Tuesday, September 27th - Dubrovnik, Croatia
Like almost every blues song begins: "Woke up dis mawnin'..." to see the semi-suspension bridge from our balcony:
Note: Many photos today were taken by Gael; you can easily tell which ones are hers by the red border..
Out city tour of Dubrovnik called for us to be in the Theater at 8:15a. We were on our bus with our tour-guide Antonija:
..promptly and headed for the mountains where we had a (very high) photo opportunity looking down and back at the port of Dubrovnik.
Croatia, as you know, was in a war in 1990-1992 with Serbia. 2,000 bombs were dropped on Dubrovnik but the affected area has been completely restored thanks to UNESCO.
We visited the small seaside town of Cavtat and wandered about for an hour. Lots to photograph:
The last time I saw a sign like this I was in handcuffs...
We toured the Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow:
Back in the bus and back into the mountains for lunch at the (they say) famous Konavski Dvori Restaurant. This is really a unique experience; I don't think we've ever dined in a restaurant where a river runs through it!
The serving ladies were in traditional costume.
The souvenir shops all over Dubrovnik acknowledge the traditional costume.
The Ljuta river really does flow through the restaurant on the site of an old mill. There is a pair of mossy water wheels:
The cookhouse used charcoal for everything:
There are two fish pens where guests can choose their fish for the day:
We were served a lunch of proscuitto and cheese sandwiches and our choice of two local wines. We didn't like either one much but it made for my daily photo op:
Back onto the bus for our tour of the the Old Town. On the way there (for my ham friends following along) we saw what looks like a TH-3 to me:
We "de-bussed", entered the Old Town and City Walls via the western gate at Pile Square, and spent several hours exploring the Old Town.
The lanes between buildings were quite narrow:
This fellow was selling curios and seemed none too happy to be doing so:
This man was showing off some beautiful birds with which (for a fee) one could pose:
"I don't know, Sheila; every time I fondle a sheep my head feels heavy .."
While waiting for the bus, Antionija had to run around to find it; she chose the tallest of us to hold up the sign so the ducklings would know where to muster:
Gael may have been premature in tipping the tour-guide:
Back into the bus for the last time and a return to the ship.
We enjoyed a great lunch at the Pool Grill and then spent an hour on the stern deck watching the ship leave Dubrovnic. Remember this guy? Turns out he has rivals on our ship:
Here's the butt-end of the 4,000 passenger Ruby Princess docked behind us:
A final view of the bridge from a perspective where you can see it all:
Our final view of Dubrovnik and Serbia; we really enjoyed this port:
The wake left by the Voyager:
This will be the longest sea leg of our trip, 305 miles (fifteen hours).
As soon as we were out to sea, we retired to our suite so I could write this. I really intended to write, too, but I lay down (just for minute) and soon it was 6pm. Could have been the two beers at lunch, I guess. At least I had company:
Dinner tonight at the Compass Rose; the restaurant and staff continue to provide an excellent dining experience. Ran into Bill and Phyllis Gifford and we arranged to have dinner tomorrow night in the Signature French restaurant -- it will be their 20th wedding anniversary and our last night aboard Voyager.
We ended this evening with a Broadway production in the Constellation Theater; these kids are really excellent.
We arrive in Venice tomorrow near mid-day; only two more reports to come from us on this great adventure!
Click  for yesterday or  for tomorrow..
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