Dubrovnik
Mom chose Dubrovnik as a travel destination this summer so we could visit some of the Game of Thrones filming location. Want to know about the Game of Thrones locations? Read about it here.
After leaving Rome mom and I landed in Dubrovnik. The airport is quite a ways from the city. There are a number of bus lines that go to Old Town and the Bus Station.
The bus dropped everyone near the Ploce Gate of Old Town. Mom and I had a hotel booked just outside the Pile Gate. We walked with our bags through Old Town and down the main street. Mom was able to get her first view of Old Town.
Orhan Rooms
Once we passed through Pile Gate and were out of Old Town, we began the search for our hotel. We had booked a room at Orhan Rooms and had to find it. Mom and I followed the map to where the hotel was supposed to be. There was nothing there indicating we had reached the hotel or where we would go to reach the hotel. A lady on the street let us know we had to go to the Orhan Restaurant to check-in.
The restaurant was right on the water, in the bay between Old Town and the Lovrijenac Fort. We let them know that we had rooms booked and they checked us in at the restaurant. There was no reception area. One of the servers escorted us back to where the map said the building was. Orhan Rooms is a house that had the main floor converted into 4 rooms for rent.
The rooms were clean and had a private bathroom. The house was located about 2 minutes from the Pile gate of Old Town. We enjoyed our stay there, though the shared wall with the other room is a bit thin.
Old Town
After dropping our bags off, we headed back into Old Town. My plan was to let mom wander around where ever she wanted. When she became lost I could get her back to where she wanted to go. Old Town is full of narrow streets full of similar buildings. It was easy to get mom turned around. We could pass an area two or three times and she would have no idea that we had already been there.
Eventually, we made our way to the Old Port and were able to explore the swimming areas outside the walls of the city. We saw people taking advantage of the warm weather to swim. We also met an old dog who wandered around the area to meet everyone.
Finding that eventually the path outside the walls ended we headed back inside the walls to continue adventuring. Mom decided that she wanted to continue along the outside wall. The path began to ascend up and away from sea level.
Buza Bar
There are a few places in the wall that give access to outside the walls. These places have been turned into very small but very expensive bars. The most known of these is the Buza Bar. Mom and I stopped there to relax and enjoy the view. After we went back into the town and continued to walk around with dinner in mind.
As time passed we found a number of small little paths that we followed on our search for dinner. We didn’t find a place where we wanted to eat but we did find lots of places to enjoy.
We found a place to eat dinner and took some time to visit some shops after. The weather began to change. It was late so we made our way back to the hotel. We stopped quickly at a small grocery store to buy snacks and water for the next day.
Mom and I decided that we would get up and have free breakfast at the restaurant attached to Orhan Rooms. Then we would book a kayak trip for the afternoon and use the morning to walk the City Walls.
That night we were woken up around 1 am by a thunderstorm. Mom opened the window and watched the lightning strikes. Once the storm passed we went back to sleep.
Breakfast came with quite the view.
City Walls
After breakfast, we booked a kayak trip for the afternoon and went to the entrance to the city walls. You need to purchase a ticket but can spend as much time walking the walls as you want. But once you come down you can not enter again.
The walls give a great view of both the inside and the outside of Old Town. The height of the walls means you can see things you may never find if you were on the ground level walking around.
Kayaking
Mom and I had chosen a kayak trip that began in Pile Harbor, near our hotel, that went around Lokrum Island and then into a cave for a meal before returning to the harbour.
The trip started calmly and easy; except, mom had never kayaked before and wasn’t always sure what to do. I sat in the back of the kayak to steer and direct us. There were times I became frustrated because mom would stop paddling or change her pace or try to steer. But overall we had a good time and we weren’t the slowest kayakers, despite our lack of upper body strength.
There was a small deviation to the expected plan. Instead of going around Lokrum Island and then to the cave we went to the cave first. Mom and I were okay with that because we could have a break and swim. This let us rest our arms. We chatted with a few of the other people on the tour with us.
The Winds Pick Up
While we were in the cave the weather began to change. The wind picked up speed and the temperature dropped. We got back in the kayaks and began to follow our guide towards the far end on Lokrum Island. The wind was making the trip difficult, the wind was blowing us where ever it wanted.
The guide gave us the choice to turn around and go back. There was a kayak with two young girls that went back with the second guide but they left quickly and there was no real chance to follow. Mom thought about going back early. I stalled her until it was no longer an option.
The group made it quite a distance but the wind continued to pick up. The guide pulled us together as a group. He made the decision that it would not be safe to continue and we would all head back.
The group began to kayak back. We headed directly into the wind. This made going with any speed very difficult. Some of the kayakers were doing alright making their way back. There were also about 4 kayaks that were not getting very far. The guide came to each of us and directed us to head for the cave. At the cave, we could wait for a boat to rescue us.
Being Rescued
Mom and I finally made it to the cave. We waited there with 3 other kayaks. A boat came quite quickly but they could only take back one kayak and it was not us. So, we waited about 25 minutes for the boat to return. We realized the last group was going to be there for a long time. Mom and I readied ourselves to take the next spot to be rescued.
The boat that was rescuing us was a small aluminum boat with a basic motor on it. The driver seemed to realize that he was going to have to make a lot of trips and asked a friend for help. They were already in the process of getting me into the small boat. Mom was able to go in the bigger boat. We tied the other two kayaks to the large boat. The boats headed back to the bay.
The smaller boat was faster. It was not towing any kayaks, but the large waves were throwing me around. I had no were really to sit. I was banged up by the end of the short ride.
The boat that mom was on was towing all three kayaks. Mom fell off her seat a few times due to the rough seas. Also, there was also a meal on a table that fell and the plate shattered.
The End of our Time
Mom and I were battered and bruised after the ride back. We headed back to our room to shower and change for dinner. We went back into Old Town and found a pizza place to have dinner.
Mom and I should have ordered one pizza between us. We were starving, or so we thought. We both had more than half of our individual pizza’s left. After dinner, we wandered around more and make all the purchases we wanted. Then we could pack them and be ready to leave in the morning.
