Dubrovnik

Sunday 28th August

Although the ship was due to dock at 7pm, we did not wake until around 8. David sat on the balcony while I woke up more gradually. He did not want to disturb me to get the sunscreen so sat in the shade until I got up.

After a leisurely breakfast we went into Dubrovnik. I had read about the public bus but decided it would involve a bit more walking, looking for the bus stop, so we took the shuttle bus and paid our €13 each. There’s a time to spend money and a time to save.

We wandered around the old city and then stopped in a restaurant for a drink so we could use the wifi. We both had incredible trouble connecting. I finally managed it after I closed down all my open apps, but seeing David connected at the same time I think closing the apps had nothing to do with it. The Internet was still slow and a nuisance. We finally left and wandered some more before trying another bar for another drink and the Internet. This one was outside the city walls and more pleasant, though rather hot.

I love Dubrovnik. I like the idea of the ancient walls. I also love the old buildings and the feeling of peace in the town, despite crowds of tourists. It is hard to believe that is was bombed only 20+ years ago, bombed from the bare heights that surround the city. In the central areas there is no longer any evidence of bomb damage. Perhaps the main sign is the new tiles on the roofs, made from a different clay from the old tiles.

I bought a blue necklace in one of the shops. It looks classy though up close it is quite obviously of cheap metal. It’s something to enjoy as a souvenir.

We caught the shuttle back to the ship. David went outside in the sun while I sat in Café al Bacio and wrote up my diary until he joined me.

We were late going to dinner, and stopped on the way when we saw the orchestra playing in the foyer. Most tunes were undanceable but we tried a waltz. Unfortunately the other dancers did not understand about line of dance and we could hardly move. The next dance was a rock and roll and that was much better. As it was the last dance, we went up to dinner. We had to wait 15 minutes for a table, so sat in the martini lounge until the beeper flashed and vibrated.

Late in the evening there was a Latin dance party. Once again we had trouble with the music. We tried a very fast salsa and I managed. It was fun. I think we managed about 3 dances in the 90 minutes, the rest being too fast or no recognisable tempo.