Walking the walls of Ancient Dubrovnik

Looking over the roof tops from the city wall
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Our first day in Dubrovnik was marred by the rain, me having a cold and the fact that we had driven for hours and hours to get there however, once the sun emerged and I'd had a couple of bubble baths things started looking much better to us. Surrounded by a complete old town wall, white marble paved streets and churches and monestrys galore Dubrovnik is quaint and very unique. Perched on a cliff on the Adriatic coast with a strech of golden beach, small marina full of fishing and tour boats and full of restaurants Dubrovnik uses it's assests to it's best advantage and as a result it is a beautiful, relaxing city where you can get lost for hours in the winding streets and where almost all the locals speak English very well. In fact throughout all of Croatia everyone happily speaks English as well as Italian and many also speak Dutch. It is a pefect tourist destination which hasn't yet been infiltrated with tourists perhaps due to their more recent civil unrest.

View of the bay
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A highlight for us and many others was the walk you can do along the top of the old town wall which completely surrounds and encases the "jewel of the Adriatic". After a steep initial climb the walls provide a sensational view of Dubrovnik, it's bay, surrounding islands and miles of beautiful calm blue ocean. The 2km walk with look outs, towers and stairs shows you a whole new side of the city as it's white marble and terracotta roof tiles glow in the sun. You can still see the scars and ruins from the bombings of 1991-1993 by Serbia as well as recontruction efforts and signs of new life as plants emerged from the rubble.

it's white marble and terracotta roof tiles glow in the sun

Outer Dubrovnik as we drove away
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From Dubrovnik we drove along the coastline back to Split. The drive was gorgeous in the sunshine with huge towering rocky mountains, crystal clear lakes, quaint little towns and ragged coastline. Soon the autobahn will continue down to Dubrovnik which I think will bring a huge influx of visitors however Croatia seems to be one country where many still appreciate the beauty of the winding roads over the directness and pace the autobahn provides. Hopefully joining the European Union in the next couple of years will not damage the beauty and wonder of this lovely coastal country.