Dubrovnik, Croatia

Day 8

It was a (relatively) early morning for us, but after packing and breakfast we still missed our 10am bus to Dubrovnik! The next one was at 11.50am which we made. The drive is on a long and windy road; snaking by cliffs with the most pristine coast you'll ever see anywhere. The water is crystal clear! Beaut turquoise seas stretched for miles. Some photos from inside the bus:

 Nearing 5.30pm we crossed the bridge to Dubrovnik..

Day 9
Our hotel is right in front of the yacht club, it's lovely seeing a variety of boats come in and out of the harbor, from yachts, to (tourist) pirate ships, to huge cruise ships.

At breakfast, the weather app forecasted heavy downpour all week. Ominous clouds were low and heavy, so we thought we'd try to escape the rain by taking a bus across the border to Bosnia. At the station we found out it wouldn't be possible to return on the same day, so we decided to brave the looming rain and headed for Old Town Dubrovnik.

Within the city walls..

Split, Croatia

Day 7
We awoke on the train and opened the blinds to a Mediterranean landscape, and were ecstatic to see the coast! After dumping our bags at the hotel, we walked around Split.

Diocletian's Palace was first on my list. Build in 305 AD, its the most well preserved example of Roman architecture on the eastern Adriatic coast. In the early middle ages, a town was built in the palace walls. Commercial prosperity led to an expansion of this town to outside the palace which was fortified.

The tower, and below is a view from the top of the tower. The climb up was scary! Low ceilings, narrow and steep stairs with no railings. Its made of stone so some parts were quite slippery. Thank goodness the 360 panoramic view was worth it!

In the peristyle.

A large sky-lit domed reception area leading to the atrium.

This is the promenade where we sat on a bench reading our books while watching cruise ships and private yachts enter and leave the harbor.

After taking a short nap we went to the other side of Split to a popular beach for a swim in the ocean. Alas, it started raining and everyone quickly emptied the beach. Had even more 1 euro gelato (ferrero rocher!) while waiting for the rain to cease, then headed (or scurried in the rain) to a restaurant for a traditional Dalmation dinner.

This was amazing! He asked if we wanted to hear recommendations, we said sure and he brought out the fishes that were freshly caught that day so we chose one. We asked what sauce they cook the seafood in and he said "no sauce! why would you kill the fresh flavor of the fish? we just grill it with olive oil and a little bit of lemon". Tasted great! He also recommended cuttlefish risotto made with squid ink! I was so skeptical, squid ink?! It's a local Dalmation delicacy so we had to try it, it turned out delicious. It was really a good meal, Afif and I are huge seafood fans.