Day 1 in Dubrovnik
Trip Start
Nov 09, 2007
1
39
92
Trip End
Feb 03, 2008
Dubrovnik,
Croatia
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Our apartment is wonderful. It's on two levels, the lower level has two bedrooms and an entrance foyer with a desk. On the upper level is a large living area combined with a kitchen and dining area. There is a third bedroom too. All three bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms. The apartment is tastefully decorated and what I would call plush. It is maybe 10 metres from the main street of the old town of Dubrovnik, the Stradun or Placa (for some reason it has two names)
The small harbour outside of the Ploce Gate
.We had bought some provisions from a small supermarket the night before and so we were able to have breakfast at home. We all agreed that it was wonderful to have a bit of space. It had been fun in Turkey and Bosnia staying in guest houses and pensions but you really can't beat an apartment for space and comfort. We can cook a few of our own meals, do our own washing, that kind of thing. Blissful!
It started as a gorgeous sunny day so we took another walk around the old town. Our goal was to re-find a pastry shop that we had spotted the previous evening. Navigating the shops in the old town is quite difficult because all of the streets look pretty much the same. There are one or two that are wider, and the main street is a useful central reference point but overall you end up trying to find your bearings by saying things like 'it's one street back and four streets along'.
We found some morning markets and took a few moments to check out what was on sale. It was mainly fresh produce, what appeared to be from people's gardens. We bought some dried figs, which were superb and some candied orange peel which the girls love, as well as some fresh fruit. One of the locals was very keen to sell us some 'merlot', which was in a coke bottle, or we could have chosen the one decoratively packaged in a used olive oil bottle.
Playing at the water, Dubrovnik
He had taken the time to write the vintage details in texta on the side. Chateau chunder perhaps.After a bit of trial and error we found the shop that we were after. We ordered some pastries and some orange juice then watched in horror as the woman in the shop put the whole orange into the juicer, skin and all. Of course the result was undrinkable, but we weren't sure whether this is the way they drink orange juice here or the woman in the shop simply didn't know how to use the machine. Either way we did our dosh on that one.
We took our pastries and after disposing of the offending orange juice found a place in the sun near the small harbour at the Ploce Gate end of the town. The girls shared some of their crumbs with a solitary pigeon and of course it wasn't long before a crowd turned up. After our break we walked through the Ploce Gate to investigate the town that exists outside of the city walls. On the way through I saw a poster on the wall that indicated the shelling that Dubrovnik had received at the hands of the Serbs during the Balkans conflict. I was surprised and saddened to see just how many shells had fallen on the old town. Saddened to think that such a beautiful place could have been deliberately targeted in such a way, and surprised because the reconstruction has meant that the effects of the war hard to detect.
The Placa (Stadun), Dubrovnik
We didn't get too far though because the girls found a path leading down to the water and spent time investigating things at the water's edge. On the way back we found a funky coffee shop just outside the Ploce Gate and the day was still warm enough to sit outside and enjoy a latte or two and watch the people coming and going.A bit more wandering around the old town, in and out of the shops and investigating the different streets. I said to Jess that it reminded me of Venice without the water - the buildings are so grand and the town has a regal splendour. It is very quiet in winter and earlier in the morning - before lunch - the streets are almost deserted. We went out through the other main gate, the Pile Gate and found a small park that the girls have since become addicted to. They love to spend time on the small set of swings and the tiny merry-go-round. On this first occasion we found a place in the sun and watched them burning off some energy. By this time it was getting quite late and we hadn't had lunch yet. I had noticed a place called Rozarij which is tucked away in a quiet corner not too far from our apartment. Despite being recommended both on the Internet and in the Lonely Planet we were disappointed. The 'fruits of the sea' spaghetti was pretty bland and the sauce quite watery. The girls both had Spaghetti Bolognese and enjoyed it a lot so perhaps we just didn't order very wisely. It struck me too that they might have had a 'winter chef' on
Our street, Dubrovnik
. Georgie had left her pyjama pants in Mostar so we decided to go for a walk to try and find some 'normal' shops (the shops in the old town are mostly designer clothes, jewellery, gifts and that kind of thing). I said I thought I knew the way and we started walking. It was dark by this time (about 5pm) and the walk started with a long climb on an ever narrowing path. After about 40 minutes of walking there was no sign of shops so my credibility for knowing stuff was taking a battering. We turned around and decided to wait for a bus to take us back down the hill. Catching public transport here is pretty easy. The bus is one ticket regardless of the journey and the cost is 10 kuna ($2.20) if you buy from the driver or 8 kuna if you buy from a kiosk. It was a relief to get on the warm bus and the ride back down the hill took less than five minutes.
As we re-entered the town via the Pile Gate, after the girls' obligatory spin on the playground equipment I suggested that we eat at Mea Culpa, a recommended pizzeria. We found the place OK - the navigation is getting easier and I thought it would be prudent to just order two pizzas given the large and late lunch we had. What I hadn't counted on was the size of the pizzas! For just 40 kuna we got pizzas the size of a small country. They cut them in half for us and each half filled a very large dinner plate with the edges overhanging. The girls looked despondently at the challenge they had been set. Maggie put up her white flag without a single bite in anger. Georgie did slightly better but the waiter was kind enough to give us a box to bring it home in.
We went back to our apartment and while I carried out yet another vain search for something on the television the girls got busy with a jigsaw they found in a cupboard. As we were going to bed things were hotting up in the bar underneath out apartment. Jess reports that they continued carousing until about 4am but I was oblivious to it all.
