Day 67 Dubrovnik
Sunday February 10th.
Everyone except for Aria was cold, who had the heater blowing directly on her, last night – and I had to move to a cot because the sheets on the main bed did not smell very good.
We got up early (6:30) this morning and hopped a bus to Dubrovnik.
We grabbed some fruit to eat on the way. Our packing job was a very quick. Our luggage continues to grow somehow and the walk to the bus station was a little difficult. We purchased our tickets and went to load our bags only to find it was 7 kuna per checked bag – oh well – 49 kuna later we are on the bus and still have 2 back packs with us. Fortunately the bus is only about 1/3rd full and we each get our own pair of seats.
On the ride we all rested, read and gawked at the beautiful countryside.
It feels totally foreign – not the familiarity of Italy to California at all - but oh, such beautiful natural beauty. The mountainous peaks remind me of the Sierra Nevada's – the large granite features that look so powerful and able to resist any force having been forged in pressure and intense heat, bordered by the most beautiful Sea I have seen – aquamarine bordering the deepest blues you can imagine. It looks so pure one almost feels you could fill a glass and have a very refreshing cocktail – save of course the salt content.
The entire drive is along the coast except for a couple detours. We make quite a few stops.
We arrive about 12:30 – it is quite warm. I am still tired for some reason.
We get an apartment from a Lady (500 kuna) at the bus station – she is licensed and the location seems good – she even shows pictures that make it look great. When we actually get to the room it is quite small and the only heater is upstairs which also houses 2 single beds and a small couch downstairs pulls out into a bed. It is cold. Not quite what I envisioned – it is obvious the pictures were taken from the most flattering angle possible – but what can we expect for 500 kuna. We have made do with worse. We hire a cab to take us (and the landlord) to the apartment.
Aria is not feeling well – she and I stay in and catch a nap and read while Allysha and Aria explore the city.
When they return we all head out to dinner at a nice restaurant just around the corner – "The Orhan." Built right on a sea cove the view is nice and it is a family run affair – I usually feel good when patronizing the small businesses – in my mind I imagine they are funded mostly during the tourist season and our patronage during the off-season is welcome. Tonight I am disheartened – when I ordered I changed from the ramsteak to the beef steak but he brings both. My first inclination is to keep them but I cannot eat that much. I feel terrible imaging the entire profit being lost by that simple mistake and them not being able to eat it as it is Lent. Allysha ordered a plate of mussels in a tomato sauce – she loves them. I am relieved and in wonder at the eclectic plates of our children – this trip would be much more difficult if they were picky eaters. That is why I so easily give into the occasional requests for a Big Mac when we opportunistically stumble across a McDonalds. I think we have made 3 or 4 such purchases over the duration of the trip to date.
At the end of the meal the waiter (the son) brings another carafe of wine "on the house."
We cannot drink it all but we thank the father and mother who have been sitting in the corner and the son – our waiter on the way out. I also leave a generous tip behind.
