Dreamy Dubrovnik

Our second day in Dubrovnik was magical, start to finish. It was the stuff of vacation dreams! We started with crepes in the main square and then made our way to the city walls to begin our walk around them. Even though it was hardly 10am, it was already hot as the dickens with the sun blazing. We walked only a 1/3 of the city wall, doing the stretch recommended by Rick Steves. Lots of stairs, but fantastic views over the city and out to Lokrum, the island we would visit the following day.

Up on the wall.

The roofs of Dubrovnik. The bright orange tiles are replacements for the roofs bombed out during the war in the 90s. 

Sun's out, guns out.

The tower with no doors- or at least Pete told me that is what it is called in Game of Thrones.

We escaped the heat of the walls and headed to a shaded park, just outside of the old town. Jude's favorite feature was there- a fountain!

We continued touring old town.

Lots of stray cats.

No photographs allowed inside, but this church had the most beautiful blue ceiling. 

We found the other Buza bar! So relaxing to enjoy a drink in the shade by the sea.

After a quick lunch, we went back to our Sobe for a 2 hours siesta. Like I said, a very dreamy day! When we were all up, we walked to Banje beach just outside of the city walls. Croatian beaches are rocky, which Jude loved. We brought along a plastic bowl and he just sat. Rocks in, rocks out, rocks in, rocks out.

A fun day at the beach (even if the facial expression doesn't show it!)

With Jude still on a late bedtime schedule, we ended the day by taking the cable car to the top of the mountain behind Dubrovnik to watch the sunset over dinner.

Dinner with a view!

Sunsetting over Croatian Islands

Sunsets are very romantic

Dubrovnik city walls at dusk.

We were there for Dubrovnik's Summer Festival so I took a stroll after Jude was asleep. A group of 4 Croatian tenors were singing on a stage set up in front of the cathedral. Tickets were required to enter, but the sounds filled the whole square and were enjoyed by all. 

Dubrovnik, Croatia: A New Country and Passport Stamp for all of the Durneys!!

Shortly after our return from the States, we boarded another plane direct to Dubrovnik, Croatia! The "Emerald of the Adriatic" and site of King's Landing in Game of Thrones is a beautifully preserved medieval city complete with a pristine enclosing stone wall. Years ago, after a book club friend took a cruise through the Croatian islands, I dreamed of a similar trip. With a toddler, I knew that this type of trip was out so we modified our itinerary to include the highlights, connected by land instead of by sea. 

Here we go again!

Bus ride from airport to the city. So happy to see the Croatian coast!

Dubrovnik was easily the most stroller un-friendly place we've visited with loads of stairs. Our Sobe host shared that there are 7,000 within the Old Town alone! So while we brought a stroller for the trip, we ditched it for exploring. Jude was pretty content in the carrier, but also loved shoulder riding. He'd ride on Pete's for a while and then indicate that he wanted to ride on mine. He's turning into a sweet momma's boy and apart from sore shoulders, I am loving it. 

For our first afternoon in town, we set off exploring within the walls. We had read about two Buza bars- drinking holes located just outside of the stone walls, hanging on cliffs above the sea. We stumbled upon one and took the opportunity to cool off with some Croatian beers. 

People were jumping from the cliffs into the Adriatic sea and I was really envious. The water was too deep and choppy to go in with Jude. 

No sooner had we found a table, than these tourists literally picked Jude up out of our arms and sat him on their table, oohing and aahing over him. A moment of free babysitting! Pretty sweet. 

We enjoyed wandering the streets in the relative cool of the early evening. Cruise ships dock almost daily in high season and ferry passengers into the city during the morning and afternoon hours. This made for some really crowded streets. While there were still many people about in the evenings, the city had a more local feel.

Knock, knock. Who's there?!

Our Sobe owner recommended a new restaurant "that was trying very hard" at the end of our little alley. We were the only patrons and had the full attention of the charming staff. Lots of love on Jude. The restaurant was on this alleyway that was lined with eateries and was quite beautiful at night. A really lovely welcome meal for our trip!

Classy dinner dates :)

After Jude went to bed, Pete and I took turns walking around the city to get a feel for it at night. I felt completely safe wandering alone, due in part to the crowds and lantern-lit streets. On my outing, I found us some ice cream, which we enjoyed sitting on our stoop in the warm evening air. 

Jet Lag with a Toddler

We are just back from a week long vacation in Croatia. Lots to share in the coming days! Wait, didn't we just get back from the states? Yes, we returned back to the Netherlands and left again 5 days later for Croatia. This was a trip we really wanted to take and felt like it was a now or never (in the near future) type of trip. 

In the 5 days back in the Netherlands, we had some glorious weather and took full advantage of the jet lag to enjoy the long days. Traveling back from the states has always been easier than going in terms of jet lag. Jude wants to stay up late (1 am the first night, than midnight, 11pm, etc.), but then he sleeps his usual ~11 hours, which equals lots of sleep for us! As we were leaving so soon on our next holiday, we didn't work so hard to get him back to his normal 7pm bedtime, knowing that later nights would be more enjoyable for all of us on vacation (able to go out to eat together, sleeping in a bit). 

Here are some highlights of our week home and fun nights courtesy of jet lag!

Back in the (Dutch) saddle again

Bike ride and hot day cool off at one of the splash pools in the Bos

Our first night back, anticipating a late, late night, we took advantage of the beautiful day and our new car and headed 30 minutes west to the beach at Zandvoort. 

Jude loved walking to the water with Dada to fill his bucket with water, walk back, dump it onto his sand castle and repeat. They must have made 6 trips back and forth, while I happily documented it all. 

He was a wet, happy, tired boy after the beach. We changed him into his jammies and started the drive home around 10:30. He promptly fell asleep and we thought we had done it! But he woke up again after we got home and was ready to party a little more before bed. 

We went into the city to have dinner with family friends, Sue and Ken who were visiting Amsterdam. Pete's first parallel parking job alongside a canal! A bit scary! Nice to be out and not need a babysitter!

We visited another goat farm, this one in Oudekerk aan de Amstel. So many adorable, tiny goats for Jude to chase after!

 We caught up with our Dutch neighbors at a dinner out on their terrace, babies and all.

One happy baby and one teething toddler