June 30th: Discovering Dubrovnik & Split

After breakfast we gathered again this morning to board our bus & depart for the short ride to Dubrovnik's Pile Gate where we met our local guide Magda for an introductory city tour of Dubrovnik's Old Town.
As well as seeing the main sights, including the famous city walls, Pile Gate, & the main street of Stradun, etc we also learned about the history of Dubrovnik, & about life in Dubrovnik for the locals with the pros & cons of the tourist industry here today.
The rest of the morning was free to explore, beginning with most of the group climbing atop the city walls & making the circular walk for fantastic views over the Old Town, up to Mount Srd, across to the Fort of St. Lawrence, & out to sea & Lokum Island.  Then there was time for lunch or shopping before we regrouped to say goodbye to wonderful Dubrovnik.
The drive north along the Dalmatian Coast to Split this afternoon took us through the geographical & historical anomaly of Neum, a thin neck of Bosnia-Herzegovina stretching through Croatia to the Adriatic.  We were very lucky today & the border checks to exit Croatia & enter B&H, & then depart B&H & reenter Croatia barely slowed us down at all, meaning we had time to stop for a coffee break in Neum so we can truly say we've visited B+H!
There was plenty of beautiful scenery along the way, until we approached the light industrial sprawl of Split.  No doubt everyone was wondering why we were visiting - until we got off the bus, walked barely a hundred yards to meet our excellent local guide Milenka, & then entered the former Palace of Diocletian - wow!
The Old Town of Split is an incredible maze of tiny alleys & streets, grandiose squares, hidden corners, & everywhere evidence of 2000 years of history in the myriad architectural styles.
Our late afternoon tour of the Old Town included the substructure of the palace, the cathedral (formerly Diocletian's mausoleum), the Temple of Jupiter, & more.
This evening we enjoyed a great dinner at a simple local restaurant, with a family-style dinner of meats & cheeses, Dalmatian goulash & pasta, a meat platter, & more.  All followed by local gelato!
After another long day we checked-in to our beach front hotel for a two-night stay.

June 29th: Montenegro or Bust!

This morning began with an overcast sky & possible threat of storms as we gathered after breakfast to depart for our day trip to the tiny small neighboring country of Montenegro, just a short journey south from Dubrovnik.  The clouds soon receded & it turned into a sunny & blisteringly hot day.
From Dubrovnik we drove south, pas the airport, to the border with Montenegro - Europe's newest nation, independent since just 2006.  Today we were lucky with a fairly quick border crossing, so it wasn't long before we stopped to pick up our local guide, Ivan, an enthusiastic young Montenegrin.
We drove around the outside of the spectacular Bay of Kotor, stopping for views around the bay at it's closest point, then continuing to the picturesque village of Perast form where a private boat transfer took us to the island church of Our Lady of the Rocks.
Later we traveled onward to Kotor itself, the Old Town center surrounded by incredible city walls.
After a short introductory tour we enjoyed free time to explore Kotor at leisure - whether it be climbing the walls above the town for incredible views over the city, shopping for souvenirs or local crafts, or sampling the local mussels & wines in the picturesque restaurants.
Our return journey followed a shorter route, crossing the bay by ferry & then returning to Dubrovnik after saying goodbye to Ivan close to the border.
After time to freshen-up we returned to the Old City of Dubrovnik for dinner by the Old Port, a memorable end to a memorable day.