Aug 21 - The Wedding and the Wall

Highlights

Just, The Wall

New friends: Sharen and Claire from the UK

Pirate dinner

Drinks which cost more than any meal I’ve eaten

Learnings

I thought I knew what sweating was

Dubrovnik IS much more expensive

Sorry American Girls - I think I’ll stop having Gelato for now - but in Italy, I promise to try again.

The alarm goes at 730 and the wall opens at 830. Big nope for me getting up - snoozed until 9 actually. Mistake? Not sure - it’s already over 30 degrees at 8 in the morning and apparently crowds can happen but - when don’t they? Sleep is important I decide and with not much else planned I figure, I have all day.

I’ve been warned of the stairs here so I gear up for the day in some super duper active attire. Pack up my shoulder bag and head to the wall! Easy right? Well kind of - not really. There are only a few entrances since you pay to be on it and my friend last night kind of told me where the nearest one was so I walked that direction... found myself outside the wall and at a cafe so I took advantage and again - with no rush for any reason - took some time.

I went to walk in and was ambushed slightly by an American woman wanting a photo of herself on the bridge. I apparently look like I speak English - and apparently also look like a photographer... so I take a few shots for her and then she tells me that she came to get the photo and one last pastry from the best bakery in town and that I HAVE to try these chocolate croissants. I figured I would come back for one - but they were selling fast so I grabbed one for later on. Ok back to my mission, I walk in and after a couple turns and some assistance I find the entrance, it’s only a doorway in this alley so easy to miss.

I spent almost 3 hours walking around and I have to say it was by far one of the highlights on my trip. Just breathtaking. Also, hot as hell. I can’t even explain how happy I was to be wearing hiking shorts and a swim suit with a tank top - I was literally soaked from sweating - too much information? Lol well it was reality not just for me but pretty much every single

person. Every turn of the wall that might provide a sliver of shade was occupied. I also found that the section I started at definitely had the most rigorous stretch. If you think of it as a circle - this quarter was rough but the rest was quite moderate. I got to about half way and found a beautiful cafe and decided I needed a break. Beer was choice of the thirsty traveller (me) and I hung out for a bit.

Stumbling along, dodging stopped tourists, taking pictures for some, did I mention the path was mostly less than 4 feet wide? Fairy narrow which adds to the awe of it when you’re looking out on to the water or down into the streets below. One little stretch I get to i find a woman creating traditional stitch which I recognized from my mothers grandmothers we had in our family home and that I now have. I think that’s right - mom text me if not and I’ll fix that.

We chatted for a bit about her craft which is now protected by UNESCO since there are so few who still know the skill. I may or may not have picked a few gifts from her and she said I should go into the gallery just next to us (I was dripping sweat and she said I was nice in there but also knowing my art back ground she thought I might enjoy it. She said you’re so nice most times the gallery woman tells people it cost money but that’s because they don’t even say hello - if you greet her she will let you in no problem.

So, of course I went. I had a nice conversation with her actually and spoke about how the gallery has a permanent collection but part of it is actually the original artists studio room which is preserved with all his things so, they have decided to simply leave his collection up for the time being. It was amazing. Great little find.

From here I was now over 3/4 around and the last quarter was around the pier that I was going to later, so I scoped it out a little. One thing I was looking for upon recommendation from Richard was a ‘cave bar’. So two fun stories about this - one I went back to the sea side cliffs where bars were indeed carved into the cliff below the wall and people were jumping out into the water (I wish I had brought my towel...) second part is where I took ‘cave’ literal and googled bar in cave finding there was an actual bar in a cave but it was not in old town (aka not in the walls). I knew Richard had been in Croatia for awhile so maybe this other bar was the one he meant... when he told me about it I imagined it being a dark place with water lapping at your feet. So I made aim to hit this cave another day (about 10 mins from the ferry area but 40 ish from old town).

After my cliff beer I made my way back into the city debating where I could have a bite. I saw a restaurant that was advertised on the ferry from Split and thought well, could be alright? It very much was since my new favorite food was on the menu - Burrata - thanks Caitlyn! It was dream worthy. Also it was getting to be close to 4 and I had arranged a fun event for dinner which started at 7. Knowing I needed a shower desperately I started making my way back to my little hostel - on the way finding an amazing artist studio where I bought my second favorite item from the trip.

A shower - chat with the hostel host - and a short walk later I was standing at the pier ready to catch my boat! Yes, I signed up for dinner on a replica pirate ship where you were given champagne upon boarding - a trip around Dubrovnik and dinner and wine. When I saw this little adventure I thought well this will be good to have a little buffet of food so I can sample a few things instead of getting a huge dish somewhere that I can’t finish. I got a prime spot on board and ended up chatting with two women standing next to me - introducing Sharon and her daughter Claire. We ended up spending the whole night together. Dinner on the boat and then drinks afterward at this lovely live jazz spot they had discovered where they also introduced me to espresso martinis. This was soooo good. We chatted and laughed and talked about everything under the sun. As midnight was approaching I said we should perhaps call it a night and from there we shared our information (Claire thought she might join me at cave bar) and parted ways.

I returned to the hostel to find a new crew in the room. Two girls travelling back to the US in the morning and a gentleman from Australia who had been travelling for the last year... said that Croatia was one of his favorite places out of all his travels, which made me happy I finally was on this journey.