It's Not Flat!
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 10 ~ 15 September ~ Dubrovnik
Amanda goes for her morning run in the opposite direction today, up into the hills rather than down to the port.
She finds another cat, a black one this time, so hello on behalf of Oberon and Titania.
The hundreds of drivers in the traffic chaos you will create when you stop will understand completely, I'm sure.
This is where she turns round, as it doesn't look like there's anywhere easy to run now and the old road she was on meets what is now the main Dubrovnik road.
On her way back, around the place she saw the cat before, there's a man now feeding him/her, and another one arrives shortly. This is definitely a cat-loving town.
This curious little terrace overlooks the sea and the blue dome of the "Villa Sheherezade", a Moorish-style luxury hotel.
And the last of Amanda's early morning pictures for today. What more can I say?
I haven't been to the harbour, but Amanda thought it was interesting yesterday, so we'll walk down that way this morning and see what there is to see in and around the new town.
On our way out, we do like the way this fish restaurant has repurposed an outboard motor.
It's as busy as ever outside the Pile gate.
This is mid-September, remember, nearly the end of the season. We don't want to imagine what it's like at peak times.
But of course, as soon as we're two minutes from here, the pedestrian traffic all but disappears. Most tourists are going to be getting the bus or a taxi, and sensible locals not involved in the process of parting them from their money are staying well clear.
The 5-star Hilton Grand Hotel Imperial is certainly grand!
Right next door is less grand, but still an interesting building. No signs or anything, just the street number "2".
A strange little chapel, again with no obvious sign or name or anything. The Google Maps view is too lo-res to make anything out, either. While I'm on that subject, the Balkans seem a lot less covered by Google Maps and Street View than the more Western parts of Europe. It's funny how you get used to having things that didn't even exist a decade ago.
That doesn't look like a hotel we'd choose.
Near the marina, there's a military boat on display.
However, reading the sign is a bit odd...
"Battleship"???
A battleship is a huge thing with massive guns, perhaps dozens of them, mounted in rotating turrets. Whatever this is, 'battleship' is not the right English word for it.
I wonder what Google thinks...
Ah, that's much more reasonable, it's certainly a "combat" vessel with no problem.
It's also interesting that "Blaise" becomes "Vlaho" in Serbian (even if Google tries to translate his name into the nonexistent Vlano). He was Armenian, and the Armenian language is not closely related to any other, although it's still a member of the larger Indo-European family. That probably means it's unsurprising that his name would get transliterated in different ways in different languages.
Until two minutes ago, I didn't know it had it's own unique script too, which looks like nothing else. Turns out there's a Wikipedia article in Armenian about him, and I won't bother linking to it, but will simply post the opening paragraph here:
Սուրբ Վլաս, համաքրիստոնեական հայազգի սուրբ, Սեբաստիայի եպիսկոպոս III-IV դարերում։ Նահատակվել է 316 թվականին Լիկիանոս կայսեր օրոք։
If you are like me, you are now not only none the wiser but not even better informed!
Quite a monster, you might think. Well, in 2000, when Explorer of the Seas was launched, it was the largest in the world, but the biggest ship today is not far off twice its size. Both ships are operated by Royal Caribbean International and they have an even larger one under construction now.
Following the shoreline around away from the port it's quite peaceful, and Amanda has a little dip of her feet in the water.
I don't think this is Barry Manilow's Copacabana, but we're not that impressed by the music they are playing as we walk past.
This part of the peninsular is getting a bit too resorty for us, but thanks to our Dubrovnik Passes, we can hop on the bus back for free.
Lunch is at Bota Sare, which is almost on our doorstep and which we've walked past several times now. It doesn't have the sea view, but it looks like a nice place and the menu sounds good.
More excellent sushi and seafood. Really good.
Hmm, somebody on the table next to us has brought a bag of dogs. Each to their own, I suppose.
I preferred yesterday's beer, though. This one sadly does not get my recommendation.
After lunch there's a bit of provision shopping to be done and then there's more of Dubrovnik to see.
Don't ask. I have no idea.
We do love this ship in this nautically themed art gallery/shop.
We need some culture, perhaps. St Blaise's (he of the battleship) Church, then, one of the major tourist sights here.
Can't complain we're being short-changed on the bling here.
The stained glass is all obviously modern, so we presume any original glass was destroyed in the early 90s fighting.
More culture! The nearby Rector's Palace, now a museum.
Into the courtyard and up the stairs.
Look at the fabulously bizarre locking mechanism inside this trunk lid.
Gosh, do you remember model trams in a museum from the Portugal blog?
Another fine mediaeval mechanism.
But we're most disappointed we can't climb the clock tower.
Amanda goes for a swim.
While I drink another excellent beer.
And find another cat sitting on rock near me.
This part of the city is notionally an archeological site, although there's not much evidence of archeology going on. There's a sign explaining some of the history of the area, but it's quite old.
We're in Cat City, there can be no doubt about it.
Looking back towards the city from the end of the harbour peninsula. The building with the awning at the left is where we had lunch on our first day.
And this sort of crowding is why we decided against a boat trip ourselves.
Back to work in the kitchen for our final dinner, chicken with mushroom, red peppers and olives.
"To Dubrovnik, and all its cats!"
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