Dubrovnik, Croatia

What a pleasant surprise! We passed town after town with white stucco houses topped with colorful red tiled roofs. The cottages looked as if they had been sprinkled down the lush green mountainsides. I wasn’t expecting this, even though some people said the Dalmatian Coast was one of the most picturesque coasts in the whole area. Their brochures call the Croatian coast the “Pearl of the Adriatic”. I thought, yeah, probably about like the places in Asia that called themselves the “Venice of the East”. We decided on a trip to Cavtat, a seaside resort popular with the yachting crowd. It was absolutely lovely. England’s Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson chose to spend their honeymoon here. I can see why. It has some exceptionally appealing scenery - but then I am a sucker for cliffs and crystal clear water. By lunch time Jim and I were talking about the possibility of coming back sometime and renting a place for a month. We soon found that we were not the only ones to “discover” this place. The Sultan of Oman is vacationing here in his, third largest yacht in the world. (Pictured above). The one beside it is his too – notice it has two helicopters aboard, among other niceties. He paid for them to clear out one whole floor of the hospital in case anyone in his party needed care. He rented 80 rooms in 5 star hotels for the friends and family traveling with him, while he roughed it onboard his yacht. I was amazed to hear that Dubrovnik also had 90 flights a day into this little place! Maybe I am the only one that didn’t know what a little gem this place was. Anyway, from there we went to a charming old mill. They offered fig and brandy tasting. I did more tasting of the brandy than the figs - although the sugared almonds and orange rinds were yummy. It was a beautiful area to wander around with its miles of aqueducts that were built by the Greeks over 2000 years ago. Then onward to the walled city. As we were driving back, someone asked why they had a checker board on Croatia‘s flag. It turns out that the Tatars wanted to go to war to gain Croatia. The King of Croatia suggested that instead of killing people, why didn’t they play a game of chess and the winner got the country. He won and retained the country without a battle. I sure wish our politicians today could come up with a less bloody way to resolve conflicts! Then we hit old Dubrovnik. It had white marble walls surrounding the city that contrasted beautifully with the blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. This small, old-fashioned city has a maze of cobblestoned streets within its 13th century walls. You can actually walk on top of the walls if you feel up to a 1.2 mile stroll. Chicken feed compared to some of the hikes we have taken lately. However, we decided not to walk the wall, instead we had lunch and a beer at a little sidewalk café. It was fun to eat, people watch and be serenaded by a trio playing classical music. The whole city had a festival feel. The day was cool and sunny and after lunch we ambled around the city then toured the Cathedral. I had low to no expectations for this port. I thought maybe it was basically just a refueling stop. Instead it turned out to be one of the most delightfully picturesque stops we have made since leaving the South Pacific!