Another fine and sunny day here in Dubrovnik as we ate our brekky on the patio overlooking the ocean - what a superb way to start the day! The buffet was enormous (as they all have been) and we are getting very conscious of an expanding waistline!
This morning was an earlier start that planned because of a half marathon that was being held in the old town - lots of roads etc were closed - so by 8.15am it was on the coach and into the old part of the city to have a walking tour with a local guide. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster because there were thousands of people about watch the runners and we had great difficulty getting around the very narrow, cobbled streets of this ancient part of Dubrovnik. We got a chance to wander about ourselves and walked the many little alleyways that are so much a part of these ancient places.
We found a cafe/restaurant that had WiFi and enjoyed a lazy coffee - Den and Suzy decided to take the cable car to the top of the mountains behind the city while Mumsie and I enjoyed a second cup of the local strong brew while following the progress of the West Coast Eagles on our phones.
After getting the evil glares of the waiters for staying too long without eating something we took a walk to explore some more before returning to stand outside the cafe (I had their WiFi password) to get the final score telling us of a good win! Yes!
From there we had an optional boat tour to Čavtat and we enjoyed a peaceful hour ride down the coast to this lovely peninsula and bay where we had a walk around with our guide, then had lunch by the waterfront and caught the boat home! Čavtat is popular with yachting types and also there were a couple of mega yachts anchored in the sheltered waters!
Our guide gave us an interesting insight into some of the periods during the war of 2001 - 05 when she was about 9 years old. The rebels were bombing the area they lived in from the mountain tops above and they fled for their safety, returning when it all died down to find the soldiers had taken over their homes etc. She said they returned to their home to be "invited" in by the soldiers and were given no opportunity to collect some of their belongs before being asked to leave!!!!
The former Yugoslav President Tito also built a huge resort for himself and the army and it still remains today, being used by generals and the like for their holidays!
She also showed us a few huge hotels right on the coast that were occupied by the army and then left to rust and decay!
During the war over 70% of Dubrovnik was destroyed by bombing!
We caught a local bus back to the hotel rather than wait for the coach and it turned out to be a hair raising experience with the driver hurtling along at break neck speed, but we made it back safely in no time at all!
Later we had dinner at a restaurant back in the city, getting the chance to catch up with a few more of the people on our tour!