Day 8 - Last day in Croatia

Dubrovnik Old Town Wall Walk
Buza Swim and Terrace
Old Port Swim
Nap
Laundry
Shopping
Dinner
Old Port Swim

     We got up early this morning (I woke up at 4 a.m. - not on purpose), in order to be at the Old Town Walls at 8:00 a.m. when they open. You get to walk around, and up and down, the outside defensive walls of the old city. It is totally exposed and can be very hot so we wanted to go as early as possible. When I checked the outside temperature at 6 a.m. it was already 24 degrees. By the time we left it was 27 degrees. The walk was a real highlight. It was definitely hot but not unbearable and the views were outstanding. It never felt super crowded and it was easy to get the pictures we wanted. It was very interesting looking down into the town; we saw gardens, laundry hanging out, sports courts, ruins, and a lot of architectural details. You could tell which of the roofs were ruined from the war because they were new. They stand out from the old roofs that still exist on some of the buildings. It is quite a striking site to see the light stone, terracotta roofs, and blue sea. I took way too many pictures. It took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to go around but I didn't feel we rushed.

     We were pretty hot and sweaty so we decided to go for a swim to Buza 2. Buza 1 and 2 are rocky terraced cafes and swim areas that cling to the outside of the Old Town Walls. You have to climb up through the warren of narrow streets to find a little break in the wall that takes you to stairs that you go down to the water. You go through a cafe that has plenty of shade and tables that look our over the Adriatic. It was beautiful when we got there but walking down the back streets we came upon some of the worst smells of the trip. It was so gross I gagged and threw up a little in my mouth. I finally had to hold my breath to make it thorough. When we got there, we went down and swam off the rocks first, the water is amazing. We had a snack before climbing back up to the cafe and sitting on the terrace for a cold drink....we sat enjoying the breeze and watching the boats go by. A very nice way to spend the morning.

     We decided we wanted to swim some more so we walked back through the little streets and went to the Old Port swimming spot we had been to the other day. We quite like swimming off the rocks and concrete stairs because you don't get all full of sand. It is not as busy as you might expect when you consider how many people are wandering the streets. There were a lot of walking tours today which seemed a little odd as I did not see a cruise ship out in the harbour. Maybe it was parked further towards the suburbs of Dubrovnik. At this point we decided to head back to the apartment for a little rest. When we got back I assumed it was 2 or 3 in the afternoon but it wasn't even noon yet! We were probably having our beers by 11.00 a.m.! I guess that's what happens when you actually get up early and get going.

     As I had gotten up so early I was very ready for a nap. I ended up sleeping for 2 1/2 hours, it was so awesome. I think we all ended up sleeping for quite a long time. I did a little laundry when I got up and some research on our next few days in Sarajevo before getting ready to head out for dinner. We had read about an Italian place that was supposed to be pretty good. We typically don't do Italian because it seems to have cheese or cream in almost every dish but there was one traditional dish that is made in Croatia that was suitable for Mark. It translates as dirty macaroni. It used to be made for servants of rich families from the leftover bits of tough meat. It is slow cooked with a little wine and cinnamon and then mixed into homemade macaroni. The sauce makes the pasta look 'dirty'. It was really good. Joe had a pizza and I had a warm Adriatic shrimp, mozzarella, and arugula salad. The Adriatic shrimp are tiny. It was pretty tasty. I hadn't tried any ice cream this trip so I decided to give it a go. It was good but I think I like our ice cream better. We toured a little memorial to the fallen Dubrovnik soldiers who died during the Yugoslav Wars then headed back to the apartment to grab the swimming stuff so the boys could swim one last time.

     The sea was quite choppy and a few clouds came in but they really enjoyed their swim. Finally it was time to head back and get ready to leave tomorrow. I finished up the laundry, booked a Sarajevo tour, and worked on the blog. We are splurging tomorrow and getting driven to Sarajevo by a private driver. We were so tired from all the crazy travel in France we couldn't face trying to find the bus station, get a bus ticket and then having to sit on a bus for 6 hours....and I read that the buses don't have washrooms. This way we get picked up at the town gate right near our apartment and driven right to our hotel in Sarajevo in just over 4 hours. Worth it to me.