place that is really hopping in high season, it just didn't seem to have any umph while we were here. Maybe our expectations were too high, don't know what it was. We decided to have our lunch here though, right on the main drag and it was pretty good. After that we caught a boat back to Dubrovnik. We weaved ourselves in and around some of the back streets, popping in interesting looking shops before we headed back to our place. We stopped at the grocery store, picked up a fresh batch of goodies and then headed up to our place. Tonight we were going to have the Tischer's and Bruechner's up for a farewell drink.

This was sort of a regroup day, we did some wash when we got back, had a little personal down time and then got our little spread ready for evening on the patio. We enjoyed another simply breathtaking sunset while listening to music from the iPod. By the time our guests arrived the weather had really taken a chilly turn. We had a drink outside and then moved to our "suite". Baily's and coffee, that will warm you. Even the beer drinking boys enjoyed that. Tomorrow our friends would be taking off for Germany. Our plan for the next day is to walk the wall.

LuvToRoam

Walking Dubronik City Wall-September 18, 2008
We are quite spoiled by now. We wake to the most beautiful view in the world, accompanied by lovely piano music from next door. We have had breakfast on the patio each morning where we have been able to linger with our coffee. This is what vacation is all about. Our plan for today is to walk the wall and look in to a concert in the old city tonight.

If you are a walker then the wall is just perfect. Bon and I did get ahead of Tom and Rollie, but you just feel like you want to get in to the walk and make it worth your while. There are many places to stop and take in the view. And while the view of the old town from outside the city walls at our place is magnificent, it is indescribable when peering out from the tall walls that surround and protect the town. Up and down and around, it is a great walk. They have a poster of the war damage when you enter the city but it really isn't until you are up on the wall that you can see the extent of damage that still has not been repaired. There are plots that simply have piles of rocks, destroyed buildings that have not been rebuilt. From a distance you see the town and all the fresh tile roofs, it is a different view in some spots from the wall.

Bon and I finished the walk long before Tom and Rollie, so we sat and had a drink at the harbor area bar and watched for them to come down. We found one another in a short time. A little browsing at some of the little stands-Bon got her tiny little hand made boat here and then we went to get information on a concert for later that evening. We choose the one that was going to be held at Rector's Palace Atrium, which was right across from the church that had a wedding party celebrating yesterday. We have always run in to beautiful brides on these trips. Weddings aren't only held on the weekends here. Once we had our plans set for that evening we went searching for a place to grab a bite and found ourselves at Arka, just up from the vegetable/fruit market. Pizza and pasta here and it was very good and pleasantly served. The host (the Captain) was very cordial. All of the restaurants have someone with menus hawking their place. It is a lower season now, so everyone is vying for business from smaller crowds. Next door to this place was a small Internet shop. Unfortunately we received bad news from home today while checking email, Tom's co-worker and dear friend (they worked together for over 30 years) had passed away. Needless to say it was a shock and made us quite sad. One of those life is short moments for sure. Kathy had lived a good life but surly died way too young, she was our age. Typically we are very aware of how blessed we are and how short and fragile life is. We don't take anyone or anything for granted, at least we try not too. We would toast our friend this evening.

Our walk back had us stopping at a statue of Marin Drzic-of course pictures and the "knee rub" for good luck as well as photos on the canon just inside the entry. As we made this walk again we decided we would cab it home tonight. Walking up once a day was enough.

We walked back down later that night. We stopped at a large outdoor lounge sort of kitty-corner and down the block from the palace hosting the concert. They had just about any drink you wanted-Tom had a Pina Colada and we toasted his friend Kathy. The concert was in the atrium so was actually "outdoors". It was amazing, you walk through the doors and in to the courtyard and once they close those huge doors, no more noise from the busy city outside. This show was presented by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. The pianists were Ildous Galioulline and Goran Filipec and they performed Schubert and Schumann. We enjoyed this concert. It was a nice performance and the somewhat intimate setting added to our enjoyment.

By the time the performance was over (and it was not a real long show) it had really gotten chilly out. We walked out of the walled city and hailed a cab at the cabbie stand just outside that area. He got us home with no trouble and we all hit the sack. Tomorrow would now be our "fish picnic".

croatiantravelady

LuvToRoam:
Thank you so much for a wonderful Croatian trip report. However may I please correct one item which is an not true. While you were walking on the city walls, you did see some ruins. These ruins are not from the last war, they are part of the town prior to the 1667 earthquake which were found years prior to the 1991 war.
Dubrovnik prides itself on how quickly the war damage was repared. There are only a few motor shells on some of the walks just outside of town which are not repaired.
Thank you for spending more than just a short period of time here, as there is so much to discover about Dubrovnik.
The town has begun putting up the Christmas decorations and the very large tree in now standing in Luza square, even with all of our rain it is still lovely sight.

An American Living in Dubrovnik

Dobrodosli u Dubrovnik