Mediterranean Cruise - Part 3 (Dubrovnik, Croatia)

We departed from Venice, Italy (I am sure you know that by now, but I am trying to start from the beginning!). Anyway, we left on my birthday (no secret there either).

This is a picture as we were leaving Venice. It is of Piazza San Marco (better known as St Mark's Square).
Our last view of land before only seeing the open seas!
So, back to my birthday...

There was no greater gift than taking a Mediterranean cruise on my birthday! I was so excited about this cruise that I kept forgetting it was my birthday. Well, the Head Waiter at dinner didn't forget and surprised me with a little celebration!
Ahhh!
Our first port-of-call was Dubrovnik, Croatia. I have been wanting to go to Dubrovnik for a while now as I kept hearing it was the next French Riviera! Well, we did not see much (or any) of the beaches in Dubrovnik, but the city was fantastic.

By the way, this may have been a Mediterranean cruise, but we had to cruise in the Adriatic Sea before reaching the Mediterranean.

Dubrovnik's (tourist) claim to fame is its walled city located right on the coast, which hangs over a small hill and has great views. During the breakup of Yugoslavia the Serbians shelled the city (1991) and did considerable damage; however, it has been completely rebuilt to the point that, now, the walled city is a major tourist draw.

We didn’t do a tour, so we leisurely left the ship and took a shuttle into town. Most of the day was spent walking around the whole city on the top of the city wall. It was a rough walk around the city, lots of stairs. However, it gave some great perspective views of the city. Here are a few things we saw...

Dubrovnik bridge of Franjo Tuđman and the Port of Gruž. This was taken as we were entering the port. Minčeta Fortress. The round shaped fortress was built in 1464 in the place of a smaller fort from 1319.
Stradun, Dubrovnik's main street.
Walking along the wall.
We were only 1 day into the cruise and Pam locked me in jail...
As we walked around this beautiful city, this stopped me in my tracks. I really thought this cat was dead, but the closer I got, I realized it was just tired and stopped for a little afternoon nap! I took many pictures of this cat...and he/she never woke up!
Each night when we got back from visiting the different cities, our Stateroom Attendant left us with a little creature and the agenda for the upcoming day! I looked forward to seeing what Rosa left for us each day! Today, it was a swan! How cute!

We spent the following day at sea. This was the day where we went to our napkin folding seminar, walked around the boat, and enjoyed our first formal dinner. We also stayed up and watched the show in the main theater. It was great!

Rosa left us a little turtle on this night!Up next, Ephesus, Turkey!