Croatia is well known as a hotspot for coastal sailing. This wasn't the time of year for that and anyway, Smee and I weren't going to be around long enough to do such a thing. We had hoped for some warmer weather but nope, the Mediterranean wasn't quite there yet.
Having arrived into Dubrovnik late-ish yesterday, we decided to do a proper hang out within the Old Town today. We woke up bright and early to enjoy our (pretty damn good) buffet breakfast.
I got excited at the bar drinks menu on the way to the buffet room.
It was lovely and sunny yesterday but today was a bit dreary and spitty rainy. Nevertheless, off we trotted to the old town to explore the city walls. It appears that few residents actually live within the Old Town nowadays. Apart from museums and halls, most of the buildings are now restaurants, shops with a smattering of hotels/hostels.
One of the many narrow streets.
Another narrow street leading towards stairs which bring you to the city walls.
It was all very quaint and pretty. However, it was somewhat disappointing to see that the Old Town seemed to exist purely for servicing tourists. Yes, all cities have their fair share of souvenirs stores and touristy restaurants but you got the impression locals only went into the Old Town to run their businesses and nothing more. I was expecting something a more 'off the beaten track' experience with Dubrovnik and this wasn't quite it.
Smee and I hunted around for lunch. It was all a bit ho-hum with similar offerings of uninspired pizza, pasta and seafood. Our lunch was pretty forgettable. This entry in Wikitravel pretty much expressed our sentiments about our encounters with Croatian cuisine thus far....
"There is a wide range of restaurants in the Old Town, mostly offering a very similar menu of local seafood and some meat dishes. The cuisine may not be very imaginative, but it is usually of good quality and very fresh. <--(I do beg to differ here)
Restaurants can be crudely separated into (slightly) cheaper tourist-trap places, and more expensive but first class gastronomic restaurants. There are a few pizzerias, mostly wood-fired and quite acceptable. The Kraš chocolate sold at stores is delicious. Remember that Dubrovnik, more so than the rest of Croatia, is well aware of its status as a tourist hot-spot. Rents for restaurant premises are high and consequently the prices on the menus reflect this. <--(Reiterating my earlier observation of the Old Town existing for tourists only).
Note that in the off peak season of November-March nearly all the top-end restaurants close, leaving only a handful of desperate tourist trap enterprises operating and still charging high prices."
So hmmm Smee and I were kinda in the shoulder season and subject to high prices for so-so food. It didn't help that wait staff had generally been a bit curt.
Anyway onto exploring the Old Town. Dubrovnik is famous for it's medieval mortar buildings with their orange terracotta roofs. It is a most spectacular sight to be greeted with when cruising down the coast on the airport bus.
So happy to be with the orange roofs.
Peeking through the walls.
More old walls.
No dogs, no ice cream and no men in speedos, thanks.
Smee and I did want to go on a boat ride to Lokrum (nudist beach alert!) but the weather took a turn for the worst and we decided to return to the hotel and maximise our spa usage.
Mmmmm relaxing.
The weather held us back from returning to the Old Town for dinner - not a bad thing in my books. However, outside of the Old Town, dining choices are certainly limited. One of the staff suggested Taverna Nava at the nearby Hotel Lero. We passed a pizzeria and kebab stand on the way. We initially walked into a buffet room area and were a bit errr... this can't be it. We wandered through the hotel bar where we were greeted by an enthusiastic and friendly waiter. Quite the stark contrast to all the staff at the other restaurants.
Smee and I shared a seafood mix grill. A nice size and better than our Kamenice meal but still nothing spectacular. Meh anything would've been an improvement on that meal. Smee and I decided that Dubrovnik isn't really a food mecca.
I had a soup. I can't even remember what was in it. I think it was fish?
We finished off back at our hotel bar with cocktails and a ho-hum dessert.
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