Croatia: Dubrovnik

So today we were up early to meet our guide and begin our exploration of Dubrovnik. When we made our way to the old city, our guide warned us that there was a Carnival cruise ship with 5000 people on it who had come into town early this morning, and that it would likely be crowded. It was.

We were first given some facts about Dubrovnik, which has an amazing wall surrounding the old part of the city. The walls are 35 meters high and have towers at strategic locations along the wall that are twice as high (or more). The walls are 6-8 meters thick. The town itself was founded by the Greeks in the 2nd century BCE. It's gorgeous.

We walked into the "pearl gate" which was the main entrance to the city. Inside, we were shown a map which displayed the locations bombs went off during the war. Interestingly enough, I worked on the case of one of the higher ups involved in the shelling of Dubrovnik at the Yugoslavia Tribunal, so I found the town particularly interesting. We then continued to a monastery located within the city with the second oldest pharmacy in Europe located inside. We continued down the Main Street, toured a palace, a church, and then made our way to a lunch place.

We ate a quick bite, and then made our way onto the walls of the city and walked around them, enjoyed the birds-eye view they provided. After that we were given spare time which I used to do a little shopping and then visited a museum to the war in and the effects of the war on Dubrovnik. Very interesting, especially all the pictures.

I then made my way to the hotel for a little down time before dinner. When checking email, I found out that my friend on a cruise ship was going to be making a stop in Dubrovnik earlier than expected (due to a medical emergency on board). We made plans to speak later that evening to figure out a plan for getting together!

The group had a nice meal on top of a restaurant on a terrace with live music. Tres chic! And then I ran back to the hotel to talk to Craig (my friend on the cruise ship). We decided to have breakfast the following morning before I had to leave, and I was very excited! What a small world it is!!! I went to bed filled with excitement for the next day!!!