Day 34 Dubrovnik
As this was our second time visiting Dubrovnik, we decided to skip the tours and explore on our own. So we had a leisurely start and caught the shuttle bus for a 25 minute trip to the Old Town.
The crowds weren’t too bad and after Jeanette had check out a Monastery near the front entrance, we decided to explore some of the lanes less traveled.
After climbing a fair few stairs we turned left and followed a narrow laneway that seemed to be running just a bit in from the city walls. This traversed a residential area before coming out on a huge square with a large church, which of course we just had to visit.
It was so dark in there we had to sit in a pew for around 15minutes before we could make anything out.
Then back out following the alleys till we came to another church which we had to visit also.
Walking on from there we came across the Rector’s Palace with a statue of one of its previous inhabitants outside. Unfortunately, a bit like Molly Malone’s statue in Dublin, people had taken to rubbing an outstanding portion of his anatomy which made him look a bit strange.
Pressing on we came to a square where the rooves of the surrounding buildings were just black with thousands of pigeons, mobs of which would occasionally take flight. It was like something out of the Hitchcock movie, ‘The Birds’; very creepy.
Next we came across another large church (not open this time), out the front of which a large group of Croatian villagers, all dressed in traditional costumes, were preparing to perform a traditional folk dance. So we stayed and watched. It was very impressive.
The last time we visited here, just as we were walking out the gate, Jeanette remembered that we had not seen the statue of Orlando, a famous folk hero, that she had read about so we had to go all the way back to find him.
This time fortunately she remembered Orlando before we had walked out of the city. And this time I was prepared as she had been standing right next to where his statue normally stood, watching the folk dancing. Unfortunately Orlando was off being restored but his picture was there.
We left the city and had a late lunch in a delightful restaurant overlooking the city walls and the surrounding azure sea.
Getting back to the ship was a bit traumatic as there was a queue of around 200 people waiting for the bus in the blazing sun.
Hardys’ Travels 