Split, Croatia

Arriving into Port, you see the wonderful mixture of Ancient and modern buildings that make up the second largest city in Croatia.  The beautiful Adriatic sea at its doorstep with the mountains as a backdrop makes a picturesque setting.

My best advice is to organise a private tour with locals to get an in-depth feel and understanding for this city. This way you basically have a one on one with the guide, and you are able to learn a lot more than the superficial history of the place.

We did have a fantastic guide Katija and the driver Igor who understood we wanted to know as much as possible in the limited time we had and wanted more than the standard tourist routes.

Our first destination was the Diocletian's Palace which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. We began the tour labyrinth of Subterranean tunnels of the palace that was built in the 4th Century for Emperor Diocletian. The Palace has quite an interesting history with so many changes through time with so many other countries claiming this port. Exploring the ruins that are mixed in with current buildings gives you a whole new perspective of how cities progress.

If you are into art, especially sculpture head towards the museum of the famous Croation artist Muzejlivana Mestrovica and view his sculptures. My favourite was the one entitled 'Pieta' which he did 2 years after the tragic suicide of his son.

If you want to try some authentic Croatian cuisine, there's a lovely seaside town called Omis that has a nice outdoor restaurant, next to a clear stream called Radmanove Mlinice, although a tad touristy it has good food and I'd recommend the mixed grilled plate, especially the Cevapcici!

And when you finish your delicious local cuisine, do as the locals, find a cool place and take a nap!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is well known as 'The Pearl of the Adriatic' a beautiful gem of a city. A walled city that once rivalled Venice as a maritime trading centre. Walking along the wall, seeing all the architecture and watching the way of life of this bustling tourist city.

There's so much to see in Dubrovnik, and you can spend lots of time just wandering around this beautiful city. Stunning views that can give you a feeling of peace, you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of a busy city, it's a great tourist destination.

        

We decided to get a quick dinner before boarding the ship. The last bus was leaving the centre square at 8:30 pm to return us to the ship, so we headed out for an early dinner. We found this excellent restaurant between the lanes that served regional fare. Enjoying the meal and wine, we realised the time went faster than anticipated. We quickly paid our bill and were just in time for the last bus, but there was no bus to be seen. We looked around and realised that the last bus had left without us. We decided that we need to quickly catch a taxi back to the ship. We joked that we need to take the taxi all the way to the next destination in Split. As we watched ships leaving port, we were fortunate that ours was the last to leave, and as we boarded the ship closed the doors, and the ship prepared to depart. A close one!

Well, it just shows that a good time in a beautiful city makes time fly by. There is always time to enjoy food, wine & friends. Here is another city we need to make a return visit to. Its great to get a taste of the places so you know which you would like to see and explore further.









So much to see in Dubrovnik but even better when shared with friends!