A BIG Tick for Dubrovnik

Tori’s European Escapade

Summer 2012

August

17/8 – 18/8

Montenegro and Dubrovnik - Croatia

On the way out of Albania, and off the treacherous roads we stopped at Budva, in Montenegro. In the overly populated, but beautiful seaside town I had the best Caprese Salad of my life - ironic that it bettered those I had eaten closer to Capri, but I was not complaining.

Caprese...

We went on a bus ferry from Lepetane to Kemenari and entered Coatia immediately after lunch, arriving at the hotel in Dubrovnik in enough time to prepare for a big night out with all the new people joining our tour. After dark, we headed into the old city, and hydrated on buckets of "Sex on the Beach". A couple of us (Luke, Dane and Anastasia) escaped the terrible allure of the bar and roamed around the city, with the genius that only comes with a few drinks, we decided to try a different shot at each fine establishment we found as we explored the towering buildings of cliffside Dubrovnik. The last, yet most memorable, was the Irish Bar (one in EVERY city) that gave us something evil topped with whipped cream. Repeat: whipped cream. Blergh. 

I didn't take any photo's of the nights excursions, not trusting Inebriated Tori with my precious camera. It is a bit unfortunate, because after a long time running up and down the tiny streets we stumbled out on to a brand new basketball court, hewn into the cliff, that afforded truly incredibly views over the sleeping city.

However, Extraordinarily Hungover Tori did take photo's the next day.

First, let me tell you a story. A long time ago, half of Dubrovnik was an island called Laus. The people who lived there were descendants of Roman refugees that fled at the fall of Rome. On the mainland, Dubrovnik was populated by Slavs. The two groups of people fraught over the bounty of the sea and a deep animosity reined between them. One day, while fishing, a young Slav capsized his boat and washed up on the shored of Laus. He was looked after by a young Roman girl, and over time they fell in love, sneaking over the narrow channel to visit each other in the dead of night. When their families inevitably discovered the couple, the two groups set aside their differences, and as a wedding present to them, filled in the channel to form the new main street, between united Dubrovnik - the Stradun, which still exists as the only flat land in the choppy, undulating city.

Now, the love story may or may not be fiction, but the rest is true, and the main street cuts a sharp scar through the middle of the Old Town. 

The view from the hotel.

Behind that smile is a girl in pain.

One of the greatest parts of Dubrovnik were the "Buza Bars". They are accessible through tiny fissures in the rock and expel you out onto the cliff face, where you can have a espresso or a beer, and then throw yourself off the cliffs into the sparking Adriatic.

Luckily, after a few hours of guzzling water, a Hair of the Dog and the best mussels of my life, I was born anew and was chipper enough to make a serious (and stupid) purchase of an original print of Keith Richards. Dubrovnik has emerged as my favourite place on the entire tour, highlighted by the fact that I was too busy having an amazing time instead of taking photos. I did not go on the main tourist attraction - the old city walls, so I would just have to come back. I loved the perfect upkeep of the ancient city, the stunning setting on the coast, and the eclectic and mainly independent and non-tourist focused industry and shops.

Frame with dimensions larger than my suitcase, with a huge sheet of glass. Well, well, well, HOW would I get this beauty home?