Our day started early when all of us up except perhaps Callie was up around 3:00a. I don't think Carter and I were truly conscious but we were alert enough to know that Kerry asked if we wanted to go outside to see the stars. We woke again around 5:00a and watched the coastline as our ship approached our next port of call. I had a starter breakfast around 7:00a and then the family had a sit down breakfast around 8:00a. Personally I prefer just grabbing stuff from the buffet. The crew is much too friendly for 8:00a. We had a slight delay as we were docking due to high winds but the pilot boarded and expertly parallel parked the ship.
After our last adventure trying to find transport, the family made a good call of getting tickets for the shuttle into Old Town. The bus picks you up right from the dock and leaves every 30 minutes or so. Dubrovnik is a beautiful city and one of the shooting locations of Game of Thrones. Our destination was a fort that sits right on the ocean. All you have to do is remove the people and cell phones and you'd be instantly transported back 500+ years. The inside of the fort is a mix of shopping and what appear to be private residents.
We were dropped off in a courtyard very near the fort and after dodging people try to sell us tours, we entered over a literal draw bridge. The walls are many feet thick and are in incredibly good condition. The whole area appears to be solid rock so there was not settling of buildings like in other places I've been. As we entered there was a church and past that a wide street lined with smooth marble. I'm assuming it gets very slippery when its wet but the weather is in the 30's so not a problem today.
Along each side of the main street were door ways into individual stores. Each was beautifully constructed with a small doorway with an area to the right where the merchant could have a display. I'm going to assume it was designed to be a market from the beginning. There were holes in the wall where they can install an awning for shade. I'm sure there wasn't a gelato place in 1300 nor did they sell Game of Thrones merchandise but there were probably a few bakeries. You had to pay to walk the fort walls but there were still plenty of areas to explore.
Callie has done a ton of research on each of our ports of call and took us to a beach on the other side of the fort. Dress code was 'European' and the beach was packed. You could rent a couple of beach chairs and an umbrella for $70 Euro which was a bit rich for us but we were able to find a spot to place our towel and the family went for a swim. The water was a nice temperature and I only stuck around for a short while before escaping up the stairs to some shade where I could take in a few of the whole bay.
We made it back to the ship in time for a late lunch and a nap. I went to the buffet for dinner while the family went to the sit down restaurant again. I've been told I need to plan to have dinner with the family going forward. I stayed on the ship while the rest of the family went back to Old Town to watch the sunset. I wasn't necessarily against such a thing but it was a last minute decision and I wanted to stick around and watch the Canada game. Sunset was amazing again. If you want a sunny vacation, Dubrovnik would be a great destination. Plenty of things to explore, boats to rent and places to relax.
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