Catherine loves painting and photography as well as the great outdoors. Cycling, kayaking, pack-rafting and hiking are favourite activities as well as scuba diving when the location permits. A self confessed geek, she’s the reason details are included in our stories!
First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.
Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.
Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.
The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800sTeam photo in the square down by the waterGordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guideStarting our visit beside the old town walls
The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.
The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.
As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.
The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls
The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!
The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806
There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.
We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.
Coffee and a snack for some of the gangPlenty of steps to climb upMr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and moreEvery street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidaysOld cart wheels put to use
Looking out towards the ‘new’ town Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the sceneryA heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!
Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.
A water break at Kneza
We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.
Vela Luka as the sun setsSunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinnerLooking back towards the harbourThe town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!
We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.
Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.
Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.
The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800sTeam photo in the square down by the waterGordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guideStarting our visit beside the old town walls
The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.
The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.
As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.
The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls
The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!
The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806
There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.
We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.
Coffee and a snack for some of the gangPlenty of steps to climb upMr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and moreEvery street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidaysOld cart wheels put to use
Looking out towards the ‘new’ town Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the sceneryA heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!
Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.
A water break at Kneza
We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.
Vela Luka as the sun setsSunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinnerLooking back towards the harbourThe town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!
We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the cityThe streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8amWe learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and TomMr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his earsThe little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990sThe tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visitingOwen and Nic admire the viewsViews out across the viaduct into ‘new’ DubrovnikLooking across the city from the highest point on the wallsStarting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without peopleBy 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the waterBeautiful colours along the coastCrystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the waterCrystal clear water in the cavesComing around the southern most point of the islandBack around to the little port where we started our tour this morningAnd finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pmIt’s like being in an airplaneTable 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & OwenTable 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, AntonBirthday boyAmy and Tim bathed in sunshineTom enjoying his prime seatLooking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrowThe sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & HerzegovinaSurprise birthday cake for OEThe city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
