Skip to main content

day 2 ... more steps...Dubrovnik

The dance beach got quite busy... mainly locals swimming.  The water was incredibly clear and so many shades of green and blue. There was very little shade so after a while we headed up the path back on to the main drag to look for some lunch.   The old town and immediate surrounding area is one big eating area punctuated by souveiner shops... lots of 'authentic' Game of Thrones tat... I did go in to see if they had the wine glasses- which are like the ones I bought in Prague but they were only offering seriously nasty plastic - halloween like- goblets and tankards which at €98 each felt a little bit excessive.  There was an amazing sweet shop though... might have to revisit...

Light lunch was easy to find.. the bakeries offer such delicious looking snacks... we probably spent longer choosing than eating.  Sunny spots to sit and picnic while people watching are plentiful as are the people to watch. 
It is, however, quite difficult to getaway from the maddening crowds...  even the back streets that have little to offer other than charming stone work,  windy steps going on forever and some nicely planted little snug corners are still busy with lost tourists..... probably similar to us... looking for some respite from the endless tours... 
We decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art which is only 4 minutes away from our digs.... if you go down at a fair pace -coming back I would suggest the 300 plus steps might take a little longer. 
The gallery was disappointing - only one small area showing any art - the most modern being dated about 1985.  One floor was closed to rehang a visiting exhibition and the other floor was an exhibition of workshop results by local children.  It was as good as some of the other 'alledged' art.  
The comments book was full of negative comments suggesting the entrance fee was exhorbitant for so little work and I can only agree. 
Only coffee and cake could mollify the sense of outrage, and what could be nicer than sitting in a cafe overlooking the walls and harbour - shaded by huge tree - doesn't get much better. 
By late afternoon, early evening the town was beginning to empty.  The coach loads of cruisers headed back to ship and the streets  became more passable. We explored the steep lanes running up to the highest bit of the old town.  You can tell less peopleventure here as the stpne paths are not so shiney with constant use. Very pretty but a perlious amount of steps. We were so relieved we hadnt booked a room actually in the old town -we kept meeting very fed up looking people with enormous suitcases tottering on the seemingly never ending steps...  not quite so picturesque then!!
It had been another long day so after a local beer we wandered slowly (no other option) back to our room and spent the evening watching the sun disappear drinking wine and eating crisps while the world revolved around the harbour... Even a galleon...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Alesund

Our final destination stop was Alesund. This is a very pretty town in southern Norway built on a peninsula. All the houses are painted pretty colours and a lot of the architecture is all very Art Nouveau based. This is because the town itself was completely burnt to the ground In 1904 by a fire for which they never found the original cause. The whole town had to be rebuilt and this became a huge National Effort and a lot of prominent and up and coming architects flocked to the town to stick there 20 pence in. Consequently the town is very heavily Art Nouveau which was very fashionable at the time. There is this wonderful Museum just off the harbour which is a very beautiful Art Nouveau house. It has amazing panelling, doors, wallpaper, and it's all furnished with beautiful art Nouveau Furniture. It also house a collection of of enameled Art Nouveau Trinkets,boxes, spoons, jewellery, very very beautiful.   There is an interesting collection of old books and paintings a...

Isle of Bute

 Another Landmark Trust tick - this time Ascog House on the Isle of Bute - stunning as always... a very comfortable warm accommodation for the usual 8 suspects. This time we had a wee tower house for Dr Fred and myself - a lovely bedroom up the stairs with a big window and a bathroom al to ourselves - having said that all the other bedrooms in the big house were large and serviced by two bathrooms so there was no hardship for any visitors!   The grounds of the house were very extensive with ponds and secret passages - hidden paths and we even spotted a deer late afternoon - there were lots of old features - ornate staircases and a lovely hidden door which I did a quick sketch of. Bute provided quite a lot of entertainment as well - the weather was kind and we did a a muddy wander down the south of the Island taking in St Blanes Monastery and Kilcannon Bay.  The views were spectacular and it was fabulous to be out in the fresh (and it was fresh on the tops) air and we...

Kalamata and random stuff

We suddenly got busy catching up with old friends met on previous cruises - and making some new friends who were working this cruise. Dr Fred got organised arranging Stargazing sessions and future talks, while I'm embroidering a coat!  All this takes time and energy inbetween being available for food..... It was formal night in the 1920s style with the Captain's Cocktail party. So we donned our gladrags, smartened ourselves up and went meet the captain and have a to drink in the Neptune theatre before dinner. I have to say I'm quite impressed with the effort that people go to on these formal nights and some people have some amazing clothes And it was particularly good this night because of the 1920s theme They were an awful lot of headbands with feathers in them but they did look good and some of the frocks were just absolutely stunning.  They've refurbished the selfservice area. Its now known as the Thistle - and it's very pleasant - al...