Day 8 of the cruise was our final full day and we didn't want to leave! The ship was due in port from 11:30am till 5pm so we had a good amount of time for discovering this amazing walled city.
We really enjoyed eating at the restaurant for our breakfasts. It made for a lovely civilised and relaxed start to the day. So today we got ourselves dressed and wandered along the deck to La Palmeraie where we enjoyed yet another tasty breakfast. Once again I opted for the omelette and it was so delicious! I really have to work out how they make these so I can do it at home and dine like a king every morning! And true to our usual form we finished off breakfast with a marvellous italian cappuccino. Nom nom nom!
After this we went back to our cabin and were most distraught to find the disembarkation information on our bed for us. Major buzzkill!!! So we dutifully spent the next hour or so packing everything up ready for leaving. Naturally we were both in fairly foul moods after that so we headed down to the TopSail lounge for a drink. That was nice and relaxing!
Sailing into Croatia was lovely. The shoreline is beautiful and the part we sailed past clearly was a holiday destination.
We were so excited about going to Dubrovnik! When we first booked the cruise it was just another name that meant very little to us. But when I started researching the ports I found out that Game of Thrones had been filmed there! We love that series so it was very exciting to be going there and seeing some of those familiar scenes. I had also watched a number of Youtube videos about the bombing of Dubrovnik during the war. It is a place rich in history - both real and imagined!
We hadn't made any arrangements for this day. We had a thought that we would get a taxi then go round the walls and up the cable car. But on the actual day we felt tired and a little toured out so we decided to get the MSC bus transfer (which was only about 10-15 Euros each return) and just take a wander round town then get some lunch. My poor husband was still smarting from not getting lunch on the two previous port days plus he had wrenched his knee again so didn't feel like too much activity.
So we bought our transfer tickets from the concierge in the Yacht Club and when the time came we trotted after a butler and off the ship. At the bottom of the gangway was a crew member directing people to the correct buses. The transfer buses were at the end of the dock closest to the exit. I was SUPER impressed at how they were handling this. There were maybe 6-8 transfer buses parked side by side and a crew member was directing people to the farthest bus and counting them off with a clicker in her hand. As we approached she started directing people onto the next bus in the queue as obviously the first bus was 'full' despite the fact people were still getting on it. This was super efficient and saved a lot of time. We were among the first onto this next bus and it filled up so fast that we were on our way within 10 minutes.
It was maybe a thirty minute drive through windy roads from the port to the Old City. And a large chunk of that was the final kilometre which involved the bus crawling at snails pace between the city walls and a sheer cliff face looming above us. The traffic at this point was hideous and we were very glad we weren't paying for a taxi!
When we got there the place was PACKED! I guess that is what you get when you unload 4,000+ extra people into a small walled city designed in medieval times.
As we entered the second gate into the square with the fountain we found the ticket office for the walls on the right and the entrance to the walls on the left. We decided to do this first as the streets looked crowded and busy.
Walking along the wall was fascinating! It was quite narrow in parts and in other parts widened out enough to put out tables and umbrellas to sell cold drinks and postcards to the tourists. As we walked along I really enjoyed looking at the grounds inside the city walls. Some had beautifully manicured gardens and others were bare ground with rubble and the remains of buildings. It would be interesting to know whether the later date to the war.
By the time we had got halfway round the walls and to the other side of the Old City, we were ready for a break. It was hot and we were a bit tired. So we decided to descend into the city and search out somewhere to eat. This was NOT going to be a problem! The problem was decided where, out of the huge range of choices, we would eat. After walking aimlessly past a number of places that failed to inspire us, we found a wonderful place right down on the harbour - complete with live band and singer!
The restaurant we chose was in one of the buildings on the waterfront and it offered wonderful food, clean toilets, a marvellous view and free wifi!!! We took the opportunity to send messages to our kids and to text my sister who was looking after them. She sounded quite frazzled and I felt a little guilty to be sitting sipping wine by the water in Dubrovnik! I got over it really quickly though!
When they bought out the menus, they also bought out some wonderful bread with a whipped herbed butter. Nom! Nom! Nom!
I ordered the lamb and it was seriously the best, most tender, most delicious lamb I have ever tasted!
My husband ordered the carbonara and this was also excellent!
My mouth is watering just remembering how good this food was! I can seriously recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to have a delicious meal in Dubrovnik! We spent a really pleasant hour sitting in the shade people watching and relaxing. It was bliss!
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