The weeks seem to be flying by, but I am pleased to say that it’s been a week filled with highs! I did some tests earlier in the week that came back clean, which is great. The weather has been beautiful during the day, making the early morning walk around the peninsular, use of the outdoor gym and swim even more appealing, although the sea is cooling off a little…The nights are definitely getting a little chilly though.

The last time that we were in Dubrovnik we noted the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra were playing their autumn finale in a Franciscan monastery on the 29th October, so I went online and grabbed a pair of tickets. Friday we took the #10 “bendy bus” into Dubrovnik for an early dinner at “Nishta”, a highly rated organic restaurant, that we’d been wanting to try and it was very good indeed. We then made our way down one of the impressive stone staircases towards to the placa stradum and the Rectors Palace, the venue for the evenings spectacle (I received an earlier email, notifying me of the venue change). We arrived at the Rectors Palace, which is yet another one of those jaw dropping buildings hidden within the old city walls. It’s a stunning 13th century building, that’s a mix of renaissance, gothic & more recently a baroque centerpiece staircase running through the open aired atrium, up to the mezzanine level, which was added in the 15 century. The usher, who handed me the tickets explained that they’d not updated the website, to reflect the new locale and by way of an apology they’d given us the best seats in the house, smack bang in the middle of the gallery, between a pair of intricately carved columns. We were then treated to an hour and a half of absorbing live music, performed underneath the night sky . Wow! Another incredible evening. The rest of the weekend we spent lounging around in a spot that we’ve taken to, with Saturday lunch at the “Bugenvila” restaurant before it closes next week.

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Our youngests and blondest Christien arrived with his best friend Brad, for a 5-day visit, which was really nice! They’re not really beach bums, so they mixed things up. We had a couple of days in Dubrovnik, well we did the days with them and they did the nights! They walked the walls, as getting above the city, really is the only way to do justice to the views surrounding this magical place. We also took the opportunity to visit Fort Lovrijenac (The Red Keep in G.O.T) that sits to the west of the old city. It’s a wonderful vantage point to appreciate the massive undertaking that went into creating this spectacle. From the Adriatic the walls look as though they have literally emerged from the rock face. Saturday afternoon was the only unusable bit of weather for the lads, but even that was fun, watching an old movie and playing card games. Sunday we decided to take on a hike into Mocici (a small hamlet), where after a fairly challenging 2+hr trek, along a rugged, snaking, roman coastal path, our prize was a 1800 year old barely visable “Mithraic” stone carving, that to be honest if it wasn’t for a small group of American tourists, we probably would never have found, as it was hidden away in what I’m sure was someone’s backyard!

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I thought that I’d l give a little bit more of an insight into Cavtat (pronounced “Tsavtat”), where we have now decided to extended our stay to around the 20th November. The village, well more specifically for us the harbour, is crescent shaped and bordered by the Adriatic on either side. It houses some beautiful architecture, wonderful restaurants and a pleasant pine lined walkway, that sweeps around the cliff tops from one side to the other, with occasional steps descending to several small, stoney beaches. There’s also a 15th Century church “Our lady of the snows” attached to a Franciscan monastery, each modelled in a interesting gothic style, It’s also one of our favorite swim spots. We’ve taken to doing a once around the peninsula early morning, which takes just under an hour to complete. We then stop to pick up some fresh fruit, veg and fish from the market before clmbing the hundred steps back up to our apartment.

Rachel and I are both partial to live music, so whilst we were in Dubrovnik over the weekend we discovered a 15th century church that had leant itself to a classical recital. Arriving on Monday evening, with tickets in hand, we ventured inside this magical building and were greeted with an intimate (28 people) setting, with a high vaulted ceiling and a small area in front of an ornate mural, which was dedicated to the performers. The quartet (2 strings, wind & pianist) arrived to feint murmur, but left to rapturous applause, they really were fantastic and the entire experience was mesmerising! I took a short video, which is something that I wouldn’t normally have done, but it was a request. So to that end its filmed in spy like fashion, so close your eyes and allow your ears to feast on a small slice of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro”. Great evening.

We’re still in this weather depression thing, but we weren’t going to let it dampen our spirits and decided to take a water taxi into Dubrovnik, it’s the best way to enter the old city. It was a pretty choppy 40 minute crossing, but I managed to take a few snaps on the way over. The walled city, that greets as you enter the old port, is incredible. The walls were built over centuries to fortify the city, but regardless of the walls it’s evident from the different types of architecture (Roman, Venetian, French) which just adds to the appeal of the place. We stopped for a delicious lunch down one of the spiralling sides streets, before heading home….Great day.

We had our first storm roll in last night, with some incredible lightning which illuminated the bay, it really was quite beautiful! It rained solidly through the night and hasn’t abated all day. We amused ourselves with some light reading and a little Netflix. I did get bored about 3pm and decided go for a stormy swim, which is always a little unnerving when you can’t see what’s beneath you. But as I’ve decided to swim for at least 30 minutes everyday, it had to be done. 😊

https://youtube.com/shorts/Bpx5zQedoFg?feature=share

After taking a stroll into town to pick up the catch of the day, we decided to grab a couple bikes to take a look around at the ocean facing side of the island and after a few wrong turns we found a path that took us leisurely around the bay. Most of the beeches appear to be stoney, or are concrete jetty’s with deck beds laid out for the passing trade to use. We stopped along the trail for a swim, before heading back for a late lunch.

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I got up just before 6:00am, to one of the many faces of the bay & within the space of an hour, or so, you can see the sun starting to make its way across the left side of the bay.

I took a stroll downtown to get some fresh fruit and veg from the small market (2 stalls) and as I mooched back I came across these hungry fellas, hoping for breakfast….Rain is forecast for Wednesday, so it seemed like a good excuse to hang at the beach and just chill & swim!

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This is where we’ve decided is a good place for the daily swim, there’s a few jetty’s to dive in from, or you can wade in from a small beach a little further down. I’m sure it’s busier in the warmer months but at the mo, it’s nice and quiet. We’re still recovering from our frenetic departure from the UK, so we’re going to nap on the beach today….It’s a pleasant 23 degrees today…..In the distance you can see Abramovich’s new yacht “The Solaris”, which has apparently been anchored here for a month. I’d rather have a sail boat any day!

youtube.com/watch

Rach & I really enjoy playing tennis & when we’re away we always look for somewhere to play. So we were pleased to discover the Cavtat tennis club in the grounds of the Iberostar Albatross hotel, which I believe has been closed since the start of COVID. What’s amazing is how quickly it’s fallen into disrepair.