Dubrovnik

It would be difficult to name a more beautiful and inviting coastline than the one that greeted us this morning. Small wooded islands some with the occasional lighthouse or red tile roof, crowded the entrance to Uvala Gruz slowly revealing the towns and cities hidden deep within. Uvala Bay separates the peninsula, Lapad and the mainland Babin Kuk. A modern new bridge, Most Dr. Franja Tudmana, towers over this tiny harbor. This monument to the country’s first president has a single concrete tower supporting the roadbed north. As the harbor narrowed we sidled up to the pier to disembark.
We took a shuttle to the old walled city. Craig and I got tickets to walk the wall and Jim and Dotty went shopping and exploring the Placa-Stradun. It was already very hot and about half way around we headed back down into the city streets. The wall is an absolutely spectacular way to see the city and the surrounding turquoise water and green and rocky islands. There are several sections of the wall, which require a pretty steep climb up uneven stone steps but once you catch your breath you lose it again to the beauty of this storybook setting. People live here. Laundry hangs in the windows and on the balconies. People swim off the rocky edge of the fortifications. Little drink stands and the occasional taverna make the walk quite comfortable. The remnants of the 1991-92 war are easily visible from the wall. There are still crumbling shells of bombed out homes and the tile roofs show the contrast of old and new as the red brick plates take decades to conform to the old colors.
The shops and restaurants along the Placa confirm earlier impressions that Dubrovnik is a first class playground for the rich and famous. Some of the restaurants are as expensive as anything we’ve encountered in Italy, France or Spain. The local handicrafts [lace, embroidery, neck ties and of course, jewelry] are reasonable but not cheap. There is a yacht harbor out side the south gate and villas cover the surrounding hillsides. Most of the shopkeepers speak enough English to make spending money effortless. They also take Euros even though they are not yet part of the Union.
Dubrovnik seems to be quite socially progressive, very clean, well run and tolerant of alternative lifestyles with hippies, gays, euro-trash and the aforementioned well healed all either oblivious of the rest or happy to rub shoulders whomever they encounter. I could live here… if I was Warren Buffet.