My ipad travel blog: Dubrovnik

I have to admit that I didn't do any real research before I took this trip. I did look at pictures and expected to be impressed with Plitvice and Lake Bled and of course, Dubrovnik.

I am not a real Game of Thrones super fan but I have watched a few episodes so I knew I had arrived at King's Landing (well at least where it had been filmed) And in case you are a fan here's a guide for you of the settings.

I did find Rick Steeves' guide to this area invaluable and his books always have helpful maps.

Our hotel was perhaps a 10 or 15 minute drive away (as are most hotels) so after breakfast we were dropped off in the Old Town and just wow!!!

Our tour guide was very good and rather beautiful, and we later found out that she had been Miss Croatia, which greatly impressed one of our fellow travellers. She led us through the old city and told us many interesting stories about this amazing place. It has a long and complicated history but for many centuries an important port.

We first toured the Francescan Monastery Museum

This building dates from the 13th century but then was mainly destroyed by the earthquake that destroyed much of the city in 1667 and then rebuilt.

We visited the third oldest still functioning pharmacies in the world.

And we admired exhibits of jewelry, and here embroidery

For many years Dubrovnik was a powerful city street run by masters of diplomacy until it was finally conquered by Napoleon, and more recently suffered badly the Crotian Serbian conflict in the 1990's

Below you can see the cathedral and next to it the Rector's Palace, the rector ruled the city but only for a month at a time rotating rectors.

We toured inside the Rector's Palace, which was built in the Gothic style but has Renaissance and Baroque elements.

I loved this staircase and railing element

We came out on the port side as our guided tour ended

and we were ready for the next adventure climbing the wall…

We had a couple of hours on our own, and another woman, Kathy, and Sue and I decided to walk the wall around the city. You can see our first view above.

But even in October it was crowded. The cruise ships are still coming in of course with their many passengers.

I can't imagine how crowded it must be in the summer. I think you would need to get there early in the morning.

The only hotel at the Old City is a Hilton, but you can rent a place in the Old City. Many owners do rent their properties apparently.

But you can't beat the views. And you can stop and have a drink or gelato along the way!

or pat a sleeping cat.

back on the ground we explored the market and saw some local food stuffs. I think those are sugared orange peels in those packages. We found this market more expensive than the one in Pula.

and yes, another cat sunning…

neat side streets and yes, we found delicious gelato for lunch!

And we found some cute shops -a less expensive street runs above and parallel to main square -some side streets are very steep.

We elected to take an optional tour on this boat out to explore one of the many islands on the Dalmation Coast.

and it really was a perfect day for a cruise.

We reached our destination. And it was lovely and peaceful. There was a fancy hotel on the beach but they only allowed guests to use their lounge over looking the ocean, even though there were hardly any clients there.

but we found a pleasant bistro where I had a beer as it was quite warm. Our view below!

We journeyed back to Dubrovnik and back onto our bus and back to our hotel. That evening we went just south of the city in the country for a traditional Croatian meal with traditional Croatian entertainment.