More on Dubrovnik, Croatia

Last week I posted my first blog about Dubrovnik, and today I’m continuing on with more about this amazing city. Click here to read that post. As I mentioned last week, the Dubrovnik Pass is a good bargain allowing you to you visit many of the city’s historical locations. In addition to seeing the city walls, and the Franciscan Monastery, here are a few of the other locations we enjoyed.

The Rector’s Palace – built using a combination of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture it was initially built in the 13th century. Over the years it was used as an armory, prison and for gunpowder storage. It was badly damaged by a fire in 1435, and by a gunpowder explosion in 1467, and then by two earthquakes in 1520 and 1667. After each disaster, builders were hired to repair the damage which resulted in the differing styles of architecture.

As we approached the entrance, we saw a very gruff looking man come out the door and stop in his tracks when he saw the cat in the photo below. He put his hands on his hips, paused, then quickly turned around and went back inside. I was thinking that he was going to get something to scare the cat away, instead, he plopped a dish of food down in front of the cat.

Today, the Rector’s Palace is a museum and concert hall which houses a wide selection of interesting artifacts.

Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik, aka – MOMAD. Built in 1935, this building was originally the home of a wealthy ship builder. It became a modern art museum in 1945 and includes nine exhibition rooms, a beautiful outdoor area with sculptures, gardens and stunning views of the sea.

Here you will find works by Mato Celestin Medović, Vlaho Bukovac and other Croatian artists.

There are many other historical sites to see in Dubrovnik, but I was mesmerized just by wandering through the narrow, cobbled side streets and alleys, and saying hello to the many street cats that live throughout old town.

We have learned while living in France that spaying or neutering of pets is not a common practice (like it is in the US), which leads to large populations of stray cats and dogs. Apparently, it’s the same in Croatia, as we saw large numbers of street cats in every city and town we visited. We learned from talking with locals that some are pets – like Gigi, Spike and the restaurant cat occupying a table of his own.

Others however, are clearly homeless.

If you’re a cat lover like me, I suggest carrying a bag of cats treats since you will most likely cross paths with some hungry felines. I saw one woman in Split giving a cat pieces of a cold waffle. Clearly, this was not what the very thin, hungry cat was hoping for, but I love that she tried.

We enjoyed a wine tasting at D’Vino Wine Bar where theTravelsketcher got to play a guitar once played by Bono. When we returned the second time two weeks later with a new friend from our cruise ship, the owner greeted us with hugs and kisses on the cheeks.

And of course, we had some fantastic meals.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Dubrovnik and at the end of our stay, as the bus was leaving town and we were looking back on the beautiful views, I remembered that we would be back soon, as the cruise we booked after our stay in Split, included a stop here; lucky us!

Next week I’ll share highlights of our week in Split before boarding a small cruise ship (only 30 guests) and cruising along the Dalmatian Coast.

What do you think of Dubrovnik? As always, I would love to hear from you so leave a message if you’re so inclined.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia