CROATIA

Before this vacation was planned, Steve found an article about A town called Dubrovnik in a country called Croatia. He had a strong desire to go and check this country out.
The article in the travel section of the newspaper promised that we would not be disappointed and it was a "must see"!
Not knowing much about this country, except that it was part of Yugoslavia at one time, and that there was the very violent war between the Serbs and the Croats, and the great devastation of Bosnia-Hertzegovia, where gorgeous Sarajevo was destroyed,we got a tour book and allotted nine days for exploration.
It was nearly not enough time to see what needed to be seen.
Travel is mostly by bus or car as railway is not fully established there. You can also take boat and Ferry, if the ferry is running. At the end of the season the boats don't run as often.

We took an overnight ferry from Ancona, Italy to Split, Croatia arriving at about 7:00 am.
We quickly crossed the road at the port to the bus terminal and bought a ticket to Dubrovnik, a five hour bus ride south.
We arrived in the rain and it followed us down the coast. Even though the clouds covered the sky, the water was incredible!
We found our way to the Old Town where we had secured reservations for two days, entered the archway of the old town and were met with this beautiful water cistern/ fountain where the people still use the water. A beautiful wide marble street stretched before us and others making their way into the heart of the town.
The Old Town is surrounded by a fortress wall it is protected as it sits on the water with waves crashing against the stones protecting it.
One of the great features is that for a small price you can climb to the top of the wall and walk around the town with an excellent "bird's eye view". The view was spectacular and the rooftops being orange tile gave you that "Fairy Tale" feeling. Dubrovnik is definately a "must see" place!