Dubrovnik Day Two

My camera finally bit the dust.  I can get the pictures from yesterday off of it, but water got in the lens so I can’t take any new pictures.  I had planned to get a new camera when I returned to the States, anyways, so it’s not that big of a deal, except I may not get to take any more pictures.  I’m going to try and dry it out and see if that helps.

One thing I love about Dubrovnik: kitties everywhere!  Schelly, if you are reading this, can I bring one home and call him Gary?  These two little kittens hang out right at the main exit we go in and out of 43759 times a day – so they get lots of attention.  Yesterday, after class, the little guys were tuckered out:  

We started with class yesterday morning.  Prof. Lee is probably my favorite professor we’ve had to this point as far as lecture content and presentation goes.  He’s fun and engaging and is super sympathetic to the fact that just over his shoulder is the Adriatic Sea with it’s gorgeous blue water, gorgeous blue sky, and lush greenery.

After class and lunch at the hotel, we took a boat taxi to Dubrovnik where we went on a group guided tour of the old city of Dubrovnik. 

I was posing for a picture on the taxi when I got splashed and screamed.

 

But I pulled myself together quickly.

 

Along the way on the water taxi, we got to see these bombed out and abandoned former resort hotels.  During the war in the early 90’s, many of the resort hotels were bombarded and no one was rebuilt them.  I don’t know if this is out of respect for anyone who may have lost their lives in the war or if it’s a financial thing.

 

The Old City of Dubrovnik is a fortified, walled city.  It was destroyed mostly in a major earthquake (they are on a fault line here that has major earthquakes regularly) in 1667.  The only time it has ever been under fire was in the early 1990s during the “homeland war.”  A few of the buildings survived the earthquake, including this one.

St. Blaize (yes, the patron saint of throat ailments) is the patron saint of Croatia.  He’s the statue in that picture above.  He’s everywhere, always holding the model of the town in his hand.  And this is inside the church of St. Blaize.

This is a little chapel at the end of the main road where I climbed my way to the top of the city wall.  The steps were steep but the view of the city and the main city road were spectacular.

 

The Old City (as seen from the wall):

The New City (as seen from the wall):

These are some ruins in one corner of the city near the wall.  I don’t know if they are remnants from the earthquake or from the war.

This is the coolest cat ever.  There was a whole in the wall with a view looking out into the Adriatic.  This cat was just laying there staring out the whole at the view!  He didn’t get up when I came near him and didn’t stop enjoying the view when I petted him.

This is me on the Eastern end of the wall.  Or Western.  I get my directions confused.  Anyway, it’s overlooking the Adriatic.  I also took a video with commentary, but I stopped quickly because some people were coming and I felt silly talking to my camera:

This is the view from the wall, facing Mlini, where our retirement home/hotel is located.

And some more anonymous ruins.

 

One thing to notice about the city shots is the tile roofs.  You can tell what buildings got bombed out/destroyed because they have the bright new tile, compared to the old-timey original tile.

This is the harbor we boated in to.  I feel like my grammatical construction is really poor at the moment.

  

While walking back to the harbor for the return ride home, I ran into Russell and Eastern-European Joel sporting a man purse and an angry face.

 

We had to wait for the boat.  We didn’t mind.

 

When we got back to Mlini, we had an impromptu beach party.  The water is very very cold here, but after a long sweaty day of walking, I actually enjoyed it.  We stayed there on the beach talking and hanging out until well into the night:

 

(sunset)

(Chris got a faux-hock)

(me, Bonnie, and Alex)

(the couples)

(angry Italian faces)

(dance action)

(impromptu yoga class)

(lounging and chatting)

I’m in the hotel lobby today, paying bills, emailing, blogging, etc.  After that, I’m going to my room to clean – I haven’t unpacked anything so it’s been kinda hectic in the mornings getting dressed.  Then, since the red rectangle cannot be in the sun today, I think I’m going to the salt water indoor pool.  I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned the saltiness of the salt water pool yet, but it’s ridiculously high.  It makes the eyes burn!  I’m either going to nap at some point, or just go to bed at like 9 – I’m pretty tired today.