Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik did not disappoint and a good job as it has been on Richard's list for many, many years.
The persistent winds of the last 4 days (up to 52km/hr yesterday) have finally abated and we have clear blue skies and seas.
We went by local bus and managed a nice scenic tour en route as we jumped on #16 instead of #10! Beautiful elevated view as we approached from a high, coastal road.
Blown away by the sheer size of the walls and the city crammed within. First stop was a coffee and get bearings on The Stradun (main street running from one end to other). Cruise ship walking tours started appearing by 0930 - thankfully only one ship in today. In July there are 70+ pulling into port and on one day alone, at least 7. That's easily more than 10,000 pax flooding this place! Nearly the whole of the walled city is given over to B&B - they are now stopping licences to curb over-tourism.
We started our day with the walk around the city walls - 3km and pretty warm. It was amazing! Never done anything like it before.
You can still see some bombing damage from the Separation war from 1991.
We were still on the walls at noon so the bell ringing from various churches was quite beautiful.
We found shade in a tiny street and enjoyed pizza, salad and cold drinks. Outdoor seating allows for 3 bistro tables(with a cigarette paper between each) across the width of the passageway plus room for single file walkers! The first place we sat down at wanted 8E ($12) for a cola!
Exploring further we wandered into a wedding! It was the beautiful singing that drew me in. The poor couple and guests had all these hangers-on!! We quietly left and found the correct entrance for the Franciscan monastery and beautiful, serene cloisters.
By this time we decided to head home by bus.
Just over an hour later we were on the beach and I was cooling off in the water. Perfect end to a fascinating day.Read more