A great day in Dubrovnik

Quote of the day: “Today is very hot. You should really come in winter to do this tour. But my job is to show you the things you have paid to see…” Our Dubrovnik tour guide.

I had no idea what to expect in Dubrovnik, and was really surprised how enjoyable our visit was. The old town is high-walled, with medieval towers and fortifications churches and charming alleyways. The buildings are very old, and well preserved, despite earthquakes and wars.

Today it’s a major holiday and tourist resort. The shops sell either tourist junk or designer/label goods, and the place is littered with cafes where you can escape the heat, and wine and dine. Very nice…

We did a couple of monasteries, and a cathedral (complete with relics of some saint or other – literally his arm and leg! Oh, and yet another piece of the Original Cross. Rich pickings if you’re that way inclined), plus a folk song and dance show, which was very good. JB bought another pendant, while I settled for a diet coke…

Back at HQ, I had a call from the management. I’d heard that they were overbooked form Southampton to New York, so had offered to give up my place for that leg if they gave me a decent compensation package. That would give me 11 days to trot around Europe before flying to New York. However, they say they don’t currently have a problem on that leg, so it looks like I’m staying on board… They did ask if I wanted to give up the entire cruise from Southampton to Auckland, but that would really screw up my holiday, so I “declined with regret”!