May 25, 2023 - Dubrovnik, Croatia

 I'm catching up for a couple of days.  We left Perast, Montenegro 2 days ago and rode to Dubrovnik.  We crossed from Montenegro to Croatia with no problems or delays, it was very easy.  I must add that I never did get motorcycle insurance for Montenegro.  We were there during their Independence Day holiday and all offices were closed.  There were no options other than to not ride and I chose to ride.  The hardest part of leaving Perast was carrying the bags up about 1,000 stone steps to where our motorcycle was parked.

Today, we played tourist and spent all day in Old Town Dubrovnik.  In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its outstanding medieval architecture and fortified old town.  Of course, parts of The Game of Thrones were filmed here.

We are staying in an Airbnb on the outskirts of the Old Town making it substantially less expensive than staying in the Old Town, but meaning we have over 600 steps, and I mean stone steps, to get to the main tourist area.  Last night we walked to a local market that was "close" after which we decided we were not going to walk to the downtown.  My legs are definitely stronger, but not that strong, so we Uber'd for 7 Euro, or about $8.00 US - well worth it.

We bought a pass for 35 Euro each which allowed us to walk along the top of the wall around the downtown and entry to the many museums and tourist spots.  Yes, they charge to walk the wall, which I might add, includes hundreds of more stone steps, up and down.  It was a beautiful day which made the wall walk impressive.  The scale of the stone structure is impressive.

Our day pass also allowed free travel on the city busses so we jumped on one for a cheap tour of the city.  We jumped off next to a nice restaurant in the business section and had a great meal.

Tomorrow, I think we will dial it back a little and take the bike for a short ride to a local beach and lay low.  I'm not complaining, so don't take this the wrong way, but traveling is very tiring, especially in a foreign land where everything is new and takes extra energy for the simplest of tasks such as figuring out where to pick up a bus and which bus to take.  Everything takes more time.

Me, surveying my domain in Perast.

Our apartment in Perast included full use of our own Tesla (toaster).

We had a wonderful fish dinner our final night in Perast.  Our waiter George, and the grill-magician whose name we did not get, helped us select a fish, grill it over a wood fire and then cleaned and served it at our table.  

Our Airbnb in Dubrovnik, small but functional, includes free use of a bicycle.

Walking to the "close" market on our first day in Dubrovnik.

The owner of our Airbnb in Dubrovnik and me waiting for the Uber to take Sooz and me downtown.  He speaks English pretty well and we had a nice chat solving many of the world's problems - I consider him an honorary member of the Gainesville Geezers.  A good guy whose monthly pension totals 362 Euro so he and his family use the Airbnb to supplement their income.

Sooz walking up the stone steps to the top of the wall.

We made it to the top of the wall.

Looking down from the wall.

Looking away from the wall towards Fort Lovrijenac and the Adriatic Sea.

Another view of Fort Lovrijenac and part of the Old Town.

The view from the wall is spectacular looking back at the Old Town.

Walking on the wall.

Walking down from the wall.

An iron chest from the middle ages.

A museum in a tunnel showing pictures from the "Hometown War" in the 1990s.  Dubrovnik was heavily shelled during the war.

One of the many freshwater fountains we used to fill our water bottles.

Inside the Franciscan Church and Monastery in the Old Town.  The marble pulpit survived the earthquake of 1667. The main altar with the statue of the resurrected Christ between four twisted marble columns was created by the sculptor Celia from Ancona in 1713.