Dubrovnik, Croatia

We have begun our love affair with Croatia - it started the minute we set foot in Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is an extraordinary place. Vast castle walls come complete with fortresses, towers, and cannons. Their is an ancient footpath along the entire old city, about 1.5 miles. The wall encircles an incredible stone built red roofed city, which juts out into the clearest, cleanest blue waters of the Adriatic. The streets are paved with time-polished marble, which looks wet even when dry. Dubrovnik has been called the "pearl of the Adriatic"and we believe it. The minimum winter temperature rarely falls below 68 degrees, the sun shines quiet a bit, and the sea stays fairly warm year round. Dubrovnik was part of the former Yugoslavia. As you know when the Soviet Union collapsed and the communist government fell Croatia claimed it's independence. A series of other events occurred and the war began in 1991. When you see our pictures you will see bright red tile roofs, most of which were bombed then and have been replaced. The Croats have done a great job of rebuilding their beautiful city and it is now a top tourist destination. We are here off season, and in fact, today we ferried over to the island of Lopud and had a beautiful white sand beach all to ourselves. The only two pitfalls we see so far, trash is not attended too, and there is a serious issue with stray and sick cats. We have actually purchased cat food and are feeding them while here. It's very sad. We are here until Sunday, and are attempting bit by bit to download our pictures. It is a difficult task as many computers are in the language of the country we are in, or they do not have the right software, or don't let you hook up your usb cord - we think we may have found a place to download tonight so this is our test run. We hope you enjoy the view!