We spent four nights in Dubrovnik, and for the first two days, I couldn’t stop thinking that I was on a “Game of Thrones” set.  From the moment we entered the city walls, via the Pile Gate, with CROWDS of people, I was questioning the “realness” of our surroundings.  The beauty of all the stoic stone buildings, smooth stone streets, and imposing stone walls is undeniable. Through restoration, Dubrovnik has fought back against the atrocity of war and ruin, proudly refurbishing Croatia’s jewel of the Adriatic.  Tourism has returned tenfold and the city is now bombarded not by an enemy, but by waves of cruise ship passengers, and armies of foreign visitors.  Thousands descend on the Old City every day to walk the walls, eat Dalmatian seafood, and shop for Croatian souvenirs.  In truth, it was all a bit overwhelming.

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I loved Split.  The minute we checked into our 150-plus year old apartment, shed our backpacks and walked half a block to enter the walls of the Diocletian Palace, I was smitten.  All of us echoed collective ” Whoahs, ahhs, and what the ?”.  We were literally gobsmacked for words.  Our location could not have been any better with our accommodation providing our first introduction to old city life, and making our forays into the maze of Split, super easy.  The house was off a narrow, cobblestone lane, our front door literally on the street, with no foyer deemed necessary. The first floor consisted of a small kitchen and bathroom, the second was our bedroom, and the third floor was separated into a tiny sitting room, half bath, and the kid’s quarters with two single beds. The stairs were steep and the ceilings low – a completely different kind of hobbit house than we were used to, yet perfect for our three nights.

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The next three days in our journey were a whirlwind of travel.  We bused across the border from Slovenia into Istria, Croatia, a region famous for its’ production of wine, olive oil, and truffles, and its’ Italian-Croatian heritage.  We spent our first night in Adriatic Rovinj, a romantic, old-world, port town of ancient crumbling buildings, and marinas full of sailing boats and fishing vessels.  We may have been in Croatia, but with all of the Italian we heard, I felt like I was an extra in an old Italian flick, and young Sophia Loren might swish around the next corner with big black sunglasses and a smile.

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