Day 6 - Dubrovnik, night 2

Isn't Dubrovnik stunning! I can see why they call it the "Pearl of the Adriatic" This night was one of my favorite of the trip (if not THE favorite) We walked the fortress walls that were not so crowded at night and then Zac with his amazing seance of direction found this tiny little hole in the wall where we could reach some rocks where people were sun bathing and swimming. We found a nice family from Kentucky (we hadn't seen any Americans in Croatia so we were shocked) who kept an eye on our stuff while we swam in the calm salty Adriatic. The water was cool but not freezing and the salt content seemed so high you could almost float pretty easily. We then finished walking the fortress walls and had these amazing views at sunset. The roofs that have been newly tiled where bombed in the war-the older ones survived the breakaway war from Yugoslavia in 1991.
We smelt the best open fire grilled food (we could see the restaurant down below us from the fortress wall) and decided to eat there. After cleaning up we headed there (Zac walked straight there again with his amazing skills) There were a bunch of people out front when we arrieved trying to decide if they were going to eat there. We didn't even look at the menu or name of the restaurant and decidedly walked right in. Later we found out the name was "Lady Pi Pi's" and they had a water fountain statue of a naked lady squatting...(doing her thing in a little stream) out front. Never have seen that before. The restaurant was crowded so they sat us down with a nice French couple that were willing/forced to share their table. We had such a great conversation with them. He worked for an American company, but still got French holidays off (something like 6 weeks a year!) She had been an at home mom with her 4 kids but had recently gone back to work. They both loved Paris as much as we do. Their kids were at the grandparents in the French countryside on a vineyard with a pool. (nice right?) We were not finished with our meal- cheese and prosciutto appetizer, roasted chicken, vegetables, steak, sausage and more wonderful bread and olive oil (everything was cooked or toasted over the outdoor open fire), when the lovely French couple left so a Canadian couple was seated by us. They had just spent a week in Provence with friends at a cottage house. We would be there in three days so we got some great advice from them. They had also just been to Hvar for the day and made us very jealous for not having time to travel there.
After the awesome meal we went for more gelato. (cheapest in Europe 8 kunas=about a euro) We walked into some of the more expensive hotel lobbies on the coast and then walked up our little path back up the the "Pile" neighborhoods just above old town, to our hotel.
We felt like we had done everything there was to do in this fairytale town, but we still didn't want to leave. We drug our sleepy tenant our of his bed early the next morning so we could pay and be on our way. He was one grouchy Croatian. Apparently he had been up until 3 in the morning...not too happy with us. at all.

Day 6 - Montenegro, Kotor

Kotor is butted up against a steep cliff, cradled by a calm sea, naturally sheltered by its deep in the fjord position, and watched over by an imposing network of fortifications. Kotor is as impressive as it was well-protected back in the day. It's enjoyed a long and prosperous history, but now Kotor is a preserved time-capsule for travelers who want a historic Adriatic town. Kotor has never been destroyed in a war, but was leveled by the same earthquake that took out Dubrovnik in 1667.

Only about 3,000 people live within the Old Town walls, but 12,000 people live in the "greater Kotor" area. The old town is shaped in a triangle, and streets are confusing but its hard to get lost because it is so small.

Zac and I paid our 2 Euro to hike the 1,500 steps up and elevation change of 700 feet to tour the walls, turrits and fortresses above town. The United States helped to fund the trail and upkeep of the trail. Very glad our tax dollars gave us such great view in Montenegro :) About halfway up we came to Church of Our Lady of Health- (many believe the church as great healing powers) It defiantly had great views, but we kept hiking and went up to the Fortress of St. John. We had a cute Argentinean couple take our photo. While cooling off we talked to them (with a nice breeze) about Croatia and Argentina- food and customs. There are 3rd century BC remains just before the fort.

We then did a CRAZY drive into the mountains high above Kotor. Apparently Venetian rule brought sea trade and Austrian rule brought infrastructure and fortresses. The road has 25 hairpin turns that take you straight up the mountain. When we got in our car to drive up a unsuspected 15 minute thunderstorm pelted us. We saw a couple huddled at the side of the road, their car on the cliff below. We hoped or I hoped we would make it safely up the road. Zac was having the time of his life driving fast than breaking when another car or bus came up on what seemed like a one lane road.
As you get to the top you have the most impressive views of Kotor and surrounding areas. It makes the stressful drive SO worth it. We decided not to drive down the way we came but to do a loop, we drove inland to Njegusi. The terrain changed, we were know if farmland with the smell of smoked ham and farmers buringing things (we saw so many farmers burning things on this trip...not sure what or why but think its in their blood)
We drove on the Centinje then went on to Budva Riviera (nice beaches-tall hotels) and then caught a ferry from Lepetani-Kamernari to head back to Croatia. We had originally planned to go to Bosnia from here...but we opted to spend more time in beautiful Dubrovnik. I am so glad because it was one of my favorite nights.

Day 6 - Montenegro, Perast

Perast is known as the "Pearl of Venetian Baroque". The towns on the way to Kotor are wonderfully preserved time warps. Perast , back in the day, was a key to the Bay of Kotors prosperity. It had cannons aimed at the Verige Strait across the bay. In exchange for its important duty of trafficking and taxing whoever came through the small opening- Perast was rewarded by Venice with tax-free status. But when Venice fell to Napoleon and the Bay of Kotors economy changed Perast defensive role disaperred. With no industry and no natural resources, Perast stagnated- leaving it an open air museum for Venetian architecture today. Yea! The twin Islands just off its shores are St. George (Sv. Dorde) and Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Skrpjela). We took a boat to Lady of the Rocks, to tour the church there, but St. George is closed to tourist and still home to a monastery.