June 25, 2009 – Day 182 – Dubrovnik, Croatia

Feeling well rested and happy to have found such a great place to stay, we woke up early and walked back into the old town, about 20 minutes from our apartment. We easily found a cheap bakery for breakfast and enjoyed our pastries in the courtyard just outside the city walls looking down at the clear turquoise water below.

The blue sea

But the view from the courtyard is not nearly as spectacular as the one from the railing of the city walls. The sun glitters on the Adriatic sea, giant black rocks rise from the depths, sea gulls flap overhead and sailboats roll in and out of the busy harbor.

The harbor

The sun is bright but it is only about 75 degrees today with a soft breeze coming off the water, a perfect day with clear blue skies. The old town inside the walls is swimming with tourists breezing in and out of gift shops and restaurants, tour guides yelling into their microphones, and local children riding their bikes, expertly weaving through the crowds. Even all the people and noise do nothing to diminish the beauty and fantasy of how this old town must have been so many years ago.

The backstreets

The bakeries, the fruit and vegetable stands, the scattered pigeons, old ladies selling lace—it seems like it could be any year, but certainly not 2009, the age of particle colliders and eco-friendly cookware. The streets are narrow and lined with stone walls and walkways, potted plants with bright flowers rest in picturesque window sills and balconies and we jostle our way all around the top of the city walls admiring the sea, the harbour and the city below.

Guard house on the wall

The city below

Having spent a wonderful day milling around the old city, we made our way back toward the apartment to change into swimming clothes. When we arrived at the beach just 10 minutes from our room, the water was ice cold but that did nothing to dissuade Saben and so many others from plunging in for a chilly swim!

Above the beach

It was crowded and rather small but still a nice (pebble) beach with facilities at the bottom of the high cliffs of town. A lovely day in all!