Split
On Wednesday Laura, Cath, Helen & I arrived in Dubrovnik and hired a car for our drive North to Split. Cath navigated our straight drive along the Adriatic Highway with Laura sticking closely to the right side of the road as designated driver. With a toilet break along the way and a quick tasting of local fruit brandy (I can recommend pear flavour) we arrived in Split.
The Riva (aka esplanade) was alive and buzzing that night. We found our hostel, stopped our car from being clamped and towed, enjoyed some local food at Fife and then crashed into our bunks.
Hvar
After an early morning ferry and bus ride, we arrived in Hvar town and checked into Pharos – our hotel for the next week. The four of us spent the afternoon exploring the town and it’s square and lazing by the pool.
Ange & Paul and Damian & Tom joined us early on. We all spent the next few days enjoying the sights, sounds and delights of Hvar. We passed the hours and days by the pool lounging and reading; eating seafood dinners and ice cream and drinking cheap cocktails and free grappa; and even found the energy to climb up to the fortress for a view of the island. One day we hired boats and headed to a tiny island called St Clement and ate lunch at a local family’s restaurant with 360 views and a plague of wasps (I spent most of the day sea sick – so I drove the boat back - under Captain Black’s supervision after nearly murdering Laura and Ange). And after a final dinner (another seafood risotto) & big night out (more drinks at Kiva Bar and Vernanda), Ange, Paul and Tom made their departure.
Those of us left recovered with pizza and the world cup final in the town square surrounded by Italian and French tourists. Cath, Helen, Laura, Damian & I did a day trip to a nearby island, Vis. We swam in the green grotto (glowing green water!), rowed into the blue grotto (luminescent blue water!), lunched on the boat, and wandered around the town of Vis. Flavia arrived on our last night in time for dinner and for the trip down to Dubrovnik.
Hvar was a great island for us to be based on. Plenty to eat and drink. Easy to relax in but enough to keep us entertained after the sun went down. For me, it was a perfect combination of relaxing and seeing the area and all in good company.
Dubrovnik
By the time our day long excursion to Dubrovnik had us pull into port on the biggest ferry known to man, there was time for a quick dip in the hotel’s pool before we went in search of dinner. This night we stuck to the Lapad area of the town which is also where we were staying and had dinner at the local yacht club. We wandered around afterwards and had a drink at a bar in the area.
[In this respect, the guide books were a complete let down – they suggest that Lapad is alive and kicking with the best food and drink on offer. We were there in peak season and I have to say the atmosphere was dismal compared to everywhere else so I recommend ignoring the guides and sticking with the Old Town.]
Our first day in Dubrovnik saw us venture into the Old Town. This is the place to be in Dubrovnik and is pretty special indeed, despite the bus- and cruise ship- loads of tourists.
Here I lunched on tuna salad (my unbeatable staple) just of the Stradun (pedestrian main street), checked out the swimming spots (rocky outcrops beyond the town wall), walked around the back streets, had several serves of gelati (of course, spreading the joy by trying different stores), visited the Rector’s Palace, bought Rob a tie (in the home of cravats), and then topped it all off with an afternoon walk around the town’s wall. The view from the wall is spectacular and takes in the town’s skyline and everyday life, Lokrum Island, and the endless Adriatic. Through a door in the wall is a fantastic bar which couldn’t be closer to the ocean if it tried. Ignoring any thought of health & safety, the tables and chairs are precariously perched on the rocks with the most spectacular view. G&Ts go down veeeery easily here!
For our last night in Dubrovnik, we headed to the Revelin Fort Terrace inside the Old Town. I had particularly wanted to be in Dubrovnik for the Summer Festival which started the weekend we arrived. The evening’s performance was sold out though so Laura and I obtained two tickets from departing customers at interval and went in to see the last half of the National Folk Dance troupe’s show. I’m really pleased we got to see it – pretty fun – especially after the red bull and beers Damian had provided on the terrace outside. We all ended up skipping our last dinner in Croatia and stuck to drinks, and the inevitable tequila shot, at a bar in the town.
Each of us spent our last morning in Dubrovnik and Croatia differently. Laura, Damian and I decided we hadn’t done nearly enough sight seeing (or was it the pull of the world-renowned nudist beach - I can’t remember now), and took a boat to Lokrum for the day. It turned out to be a great idea. Although, the experience was a little bit like being in the TV Show, Lost, when we trekked the entire island looking for the perfect swimming spot but didn’t see another soul. Ironically we didn’t make it to the FKK (nudist) beach but we did see a beautiful old Benedictine monastery. And we did just manage a last dip in the sea before racing back to the boat to get back to our hotel in time to grab our bags and bus it to the airport before our flight left… I don’t seem to leave London without some kind of last minute dash involved.
I had really high expectations of Dubrovnik as I’d wanted to go ever since I received a postcard from Ana oh so long ago. I wasn’t disappointed. All-in-all it was a truly great holiday and I would recommend Croatia to everyone. Think I’ll have to go back. Sailing would be good so I’ll stock up on ginger for my sea sickness. And find a billionaire to take me.
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