Dubrovnik, Croatia

Let me start by saying this, if you haven't been to Croatia add it to your list of places to visit immediately and put it near the top!  I have been to a lot of places in my life and enjoyed the vast majority of them, but Croatia takes a top spot on my "favorite places" list and ranks as one of the few places I would go back to, even before I knock some other places off my list.

After parting ways with Jason and Frank in Nice, Sue and I flew to Dubrovnik.  We arrived late at night, picked up our rental car and began the short journey to our hotel.  This may sound like a fairly simple task to complete for two educated women, but think again.  The first thing we learned about our beloved Croats is that they don't value the presence of street signs.  In fact, Sue and I have uncovered several million dollar ideas - number 1: Move to Croatia and open a sign making business.  We could make a killing.  After driving around in circles for about 45 minutes in the pitch black, we decided our best bet was to go to the Hilton and ask for directions to the the Hotel Lapad.  (I know, it sound like we are lame American tourists.  Don't judge.  You have no idea what it is like to drive a manual Fiat around an ancient city with no street signs in the dark!)  The valet at the Hilton gave us what seemed like clear-cut directions to the Hotel Lapad and told us it was simple.  HA!  Million dollar idea number 2: Move to Croatia and open a booth in the airport or the old city giving directions that actually help people get where they want to go.  I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that an appropriate set of directions would have included the following statement, "Go all the way to the end of this street until you are face-to-face to the Marina.  Drive onto the small street to the left of the Marina and the Hotel Lepad will be on your left about 1/2 way down."  Any of you who take my earlier advice about visiting Croatia as soon as possible - let me know when you are going and I will gladly give you some tips and directions.  :)

When we finally arrived and checked-in, the hotel was lovely and conveniently located on the bus route that went directly to the old city.  After a solid night sleep we ventured out to the old city to walk the city walls for the day.  This is a "must do" activity in Dubrovnik and even though it was unbelievably hot, the views and vistas were amazing and great cafes popped up along the walk to rehydrate us with fresh squeezed juices and entertain us with impromptu serenades...

Making the ascent up the stairs of the Old City

View of the Old City from the walls

Along the shore in the Old City

Mid-afternoon snack overlooking the Adriatic Sea

The Old City at night

We decided to do some sea kayaking the next day to see the city from the water!  It was hard work, but absolutely amazing:

Sea kayaking launch site

Approaching the rock beaches

Quick stop at the caves for lunch

Beautiful trees dotting the coastline

One of the most unexpected things about Dubrovnik was the amount of late night activity inside the walls of the Old City.  There were concerts, theater performances and random musicians at every turn and it made lingering over a meal even more enjoyable...

Random musicians entertaining us over dinner

We were sad to leave Dubrovnik, but had to move onto Makarska for some beach time as we made or way to Plitvice Lakes.