riakaruda

Travelling and eating my way around the world

Tag Archives: Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Pics

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This gallery contains 16 photos


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An ungodly hour…

I have a personal rule of never waking up before 6am for any reason. So I have NO idea what I was thinking when I booked my early-morning ticket from Dubrovnik to Paris. I had two options for buses: 4:55 or 6:00 (arrival 30 min later). I planned on taking the 6am just for the extra sleep, but then decided to catch the earlier one, just in case. I ran up the stairs of the city to find my bus stop, worried I’d be late. The arrival time came and went, then a taxi stopped and offered the same price to the airport prividing he took a full car. Seeing as there was no bus in sight, four of us quickly agreed to those terms, and we hopped in. I watched the directions like a hawk to make sure we were REALLY heading to the airport 😉
Turned out it was a good thing I choose the earlier time because my flight was at 6:20, not 7:20! They had us board a bus to take us to the airplane, which literally lasted 1 min. Why we didn’t walk is beyond me, but whatever. Maybe it’s a make-work project.
My next concern was my 45 min connection at Zagreb, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. After getting off the plane, going through a passport check, visiting the ladies room, and finding my gate, I still had 30 of my 45min connection left!
After being in such tiny airports, I was overwhelmed when I got off the plane at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. And then trying to figure out the transit system almost made me want to turn right back around. After coming around full-circle twice, I managed to get myself on the right train heading the right direction. I found my station and my airbnb house. It was a little awkward at first as she knew little English and my French was more than a little rusty. Managed to get things figured out, then went outside to wait for Cameron, an old coworker, to arrive. I had to change where I was waiting / standing, though, when I realised I was getting the evil eye from a few other “ladies” also standing on the street. Cameron arrived shortly after that, and off we went. We caught up over a leisurely lunch, then walked down to Notre Dame. He left to catch his train back home, and i set out on my new adventure. I went to the Luxembourg Gardens and the Latin Quarter. Of course I had to have a crepe for dinner – Nutella banana. I walked back to my place, and headed to bed by 10pm. it was a litle awkward because their place was small, especially for a family of four, and I’m pretty sure I had the couple’s bedroom. oh well. I paid good money for it, and I’d had a very long and tiring day, so I popped in my earplugs and hit the sack at 10pm.


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And we’re back!

Sorry folks! I had the post all ready to go and then it deleted part, so I had to re-write. But you’re in luck! I have a hat-trick of posts for you today 🙂 enjoy!

Apr 22
Met my guide, Niksa (nik-sha), and the other 5 people in my group and off we went, in the direction of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I’ll admit I’m apparently ignorant because I hadn’t heard of Herzegovina before, nor did I know that it was a joint country with Bosnia. We crossed the border into Bosnia & Herzegovina, drove 20 km, crossed back into Croatia, then about 45 min later, back into Bosnia & Herzegovina. ** We only had to show our passports at the last “real” border, but sadly they did not stamp my passport! (C’mon people, I paid a lot of money for this – at least gimme a stamp!)
when we arrived in Mostar, we had a local university student take us on a walking tour around Old Town and over Old Bridge (made of marble?). During the Homeland War, this bridge was bombed and destroyed, but several years later they restored it to its original state. Sadly, many other buildings have still not been restored, and the juxtaposition of them beside newer construction is somewhat eerie.
Our group wandered the main street, listening to traditional music (Whitney Houston’s I wanna dance with somebody) and finally settled on our restaurant. We ordered the traditional plate, which had lots of stuff on it, ALL of which was delicious! I bought my fridge magnet, postcards and some earrings, then hurriedly wrote my postcard so I could send it. Unfortunately, the post office was the only place that wouldn’t take credit card, Euros or Kunas (only Konvertible Marks) so I had to wait to mail the postcard when I returned to Croatia 😦
Crossing the border on the way back took a little longer, yet still no stamp! We stopped briefly at the little town, long enough for Yoshi and I to buy a cup of Turkish coffee (for 1 euro!) . Continued the drive back to the city in heavy rain.
Once back, I joined some hostelers for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The torrential downpour began again as we were eating, but let up slightly so we headed out, only to be caught in the deluge minutes later! The water was actually causing waterfalls to cascade down the city stairs, and in the 4 min it took me to get to the hostel, I was drenched! I changed into my pjs, laid out my wet clothes to dry, packed my bags and went to sleep.

