AFTERWARDS

Over breakfast those of us left agree to meet for dinner together.  I know it doesn't happen with all groups but I have enjoyed dining with everyone else on almost every night. It's been great fun findingout what others did and avoiding missing some great stuff too.

Rob and I head back to the Old Town which is now VERY crowded with cruise ship and other tourists.  We never align ourselves with them as we consider ourselves travellers. How quickly we turn into touring snobs.

Visiting an excellent exhibition of war photographs we are again moved by them. I realise that we have only glimpsed the wars from different perspectives and that we don't fully comprehend it - and may never do so.  One of our local guides said that we could read hundreds of books on the subject and may still not quite get our heads around it. It is hard looking at it from outside, and in such a short space of time.

After lunch we decide to get on a local bus to Cavtat,  about 30 min away. The day remains gloriously sunny and so a seaside village seems in order.  Can a seaside village be a resort town too? Yes! We have a cuppa overlooking the marina then walk to the cemetery to see the Racic mausoleum created by the famed Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović.  It is spectacular, beautiful and the cemetery has the best view of the ocean available.

We return to the centre of town via the old Franciscan Monastery, disappointed that the Rector's Palace which I had read about is closed.  We saunter past another marina at which is moored a huge boat, quite a contrast with the first one. This side also has more tourist shops and bars. All around the village in the surrounding hills is holiday accommodation in bulk so we appear to have come on a good day when it is not overcrowded.

Back on the bus, more fabulous ocean views and we join the others at dinner, walk back to the hotel and crash.

These are on the menu as "Noah's
Ark mussels". We never worked out why, but they were good to eat