Wow, what a busy, tiring day. I knew that today's weather would be nice, and it was. In the 50s, and sunny. And I knew that tomorrow there would be rain, so I wanted to get a lot of sightseeing in today.
After breakfast, I booked a ticket (150 kuna, $22) to enter the City Walls and do the walk. Some people think this is a rip off, but I'll let you be the judge. To me, it was money well spent, for the views I received. Not only was it a beautiful morning, but I only saw about 20 people on my entire walk. 20! The man who sold me a water said he hates being on the wall int the summer months. He also told me that in 2019, Dubrovnik will limit the cruise ships to 2 per day. The Old Town just can't handle the thousands of people. Tourism is the biggest industry in Croatia, so they are grateful for it. At the same time, it's hard and tiring on them. He also said they don't earn money on cruise ship passengers, because they don't eat or drink, use the hotels or buy things. They might buy trinkets at the souvenir shop, but that is it.
After my walk, I had a walking tour of the Old Town lined up with a company, and I was the only one there! Ivona was my tour guide, and she was great. She highlighted the monastery, St. Blaise Church, the earthquake in the 1600s, the War of Independence and how 2,000 bombs hit the city from above (and destroyed a lot of the rooftops), and how the Old Town was completely shut off until the 1800s. It was very interesting!
I had lunch near a square and had fresh mussels and some salad. Then, I took a panoramic boat tour and was able to see St. Jacov's Beach, which was beautiful. The water is so blue and amazing. I do see a few people swimming, but not many.
I'm here for one more day. We will see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks for reading!
Jamie
Jamie
2023-06-10