DAY 71 - Traveling Down the Coast of the Adriatic Sea

May 29 - Dubrovnik..."The Pearl of the Adriatic"

The drive from Split to Dubrovnik was so fantastic by bus.  It was hard to do anything else but look out the window.  The raw natural beauty of this region is truly breathtaking, with ancient forests, rugged peaks and the beautiful waters of the Adriatic coastline, where we explored the the magnificent bay of Kotor and made a one night stop in the wonderful Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

We are trying to visit ALL of the European countries, but we already missed the country of Slovenia.  We only stopped briefly in Bosnia to take this picture.  But we didn't miss it!

Our 20 minute bus stop to say we traveled in Bosnia.

 The following pictures were taken out of the bus stop window as we drove along the coastline of the Adriatic Sea.

This was a HUGE ferry cruise that went through the "locks" while we waited for it.

This is my favorite picture of the seaside road trip.

Another good one.

We finally arrive on the outskirts of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, a seaport, and a VERY popular couch surfing place.  

Close to the bus station and looking up the hill to where we stayed for the night.

We got off the bus, having no idea where we were going to stay in Dubrovnik.  Since we had been on the sailboat for a week, we were way behind in finding hosts for our month stay in the Balkan countries.  Our host in Split said we might have some luck finding an old lady at the bus station who would come up to us and offer her home.  We thought that was really different, but just as soon as we stepped off the bus, three different ones approached us.  One was a little more aggressive with a picture book of her place and the best price...only $30 for a night.

Not a great picture, but this was the woman who in very broken English coerced us in staying at her place.

She told us about the place, and we made a deal to have it be only $25.  She called her daughter to come pick us up.  Then she hurried off to find her next "victim."  Her daughter was there in 5 minutes, and sped off up a hill overlooking the city and I mean "SPEED".  She whirled around the curves and one way streets like she was born to drive in a race track.
                            
We had a great view of the city, a balcony, a huge bedroom, a TV, and access to a kitchen and bath/shower area.  There were actually three other rooms that she would rent out.  This is where we first met Nick...remember that name (more on him in later blogs).  The whole complex was attached to her home where she lived with her son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.  They had a large garden area and the clothesline was full with sheets and towels.

Two bathrooms - our choice

This was our private balcony overlooking a most gorgeous city.

Our large bed - looks like it was two beds pushed together.

Hi...when do we eat?

The community kitchen

Dubrovnik is among the 10 best medieval walled cities in the world.

In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.  We could really see why and MANY other people knew it, too.  In order to go down to the old towne, we had to walk down many steps from our humble hillside abode.

Love the dress!

An old cannon

We saw areas everywhere with rosemary growing.  We  would pick it and use it in our cooking.

                          
       We saw a gorgeous moon rise as it silouetted the city and the sea.  So beautiful!