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Pigeon Feeding Time

At the fresh produce market in Dubrovnik, the pigeons begin to gather around the square at around 11:30. By midday, it is a scene from a Hitchcock film. Bird seed is scattered on the floor, and they swarm! Somehow the pigeons know exactly what time to arrive in the square each day, and they begin circling in the air before the seed has even been laid down. Animal instincts at their best!

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Dubrovnik

You think Earth’s gravity is really something when you’re climbing the stairs.

Rainer Weiss

We made it to our apartment in Dubrovnik after a 4 hour ferry ride, 30 minute uphill walk, and what felt like a million stairs. While we welcomed the exercise after so much delicious food, I’m not sure we needed quite this much!

It didn’t take us long to get used to the stairs, and they made for some wonderful views. We walked up and down the steep, narrow lane ways; and made our way around the city’s outer wall. It was beautiful to take in all the terracotta rooves alongside the enormity of the ocean. There are entire sections of the Old Town that were destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence – some areas are being rebuilt, while others are now home to lush greenery, which I think adds a touch of charm.

In the following days, we strolled around the Old Town seeing the main sights. The entire city has been built from limestone, and almost all the pavers are rectangular. There is one perfectly square stone in the main street, which marks the exact centre of the Old Town. We stumbled across a bar perched outside the city walls. They call these Buza bars, where people grab a drink and scatter themselves across the cliff face before jumping into the sea for a swim.

Another quirk we noticed throughout the whole city was the number of cats roaming the streets. A few times, we saw people coming out of their homes or workplaces to place food out on the street for their furry friends.

We went for a walk beyond the Old Town to explore a little further. Along the way we found delicious food (surprise!) and more amazing views of the wide open ocean.

Four days was the perfect amount of time to see Dubrovnik – and enjoy some welcome relaxation time too! We’ve had no shortage of things to see, stairs to climb or food to eat. What a beauty.