Today we headed into the old town of Dubrovnik after first walking a steep hill down to the Lapad beach. The beach was quite crowded but the sea was just as clear but I missed our beach at Lumbarda!
We walked back up the hill to find the bus stop that Baldo had told us about yesterday and managed to find it and to buy the tickets from the separate booth. The apartment is meant to be a 35 minute walk from the old town but I think that would be pushing it (nearer to 50 minutes!). The bus was crowded and took half an hour until we arrive at Pile Gate to the old city. It was very busy.
We walked the narrow streets of the old city and it really is an attractive place. Despite the crowds we managed to find quieter areas and wandered around the old harbour. It was far too hot to attempt the city walls so we planned to tackle them much later in the day. We Googled scenes from Game of Thrones whilst we walked and met a couple of women from the UK enjoying the shade who also have never watched G.O.T!
For lunch we found a little restaurant near the Jesuit church and enjoyed another good risotto and a ‘deconstructed tiramisu’ - the waiters words not mine. Later I also visited the War Photography exhibition which was very interesting and shed more light on the war in the mid 1990’s in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia.
We were flagging at this point and the heat was tiring. We walked back to the old Port and found a bench in the shade and ‘rested’ there for an hour or so. When it was 5.30 the light was so much softer and there was a little cloud as well. We finally headed back to where we had entered to tackle the city walls. At this time the crowds had thinned a little and after a very steep flight of steps we were on the city walls. For logistical reasons everyone has to walk anti-clockwise and this works well. The views were spectacular and the shade of red roofs of the houses indicate which had been damaged during the recent conflicts.
There were a few small cafes with shade as we walked around but with the breeze and light cloud we didn’t need to stop. We kept going and achieved walking around the entire city and up the various towers on route. Old Dubrovnik really is an impressive city.
We were pretty tired and with a good footstep count we dropped by Tommy supermarket on our way back from the bus stop to pick up some boquerones and salad for a light dinner. A good day.