** Dubrovnik was a very wealthy city, and historically paid for their safety. When the Ottoman Empire was coming through, Dubrovnik negotiated their continued independence /safety by giving the Empire 20km of coastline about 300 years ago.


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Two for one

Apr 20
It only took half a day in Dubrovnik for me to slow down and embrace the laid back atmosphere the Croatians had to offer. As a result, I woke up late, leisurely ate my (free) breakfast, and then realised I was too late to catch the walking tour at 11am. No matter. Obviously I was meant to go to the rocks / beach! I joined my new Irish friends there until 12:30 (when my very white self could no longer manage the heat) after which I returned to the cool of the stone hostel for a bite to eat and rest from the sun. The girls left for Montenegro, and I walked around town, taking pictures. Along the way, I found the supermarket (although for its size, it can barely be called super) and bought some groceries. I also bought a gelato – After Eight flavour. I’m hooked! Spent the evening with others at the hostel and blogged & showed you pictures 🙂
Apr 21
Caught the walking tour this time (with 1 min to spare!) Our tour guide told is all about the ancient and recent history if the town. She was 8 when the Homeland War started, and they fled to Old Town because they thought they’d be safe there, seeing as its a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sadly, they were wrong, and they were under seige tjere for 3.5 months. However, because of UNESCO and other donations, the damage is not immediately obvious. The easiest indicators are the terra cotta roofs: the bright orange ones are new, the faded ones are original. The devastation was more apparent when I walked the city wall. In the 2hrs it took me (in the sunny heat) I saw gorgeous views but also some buildings that had never been restored. It hit home for me as the Homeland War was the first war I remember actually happening as “real” for me. Yet the scenery was still stunning, even in disarray.
After taking TONS of pictures and buying some local artwork, I headed back to the coolness of the hostel again, ate, blogged, and skyped mom & mikayla. Out for my daily gelato – Cookies flavour, then tried to walk to the beach, but it was blocked for movie (Game of Thrones? Or Dwayne Johnson‘s new flick?) So instead I sat by the dock, finished my gelato, then hung out for evening. I had planned to kayak the next day, but it was calling for rain, so I changed plans to a day trip to Mostar, in Bosnia & Herzegovina.


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Here’s hoping it works

** this blog was written while waiting in line for the Eiffel Tower.
Arrived at Gatwick, bought some food from Marks & Spencer (the only thing open) and “checked in” for the evening. i had 4 lovely benches to myself – oh, the luxury. i ate my food, then went to sleep (if u can call it that) but between the bright lights and constant arrivals of more people, i finally gave up at 4:30 and just got up. I’m amazed at how busy that airport is at 3am!! I brushed teeth and hair, attempting to look less homeless, and then checked in for my flight. After going through security, I found s new bench and slept until 6:45, when they posted by departure gate.
It was nice to be on real plane again (as opposed to Ryanair & Easyjet). I felt civilized again.
Touched down in Dubrovnik and caught a shuttle bus for 35 kn. when anyone asked how much, the guy said with a straight face “1000Euros” no one even batted an eye! Hahaha
Arrived at Pile Gate (pronounced pea-leh) which is the main gate for Old Town. Wow! It was amazing. I can see why it’s called the Pearl of the Adriatic. It’s opulent past was obvious from the marble streets! I almost felt bad walking on them in my dusty shoes.
I walked down Stradun, the main street, and turned onto one of several side streets that head up the hill. Still marble. Found my hostel, which had been kept I the traditional style of the building, with MORE marble and travertine on the inside, and exposed rock walls as well.
Met a couple of girls from Ireland who were on their way out to sit in the sun and invited me along. We walked around the outside of the city wall, found some flat rocks and soaked up the sun for a few hours. After having so many go-go-go days, it was fabulous. We then walked a “short distance” to a beach Denise had heard about (and turned out to be 45min each way) and sat at that beach for another hour. Walked back to Old Town, had dinner, hung out and went to bed.