Dubrovnik

October 10, 2008
Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today marked the fifth day in a row that I went on a tour. It was also the second full day tour I did this voyage. We dropped anchor at around 8:00 this morning just outside the historic city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia. This was yet another tender port (where we have to use the ship’s lifeboats to go to shore), which meant I had to be ready to depart for my tour an hour in advance. The ship’s tenders take you right to the entrance of the old city (dating back at least to the 15th century) and approaching the city walls were like nothing I had ever seen.

The tour I escorted today was entitled “Best of the Adriatic”. A full day tour, it included stops inside the historical city, a scenic drive along the coast, and then lunch and a visit to a coastal city, Cavtat, located about thirty minutes away.
We spent the first hour and a half on a walking tour of old Dubrovnik, where all but one building was built between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. We stopped first at the rector’s palace (which was hardly a palace but more just a two-story building) where I got a chance to learn more about the aristocratic democracy (or maybe democratic aristocracy) that existed over three centuries ago in Dubrovnik, which was extremely interesting. We then made our way across the city to an old Franciscan monastery from over five centuries ago that now includes a museum, though five monks still live there. I never expected to see so many churches, cathedrals, mosques, and monasteries prior to joining the Queen Victoria, but I have seen the interior of a countless number of them, including an old one yesterday in Zakinthos, Greece. [I did not write a blog about this island because there was not much to speak of at all]

An interesting thing about the old city of Dubrovnik is that it is a pedestrian city. Bicycles are strictly forbidden, and only certain automobiles are granted temporary access. I saw two vehicles while inside: a garbage truck and a security van. It is so very well preserved, but once again it is yet another city overloaded with souvenir shops.

After exiting the monastery, we had an hour and a half to explore the old city before heading off to lunch at an old mill located about twenty-five miles outside the city. The drive was on yet another coastal road but unlike that of Greece, this one was high above the water, and as we neared the mill and restaurant we ended up about two miles from Montenegro. For lunch, they served pork with potatoes, and a serving of prosciutto, olives, tomatoes, and cheese, and salad preceded it.

Our last stop on the tour was the Coastal town of Cavtat, which houses the old Vice Rector’s palace and also another Franciscan monastery. It was interesting to walk around a small town outside of Dubrovnik, and the views from the bus were often breathtaking, but I would have enjoyed the tour just as much without the visit to Cavtat. Conversely, without the Cavtat visit, I would not have been fed such a great meal, so I suppose it is all give and take in the end.

Tomorrow, I will be in Venice. We arrive around noon and I will be visiting a friend from college who plays drums on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas, and afterwards, I am hoping to make it into St. Mark’s Square for a bit before coming back for my first set at 7:45pm. Stay tuned for more updates on this wonderful journey.