Croatia

So today is my 4^th day in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It’s a really pretty country, with its red tiled roofs and big rocky cliffs down to the water. It’s been a little chilly, but the biggest deterrent to going out has been the rain and the lack of activity because it’s the off-season for this touristy area.

Our first day in port, Jeff and I went on an FDP trip of a walking tour of Old Town Dubrovnik and visits to the maritime museum and the aquarium. Dubrovnik is a unique city because it used to be it’s own city state, so the whole old town is walled in by these huge thick walls. Inside the walls is a really lovely little town. The roads are paved with limestone (slippery with all the rain) and no cars are allowed inside the gates so it’s nice for walking. The sides streets are narrow and criss-cross all over the place and you can find some really nice little gift shops and cafes back in there. The museum was interesting, however they kicked us out early because the desk ladies wanted to go home. So we wandered around the city in the rain with our tour guide for a couple of hours. Jeff and I stopped at a café afterwards that had AMAZING hot chocolate! It was so thick; it was making a skin across the top of the cup. MMMmmmm

On day 2, Laura, Becky, and I went to Old Town to walk to city walls. It’s the can’t miss thing to do here, and I’m so glad we caught a really nice afternoon to do it. It takes about 1.5-2 hours to walk the walls, depending on how many times you stop to take pictures, but everyone stops every few feet to take pictures because the view is so breathtaking. On one side, you’re between the city and the ocean, and on the other side, you’re facing the city and the ocean together and it’s just beautiful. Along the way, we ran into Brian, Greg, and Kate who had discovered a niche in the wall to climb into, which we promptly did as well. It was so cool to be up a good 50ft off the ground and to make all the Japanese tourists wandering around confused as to how we got there! After we came down, we stopped by the gelato shop for some absolutely amazing gelato! I got a giant scoop of caramel for 7 kona, which is about $1.50. One thing I can’t complain about is the food here. Everything I’ve had so far has been great! We stopped at an Internet café for a while as well where I sent out a few emails and Becky got on Scype to talk to friends back home.

On day 3, it was raining in the morning so Laura and I just hung out up in the piano lounge. I wrote 2 FDP papers and we talked to the guys manning the bar for a few hours. After lunch Laura, Becky, Jen, Ian and I decided to see more of the city and the surrounding area, so we bought a bus ticket and got on the first bus that drove past our stop. We rode the 3 Bus all the way around the city and up the hill for a great view. It was also neat just to sit there and watch the Croatian people ride the bus and listen to them talk. After we got dropped off at Old Town, we went to Barracuda Pizzeria for some nice Italian pizza and then wandered the city for a bit. It started to rain again so Laura and I came back to the ship to dry off and relax where it was warm and dry and the food was already paid for. I started up my lists today, things I still have to do before finals, what to pack when I got back to the Hurst, and inventorying the souvenirs I’ve gotten and who will get what. People keep making fun of me, but I need to stay organized if I’m going to pull off this big switch in December.

This morning it’s raining again, has been since about 6am. So we’re just hanging out again, maybe we’ll go out after lunch. While Dubrovnik is a really nice little place, most of what you can do here involves walking so rain becomes a big deterrent from going outside. Also, since this is such a seasonal touristy area, almost everything is closed down for the season. The people here are very nice, and used to tourists coming and going so they’re pretty patient when we get lost or confused. The bus system has been really easy to use and it takes us right to where we want to go.

Hopefully the rain will stop soon so we can go out again.