Dubrovnik
Breakfast was included with the hotel. I had a nice meal before heading back to the room to pack my stuff and check out. I wanted to catch the ferry and travel to Hvar, one of the islands near by. I left my luggage at the hotel and caught the bus back into Old Town.
I paused at the tours but after learning the prices opted to do my own tour. I went in and bought a ticket to walk the walls of the city. Not too much walking at a length of 2km or 1.2mi. From that vantage point you have a wonderful view of everything inside the wall and some great views of the beach and harbour when you are in those sections of wall. I’m glad I chose to walk the walls first because it was getting warm quickly as the morning progressed.
After the wall I made my way to the part of old town that heads up the hill. There were so many stairs. The goal was to find the small gate near the cable car that would run up the mountain. Passing many shops, restaurants, and people along the way I managed to find the exit I was looking for. I followed the not to well marked path to find the cable car. I also followed the sight of large cables to their end when the signage failed to direct me efficiently.
I waited in line to buy my ticket and then waited in line for a cable car to arrive to carry a group of people up the mountain. The ride was smooth and the views are great. I can’t help but think of the people who have their houses directly under the path of the cable cars. They must suffer from a lack of privacy, unable to use their outside spaces in a private way. I mean, the weather is so nice, I’d like to be able to suntan in my own yard. Having people able to look down on me would make me uncomfortable.
Once up at the top you are quickly guided off the car so it can be reloaded with the group returning down the hillside. The immediate area is set up with a nicely constructed observation area. Out the back area is a large area for quads. There was a desk where you could purchase quad tours or rent time to explore on your own. I didn’t do this. I walked around and took some pictures but there is not much up at top of the cable car except the photo opportunities.
When I headed back down the hill I made my way back into the old town to do some sight seeing in the daylight and to window shop (the prices in Dubrovnik were ridiculous, to much for real shopping). I made my way back to the main gate to head to the small fortress outside the walls of the city. This place is used as the Red Keep filming location in the Game of Thrones show. I toured around and saw if there were any places I could recognize. I also eaves dropped on a few of the tours that were there for information. From what I overheard I was glad I hadn’t spent the money on the tour but I’m sure the people who took it were glad they did, I’m just cheap.
After this I headed back to the bus to get my bags from the hotel and blindly headed to the ferry terminal to get my ticket. I get to the ferry terminal and get into the walk-on line. Then after waiting about 30 minutes I learn you have to pre-purchase your ticket. This makes sense, but is not at all what I do at home. On my island back in Canada we arrive at the ferry and buy a ticket and then wait to board. Here people had pre-purchased their tickets in the morning. I still had time so I went to the ticket booth that is not really near where you board the ferry but across the road. SOLD OUT. And me with no where to stay, oops.
So, I buy a ticket for the next day and begin to look for a hostel in the area. Thankfully there was one just down the road that had a bed for me. I booked in there for the night and left my bags in my room before going back to old town to find dinner and drinks.
I found exactly that. I had dinner down one of the alleys and then found a hole in the water side of the wall that led to a small bar on the water. I could see many things going wrong but I didn’t let that stop me from having a few drinks and dancing until I was ready to take the bus back to the hostel and crash.
