Adriatic Adventure Time

Full disclosure--I am not a Game of Thrones (GoT) fan.  So that puts me at a disadvantage on some of the significance of the things I'm seeing.  Fe got pretty excited when she saw the steps at the Walk of Shame.  I asked, "Is that how I am when I talk about Star Trek and Star Wars?"  She said, "Yes."   Hmmm. After a great buffet breakfast (this hotel has the best food so far), our bus took us in to Old Town Dubrovnik--but not before stopping at a lookout point. Old Town Dubrovnik Lokrum Island   Again, we started out with a great local guide to take us around.  She was native to the city and it was kind of neat to see her interact with other locals that she's known.  And she also told us that she had to move out when Dubrovnik was attacked in 1991 (more on that war later). Fe and I in front of Fort Lovrijenac (King's Landing in GoT) Pile Gate (Entrance to King's Landing in GoT) Courtyard of Franciscan Monastery Various scenes of St. Francis...

Split --the second largest city in Croatia--was our destination on Thursday.  While known for many things, the city is best known as the place Diocletian built his palace after he retired from being Roman Emperor in 305.  Our bus dropped us off right in front of the place. What you're seeing here is the outside of the palace.  Diocletian's residential rooms were right behind this wall. One of the rooms in the "basement".  Our guide told us that we were actually standing in the palace sewers, and that those large holes in the ceiling were where the stuff dropped in.  She also said that these chambers weren't cleaned out until the 20th Century.  Yuck! Artist's rendering if what the palace looked like in Diocletian's time.  The water in front is now the promenade with cars and pedestrians that you saw in the first picture. A display in the "basement".  There was a Spring flower festival going on at this time too.  The displays were nice, but it...

 A lot of bus travel today.  We left Opatija about 815 am and drove down to Zadar.  With stops, it took about four hours and I'll have to admit that I slept on the bus. Zadar is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia, known for its Roman and Venetian artifacts.  It's also a port town, which I only saw through the bus windows as we left.  Our tour began walking along the "peninsula" of the Old Town. This was one of our first sights--the boat is ferrying people across the inlet from the Old Town to the residential areas. This circular monument is the Greeting to the Sun .  It absorbs light during the day and at night gives off a light show. This is the sound of the Sea Organ .  It is really cool. Along the Waterfront Roman artifacts near the Forum Roman Forum with Church of St. Donatus on the left and the Cathedral of St. Anastasia to the right. Fe and a Roman Column We can't get over how there are Roman artifacts everywhere. Queen Jelena Ma...