Monday, June 11, 2012

Europe Day 11, 12 and 13: Dubrovnik

After a leisurely 4 hr and 15 min, 223 km drive along the Croatian coast, we finally arrived in Dubrovnik.
From what my wife learnt from reading the LPTG, we were able to get an apartment right outside the old city and right in front of the cable car station. The guy we rented the apartment from, for a 130 euros for 2 nights through a travel agency in town, was named Milan, who turned out to be really nice and we spent quite a bit of time with him sitting on the balcony and chatting about life in Croatia.




After we got settled, we took a stroll through the old city a night...











The next day we took the cable car, which happened to be conveniently located right outside our door,




... up the mountain for to see what there was to see.











.
We saw some ruins in the distance and decided to take a walk for a closer look,





...  forgetting that things in the distance, usually look a lot closer then they really are. 







It was an interesting walk with lots to see, and thankfully my wife wore her hiking shoes.


After a quick lunch,



it was off to walk the 2.9 km wall surrounding the old city, 













... and then to explore the rest of Dubrovnik.












The next day we tried our hand at kayaking in the Adriatic Sea...






... as well as swimming in it too.







I think it's safe to say that this was my wife's favorite destination on the trip, and I have to admit, I loved it as well. It was charming, very friendly, and everyone it seemed spoke English. Everything was cheap and it was very clean and safe, with everything you needed within easy walking distance or a short bus trip on public transit which was very cheap and easy to use. We would both highly recommend Dubrovnik.
The only problem we had in Dubrovnik came when it was time to pay for parking. We had left the car in a garage for 2 days and when we went to pay, we learned that we when you leave a car longer then 24 hours you need to prepay which we didn't do. So instead of paying $50 for parking it ended up being $100. Whatever, the car was still there, safe and sound and free of scratches; a small price to pay for a little inattention on our part.
Then it was off to the harbour in the new city to catch the 10 pm overnight ferry to Bari, Italy.






There was no casino and my wife was right, 2 pull out bunk beds. Cost of the ferry to Bari was 325 euros.

No comments: