The next stop was Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is an ancient walled city surrounded by mountains and the sea. Very picturesque. Our guide explained the history of the place and the fact that very few people live in the old part of the city. For one thing, it’s inundated with tourists. For another, I don’t think they allow the residents to modify their apartments so electrical and plumbing must be a problem. The guide said she lives outside the walls, and it takes her 20 minutes to get to work at her summer job of being a guide. I think she said she taught French at the university during the winter months. Sounds a lot like the US. She talked about the 1991 war but didn’t explain what it was about. She just said that it was started by the Montenegrins who come over to apologize every now and then. She said she was too young to really remember much about it but there are still lots of hard feelings. We toured the Franciscan monastery and apothecary, the world’s oldest working pharmacy. Then she cut us loose for private time. We wandered the streets which are geared for tourists. Game of Thrones was filmed in Dubrovnik and there are shops dedicated to the series. One of the shops even had a copy of the Iron Throne. I thought about having my picture taken with it but it looked really uncomfortable. We kept seeing signs (in English!) telling about the 1991 war. The signs mostly were reminiscences of the day the war started. The bombing started at 5 a.m. without warning and caused a lot of damage. Maps showed what had been destroyed but never said what started the war. So we googled it. When Tito died some of the countries who’d been forced into one country called Yugoslavia wanted independence. The centralists didn’t want to let them go. So what is now Montenegro bombed what is now Croatia. There aren’t many signs of the war left. It’s a beautiful country. And they love Hollywood.
We went back to the ship and Gordon joined me by the pool but we didn’t stay long. We played Trivia and got our butts kicked. An English bunch next to us listened to us argue and took our answers. They also ‘corrected’ our paper and said some of our right answers were wrong. Stupid way to win a stupid game but I was glad the colonists revolted in 1776. And I know why, too. Bloody buggers.
Dinner was a seafood buffet on the forward deck, and we met Billy and Dawn there. I loved the food, but Gordon went to the world café and got food there. He’s’ not a lobster, shrimp, or crab lover. He asked for milk again and, again, the staff thought he was nuts. But they brought him a glass of milk—over ice. It was a lovely night outside.
Next day we toured the town of Split, one of the oldest cities in Croatia. We toured the ancient Roman palace of Emperor Diocletian. The subterranean chambers were originally used for storage, I think (they’re very cool) but most recently they were used as the dragons’ den in Game of Thrones. We enjoyed the ruins of the palace and were let loose for private time. Gordon and I went to the area the guide called the upscale shopping district. It’s where the locals shop. There was some nice stuff but nothing I couldn’t live without. My problem was I kept setting off the alarm. I set it off going into the store. I obviously hadn’t stolen anything, so the security guy waved me through. Unfortunately, when I came out, I set off the alarm again. People came running but the guard just said, “Oh, it’s you. It’s okay.” And waved me on. We stopped at the town square for a coffee and a rest. I liked watching life as the locals live it. Very civilized. No muggings, no shootings, no riots. I could get used to it.
After a light dinner, Gordon and I went to the last show onboard. They did a Beatles medley. I enjoyed the light show and the musicians, but the singers? Meh. The girls weren’t bad. Not much stage presence but not bad but the two boys? Very pitchy. I expected better. I compared them to the entertainment on our American Queen Mississippi cruise. Extraordinary talent. Americans may not have ancient history, but we can put on a show. We went to bed right after the show. We had a tour of Venice the next day.
Well in the courtyard of the Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik
This is us being tired tourists in the courtyard of Split