Walking the Walls of Dubrovnik

We really tried. We meant to get out of our apartment and up on the walls close to 8 am when they opened. Our guidebook warned against being up there in the middle of the day without water, and we took heed. We ended up starting off by 8:40 am, not bad, but even then, with all the narrow stone steps up and down and lack of shade, it was quite an endeavor. It was, of course, worth it, for the great views of the old town and the little glimpses we got into regular life as we walked.


Dubrovnik, "The Pearl of the Adriatic", is perched right on the edge of the sea and very popular for cruise ship travelers, which are easily identifiable by the stickers they wear as they walk through town with their tour guides. This place has always been a key tourist area, which is why some say the Yugoslav forces chose to attack it during the conflict years - here known as The Homeland War. This cross and communications tower on the hill above town were among the first targets of bombing back in 1990-1 (sorry, I know it's hard to see the cross):


And all over town there are reminders that the shelling destroyed or damaged nearly two-thirds of the buildings:


But the town has been completely rebuilt, using the same materials and the same methods, and we can attest to the fact that tourism is quite healthy. I came across this tourist today up on the wall, we'll call her by her middle name, Kimiko.


Here she is, poking out of a little guard tower:


And I later spied her rejoining her tour group:


We did enjoy the walk, despite the heat. I poked my head out too:


And we got some other shots of whatever struck our fancy...



After we climbed back down into town, the full force of the heat struck us both, but I guess it's most evident in my face in this picture:


And thank goodness for the cool water from the town fountain as well:


We went into a little monastery to look at its cloister (there's something so peaceful about cloisters) and it's ancient pharmacy. There was a poster on the wall showing several famous visiting dignitaries...it was romantic somehow to think of Jackie Kennedy being here, but somewhat less so to think of Dick Cheney.




Time for a looong siesta back in the apartment, then we did some shopping for gifts, which we hadn't done yet this trip. We were very fortunate to meet an extremely kind man, Boris, in his little shop, who makes silver jewelry as his father and grandfather did before him. We both bought some little silver filigree earrings and a few other things in the very typical style we'd seen everywhere here. After we made our purchases, Boris shyly gave us a copy of an article showing his picture and an interview with him about being a member of a dying trade. Meeting him was a highlight of our day.

Dinner was at a local vegetarian restaurant, Nishta. Its name translates to "nothing" since apparently locals couldn't understand what you'd serve at a place that didn't offer meat. We both had cold, delicious gazpacho and I had falafel - some of the best I've ever had. The small purple hippo on the table made us laugh.


We leave tomorrow to drive back north - one last shot showing how I spend at least part of each evening...the old town has free wi-fi everywhere so last night I blogged at the cafe downstairs on the square. Lovely.