Dubrovnik

Here I am FINALLY in a place with air conditioning.  It's a tiny Internet cafe with nobody in  apart from an 11 year old boy on a computer game and a few Croatian men chatting and drinking coffee in the back.    Dubrovnik is great, fabulous, beautiful and full of HEAT and STEPS.  The last two days have been a serious workout on hardly any sleep and to be honest I feel OK. Sweating like a pig in in 30 degree heat whilst I go upand down steps is not as bad as it sounds.I quite like it in a weird way.I sure have walked and walked. 

I started with my lovely taxi drive in from the airport.  The guy had no idea whiere I was living but after lots of stopping we got there and YES...my house is only accessible by STEPS so I had to lug my bag in my winter Brit clothes up a hill.  No worries because the lady was there with coffee and cake for me and she overloaded me with maps and bus timetables and information. As I hadn't slept really all night I was a bit knackered but stayed chatting with her for an hour or so and then showered and  lay down for a few hours  until about 1pm.  then I decided to start my holiday.

Off I went into the city.  I decided to walk and went high along the sea front.  it took about 20 mins to the Old Ciy and I instantly went upto walk the city walls...(the finest in Europe they say in the brochures, and I have to agree!)

My  walk from my house to the centre.

Posing seagull on the walls

View over the roofs of the Old Town from the walls.   2 in 3 of these roofs were hit by shells in the war and the refurbishment is outstanding.

On the walls. taken by a Portuguese woman on a cruise around the Med. Cruise boat tourism  dominates the Old Town from 10am to 5pm every day.

Orthodox and Catholic spires (I think) and a yellow parachute.

View over an interesting cafe garden with it's own personal guillotine...is that for people who don't pay up?

I love a good tower.

I then clambered down off the walls in a state of body shock.  I think it was probably about 30 degrees up there with no wind.  It's the lack of wind that is so surprising...but hey it's to be expected that;s what keeps this beautiful sea looking like a pond.

I then wandered around the Old City for ages getting lost and nipping into places.  It's interesting how many Scottish families are here.  I've found out they are on school holiday alreadys and getting their summer holidays in earlier.  Good idea!

That evening I checked my guide book and decided to go and eat in a restaurant in a square that was a throw back to old communist times in what the waiters wore...yeah, they all looked a bit drab and functional. The food was also meant to be great too.  So I ordered a mussel rissotto and settled in for the evening.  then a woman sat down opposite me.  It was Pauline.  A woman who used to work at Lake School over the summer months.  It was really funny and me her and her friend got chatting most of the evening.  What a crazy coincidence to meet someone on holiday from work eating at the next table.

Today I have been to the beach just for a couple of hours.  It really is too hot and I can't bare the thought of sunburn.  Tomorrow I'm going to hit the beach early before 9am (I hope) There isn't any shade. This one is less than 10 mins from my house and one of the best in Dubrovnik.Again loads of steps.

My local beach.

It's pebbly but I don't mind.it doesn't get in your bag/camera ..or your ears!

View from ramparts of some museum I was in earlier.

 Man with double bass at my restaurant this evening.

About midday I decided to get on a bus as they have air conditioning and I went up and away to another part of Dubrovnik.  I went to the resort area of the city.  I found out that these resorts were all built in the Communist times and all based on what they were like in Spain at the time.  Yugoslavia wanted Western tourism and money but on an isolation and quarantine basis.   (Oh, by by the way I found out today that Dubrovnik was the first city in the world in the 14th century to bring in quarantine procedures and also that they had the most relaxed jails and prison terms of any European city.)

I liked it up there. Again FULL of Scots.  Lucky buggers being able to bring their families away at this time of year.

Haven't found any decent jewellery yet...all either a bit Balkan's Joan Collins for me or the other extreme of Balkan super- hippy.  In fact to be honest, it's only two days but I haven't found anything that's caught my eye yet.  early days..but I'd like to leave Dubrovnik with something.