Work, Save, Travel, Repeat...

The weather forecast for today was rain,rain and more rain and it didn't disappoint, thunder and lightning too. We spent much of the day in our room but managed a lovely after dinner walk through the less touristy bits of town before promenading and gongoozling the super yachts. (It rained on them too today)! So goodbye Croatia 

 Friday After a leisurely breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Hvar, one last walk to the ferry port although this time we did use the baggage transfer service.  The crossing was a little bumpy but uneventful.  Split is by far the biggest city we have visited,  a mixture of Venetian buildings,  some in ruins,some renovated and repurposed like our hotel.  Part of the Diocesan Palace. Our room wasn't ready so we dropped our bags and went to explore.  Our room is beautifully appointed but there is no window,  balcony or seating area, even breakfast is served in a sister hotel about 500m away! The weather forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow so we may well be constrained in what we can do so we headed out to a bar for drinks and an early dinner. Another excellent meal, pizza and salad done very well. We walked the Riva promenade gongoozling and window shopping. 

 Thursday  Today was a "free day" in Hvar so we walked the coastal path-as far as it went in both directions.  The sea was a little choppy today so watching the boats was fun. We had lunch on the harbourside for more gongoozling. Got to leave room for cheesecake gelato! Not quite sure where the day went but we watched the sun go down before heading back to the town square for an excellent dinner.  Walked 5 miles on this quiet day.!

Forgot to publish the post from yesterday- a travelling day from Korcula to Hvar. Hvar is known as the party capital of Croatia and a great place to people watch. The Island of Hvar is a long rocky strip with a town and port at either end. Hvar Old Town is where all the tourist action is based.  There is a Fortress protecting the harbour high up on a hill.  We chose to make the climb early in the day although it was still warm.  A lazy afternoon by the pool before heading back to the town for dinner. 

Korcula is so much quieter than Dubrovnik but very pretty.  It is a 10-15 minute walk along the waterfront from our hotel to the Old Town which is protected with gates and walls. The town is completely car free and the tiny streets no more than alleyways. Many of the bars are under shady pine trees, the ideal spot for a cold beer and a pizza. Col promised me he would use his mask and snorkel so we spent a couple of hours on the pebbly beach.  An after dinner stroll took us back to the Old Town and a recce of where to catch our next ferry tomorrow. 

Our ferry crossing wasn't until 16.00 so we had another morning wandering around the Old Town.  We found streets,  passageways and museums which we hadn't seen before and spotted a gate through the wall to a swimming area and a bar where it would have been rude not to have a beer and gongoozle. We managed a couple of stages of an Adventure Lab and a couple of physical caches today.  Back to the hotel for our pick-up to the Cruz Port. Tha catamaran journey was functional rather than luxurious and took a couple of hours.  We are @ our new base for a day and a half.  More exploring to come.

We had a lovely hour or so this morning exploring Fort Lawrence which was obviously preparing for an event later today. Pile Gate seemed much busier this morning, we were happy to make our way through and headed to the Rectors Palace. Some great exhibits here and a photographic display of wartime Dubrovnik- our hotel taking a direct hit. One of the benefits of staying in the city for a few days is being able to pace ourselves and not having to see all the attractions in one day. Another stop at Cele to people watch, enjoy a beer or two and a magnificent cheese platter.  Back to the room for a siesta. 

Dubrovnik is famously over touristed so we headed out early to walk the 2km City Walls. The impressive walls encircle the Old Town and offer impressive views of the Adriatic Sea. It is hard believe that just 30 years ago the City was being shelled by the Yugoslavian Republic.  The Maritime museum provided an interesting  respite from the heat. Dubrovnik was previous a state in itself like Venice it commanded an impressive sailing fleet.  We had a superb pizza at Cele accompanied by a beer or two before heading back to the hotel for a siesta.  The evening temperature was perfect for exploring the harbour front and watching the boats go by.

Our 15.15 flight from Birmingham to Dubrovnik was delayed by a couple of hours arriving @ 20.45. Passport control was the next hurdle to clear. Thankfully Alex was waiting for us and we had an interesting 30 minute taxi ride to our hotel which is just a stones throw from the old town. So here we are drinking a beer outside the Town Hall as the clock strikes 11.00 or as the clock says XI.0