Mother’s Day and we were in Dubrovnik. Our first visit today was, via cable car, to the top of Mount Srd for a panoramic view of the Old Town . . .
. . . and surrounding islands.
We started in bright sunlight but by the time we reached the summit the sunlight was obscured by the ominous clouds that blew in on a cold, damp wind.
Here are a few more shots from the summit, including one of us. Notwithstanding the weather, the view was spectacular. Remember, to view a slide show of the pictures in a collection all you have to do is click on a photo to start the show.
By the time we returned to the Old City the weather morphed to a bright sunny, warm day and we were off on a tour of the historic city. We started in the Dominican Monastery.
Of interest to me was this collection of 15 paintings representing the Mysteries of the Rosary.
And I particularly liked this altar piece for the Dordic family painted in 1513 . . .
. . . and this polyptych painted in 1448.
As we walked we saw one of the places where Game of Thrones was filmed. Apparently, a naval scene was shot in this location.
The next stop, after a short walk . . .
. . . was the Franciscan Monastery.
I found the following photo wall display about Friar Ilija Barisis, who worked in the Congo for 37 years, interesting and inspiring.
The the church is beautiful.
I found this crucifix to be very dramatic.
The monks in the monastery assumed responsibility for the health of the citizenry and operated a pharmacy from the monastery. That pharmacy, which opened in 1317, continues in operation to this time.
Our guided tour ended around 12:30 pm and we were on our own after that. We decided to have lunch at one of the many restaurants in the Old Town. Our guide Natasa suggested Proto, a lovely spot on a small side street just of the Placa. Here is a photo of JoAnn and Natasa. She was an excellent local guide.
We had a terrific grilled sea bass and a bottle of white wine. Here are a few shots of both the inside and outside of Proto and one of each of us. Obviously, we were enjoying ourselves and enjoying the ambience of the town.
After lunch we visited, for the second time as we ran through it earlier with Natasa, St. Blaise Church; first the exterior and then the interior. I realize many of my photos and comments deal with religious and church related sites but that tends, especially in European countries where the church was a motivating and significant influence, to be where the guides take us.
We stopped to view St. Ignatius Church. Its artwork is spectacular.
A walk through the walled city of Dubrovnik is like taking a step back in time. And, everywhere you go there are crowds.
As time passed, and we walked on, we came upon this fellow, an artist, sitting outside his shop. I thought he was interesting and I took his photo as we were making our way to the Pile Gate.
We passed through the gate and found ourselves outside the walled city. We strolled past the bus station and up the street just to see how the “other half” lives. Here are a couple of shots from outside the walls.
We were also treated to a spontaneous dance to a local folk song.
Followed by two priests offering a sermon, of course we had no idea what they were discussing.
The views from outside the walls are as lovely as those from within the walls.
One last shot of this little grotto as we passed through the wall back into the city.
Sailing from Dubrovnik was, as with everywhere we went, spectacular.
