Dubrovnik, Pearl of the Adriatic, Part 1

Early Monday morning (6/14/2010), my parents & I started our mini-vacation inside our vacation. We flew from Zagreb to Dubrovnik in about 50 minutes, a big difference considering it would take 9+ hours by car.

The historical, coastal city of Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic, is located on the Adriatic sea on the southern tip of Croatia. It is a popular destination frequented by European & Asian vacationers (especially Italians) & cruise-loads of Mediterranean tourists. In the Middle Ages, the port city of Dubrovnik known by its Italian name as the Republic of Ragusa became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice in wealth & diplomacy.

The entire town is covered with all colors of oleanders & magnolias.

First sight of Dubrovnik’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our apartment for the week. Thank you, Tonka, for helping us arrange to stay at this amazing place. Apartment Mika, check it out!

View from our balcony

Classy spiral staircase to the bedroom downstairs

After a quick sandwich lunch, Tata & I set out to find & explore the two nearby beaches.

Across the street at Hotel Libertas

A somewhat hard to access, but extremely close beach (more like immediate entrance) into the gorgeous Adriatic sea.

Walking a little further on a narrow path, we reached the stairs down to a nearby LARGE-pebble beach of Hotel Dubrovnik Bellevue and the accompanying public beach.

We returned, changed into our bathing suits, & jumped into the Adriatic which, praise God, was the perfect temperature all week long.

A view of the Bellevue beach from the steet above.

We had a 24 hour pekarnica (bakery) right down the street to satisfy our cravings

Here is a map of Dubrovnik. Our apartment was really close to the old, historical town, but a cheap bus ride was worth it especially in the heat of the day or at night.

War Memorials

Gradska vrata Pile (The Pile Gate)

Crkva svetog Spasa (Church of St. Saviour)

Placa Stradun, the usually crowded, beautiful main street of the old town. Be careful not to slip on the smooth worn cobblestone road.

Every street off of Stradun was a little alleyway home to cafes, shops, & restaurants for both tourists & locals.

Franjevački samostan-muzej (Franciscan Monastery-Museum)

Crkva sv. Vlaha (St. Blaise Church) i Orlandov stup (Orlando’s Column)

If you look closely in this bell tower, there is a statue that moves & strikes the bell every hour.

Katedrala riznica (Cathedral Treasury)

What wonderful balcony to have & view of all of the happenings in Gundulićeva poljana (Gundulić’s Square).

I love the little basketball goal!

Starving, we ate 2 orders of delcious fried fish at Buffet Kamenice (not an American buffet), a restaurant in the square.

One of the several refreshing water fountains around the city.

Popped collars are for some reason encouraged…

Mama found this wonderful little creperie, Pancakes Caffe, across from the orthodox church one block over from Stradun. Why was it so wonderful? For 10 kunas (about the price of 1 scoop of ice cream), one can savor a fresh palačinka s čokoladom i orasima (crepe with chocolate & ground walnuts). Mmmm.

Around 9pm, we headed back to our place exhausted. At night, the old town is still very much alive at many times featuring concerts & live performances.

Stay tuned for Tuesday’s shenanigans of wall climbing & more old town exploration.

UPDATE: Tuesday, Part 2

Can’t wait for the story behind the photos or want a sneak peek, view the set on Flickr here.