This morning I took on the Dubrovnik city walls. From what I've read, it's best to start first thing in the morning before it's narrow walkways become flooded with tourists. I left my apartment around 7:30, stopped off at the corner cafe for an espresso and made it to the walls just before 8am. There were only a handful of us and we were the smart ones. The city walls were nearly tourist free aside from us few early birds. The view was absolutely breathtaking and I say that with no exaggeration. I've never seen anything like it. I had a complete unobstructed view of old town Dubrovnik and I was loving every second of it. My favorite part of the morning had to be watching a sweet old man open small rustic shutters of what appeared to be a small library. I gave him a great big smile as he looked my way, nodded and raised his hand in hello.
After spending my morning walking the city Walls in 90 degree heat, I was ready to jump into the sea clothes and all!! I read that there was a beach enjoyed by the locals called Sveti Jakov which was about a 20 minute walk from my apartment. Interestingly enough just meters outside of my apartment is Banje Beach but I was recommended to avoid it as it is a known tourist trap and beach space is impossible to come by. This is why I decided on Sveti jankov despite the distance. If I can be honest, the walk to and from the beach was the most difficult walk of my life! The heat was unbearable and the steep hills weren't helping the situation. Not to mention the 160+ stairs I had to take to get down to this hidden gem. I was sure I was going to keel over and die right there. All of that aside, the secluded pebble beach was worth every bit of it. I swam and sunbathed for hours.

This is the part of my story where I strongly encourage you to avoid sunscreen sticks. What's a sunscreen stick? It's a small, portable, deodorant like sunscreen option that I thought was a good idea. I was wrong, very wrong. I'm currently sporting dozens of stripes all over my skin where I "swiped" the sunscreen on and was left with sunburn where I didn't. Sunscreen stripes are the new black?

After stopping home to freshen up I made my way to a nearby seafood restaurant called "Dalmatino Dubrovnik". I ordered a fresh octopus salad for a starter and decided on a local favorite, squid ink risotto, as my main. The squid ink risotto was incredible! It was full of fresh mussels, squid, prawn and cuttlefish. I've had plenty of seafood but nothing like this. While delicious, it did however turn my mouth completely black. Tongue, teeth and all. Good thing I wasn't on a date. After a few swigs of wine, I was as good as new. This dish is traditional to the area and won't be my last squid ink rissotto of this trip; Yum!
Just as I decided to finish up my night, bottle of wine and pistachio gelato in hand, I was met with a surprise hanging outside of my apartment balcony. Yup, it was my underwear and yoga pants drying out for all to see. Apparently my host thought my wet underwear was better suited on the balcony as opposed to hanging in my bathroom. Thanks Nada, sorry neighbors ;-)