Dubrovnik - And the European Adventure Begins...

So, after a change of plans as to when my arrival in Europe would be, I finally arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  It was an early morning flight from London and I arrived to clear blue skies, and a warm 29ºC. (about 84ºF for those of you not jiggy with the metric system...)  My first thoughts were along the lines of... NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!!

I got picked up my hotel and found out there had been a double booking... so their neighbour's friend was out of town for the week and they were going to have me stay in the one bedroom apartment instead, "Would you be okay with that?"  My first thoughts were its location and if it would be clean, but then I thought this is what adventures are about.  So I just said, "Yes".

The balcony up was my crib for Dubrovnik

And from that balcony as the sun was setting...

I ventured into "Old Town" and checked out the streets that are inside the city walls.  It wasn't fairly crowded, but I was told the place gets emptier as low season approaches... I'd hate to see it in July...  Some highlights for me in the old town was mainly just the architecture... Here were a couple of my fave scenes...

Little side streets... and all made from marble stone

I can't remember the name or significance, but I liked it.

The bell tower... very clever how it looks like the people are ringing the bells..

The absolute best part for me though, was walking the City Walls...  It was later afternoon and wasn't too hot, and my imagination was running wild with what life must have been like in the 13th Century when the city was pretty much as it is today...  It's pretty cool...

The walls overlooking the Adriatic Sea (about 25m high)

The walls don't need to be too high when they are that far from the water...
But you'd still have to be an idiot to fall as they aren't really that low either...

Overlooking the wall to the city and seeing steps to the Franciscan Monastery

The highest point overlooking Old Town.  All that you can see (except the island, obviously) is within the city walls.
The different colour roof tiles are to show what had to be rebuilt after the 1991-1995 war... It was fairly devastated, but quickly rebuilt.

All this and it was still not the best thing about Dubrovnik... for me, anyway. The next day I went on an Elaphite Island Cruise.  There are many islands in this archipelago, but only three that are permanently inhabited, and these are the ones I visited.  Kolocep, Sipan and Lopud.  In all honesty, there wasn't much on these islands, but I had made some friends on the boat and we kept each other company during the day.  It definitely made the day that much more enjoyable.  

Here are a couple of pics from Kolocep:

I managed to get up close and personal with some butterflies 

This church dates back to 925AD

And from Sipon:

We think this old building looks quite authentic with the motorbike out front

The view from the harbour - The water was so fantastically clear

As part of the cruise we had a "fish picnic" - ie. a meal on board the boat.  I went for the fish... and as you can see they brought out the whole fish... I managed to eat it quite easily through all the bones... as the photos tell... there is an art to it, but I seem to have it down..

The fish was delicious

As you can tell by my clean demolition of it

Our last stop was to Lopud... we had a couple of hours here and were able to get to the Monastery and Botanic Gardens before hitting the beach... I wouldn't say it was a waste of time, as I had some great company, but I'm not sure if they were quite up to par.

A cute little cherub in the gardens

One of the funky trees from the Botanic Garden

A view of the monastery - we weren't allowed to take photos inside... bummer.

We then hiked to the other side of the island - and I do mean hike - to get to the infamous sandy beach.  Upon our arrival we got straight into the water... one word... AMAZING!  It was just what we all needed after the supposed "20 minutes" to get there...  and it was sooooo nice to get the golf buggy back afterwards.... :)

A view of the sandy beach 

As we headed back to Dubrovnik we started to see the beginnings of a beautiful sunset.  I have been amazed each day at the vibrant colours that have come out...

The start of the sunset

The colours were stunning

 It was a great day... made that much more enjoyable by making new friends in Geri, Kim and Tim.  I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say it could have turned out so differently if we had not hung out with each other.  Thank you, guys!

My three new friends - Kim, Geri & Tim

 Lastly, you know when you meet some people and they seem a little like your crazy old neighbour, or crazy old grandma??  Well, I was fortunate enough to sit next to one on the boat ride back to Dubrovnik.  Her name was Madge... "well, I was born Margaret, but everyone calls me Madge.. and always has, so you better call me Madge"  - my response... "Um... ok... Hi, Madge."  Her random commentary (like telling Tim his accent sounded like a "delusional American"- whatever that means) was quite hysterical and I feel a little bad that she didn't seem to realize the laughter around her was sometimes at her expense.  She meant well though...  And I'll be honest when I say I have a little soft spot for her after that last hour together...

This crazy lady with a good heart was Madge

Overall, I had a fab time in Dubrovnik and would definitely come back.. my recommendation is that you come here too if and when you can.