So I went to Dubrovnik after
Split and
Hvar in Croatia.
And it is probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen.
Each and every one of you have to go there before you die. Like, seriously. Just like I have to go to Sarawak and Sabah before I die.
Its all-encompassing city walls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Which means that bulldozing all those ancient walls to make way for development doesn't look like such a good idea after all, eh, China?
Lord Byron christened Dubrovnik the Pearl of the Adriatic.
George Bernard Shaw called it heaven on earth.
I just call it pretty.
"
The French Riviera is officially passé. The new hot spot: Dubrovnik, Croatia."
Wikipedia says: "The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has always been based on maritime trade. In the
Middle Ages, as the
Republic of Ragusa, it became the
only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled
diplomacy, the city achieved a remarkable level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries."
Splendid.
Orgasmic.
The Old Port of Dubrovnik.
One of the entrances to the walled city.
I
busked here. :)
Flags are very pretty, don't you think?
Onofrio's Fountain
Marble-ish roads! Very pretty. And romantic. And slippery.
St. Blaise, patron saint of Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik is also home to the first pharmacy in Europe, run by the Franciscans.
So all these photos were taken from the City Walls.
And the views are is worth every kuna you pay.
The entrance fee for the walls are 50 kuna, but what they don't tell people was that there were student fees for 20 kuna! Which is really ridiculous -- there were no signs at all, not even in Croatian.
So I paid 50 kuna and took pictures and went home happy.
But on the next day I found out that there was a student price for the walls at 20 kuna.
So I was really angry lah and went to the ticketing office again; this time to demand a refund.
So I was really shameless and muka tembok (think your mothers at pasars-malam) and I told him that it was unfair that there were no signs about student prices and that I wanted my money back because of course I'm a student I look like I'm freaking 16 and in high school and he was all no no no no can do and I was like okay can I speak to your supervisor please and he was all no no no no and I was like no I really want to speak to your supervisor and he was all no no no just go already and I was like no I want my refund and we keep glancing back at the line that has grown exponentially since I was there -- maybe 45 seconds? no more than two minutes at the most.
And I was adamant but my resistance was fading because muka tembok as I was I was beginning to feel embarrassed lah. Yes I do have a conscience.
And I was just about to give up when the ticketing guy took my 50 kuna ticket and crumpled it and threw it on the ground while shouting something I cannot remember.
And he took out 30 kuna from the register and threw it on the ground as well and continued shouting.
And I was too happy (more relieved) that my appeal actually worked and a bit scared because he had a loud voice that I concerned myself with picking up my 30 kuna and my 50 kuna ticket-souvenir and less with his rudeness and shouting, pouted into the blazing Dubrovnik sun, and walked away.
:)
So I was kinda pleased with myself that day.
Tvrdava = fort in Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian.
Apparently it's one of the hardest words to pronounce in Serbo-Croatian. So the kids in Zenica used to try to make fun of us by asking us to say it -- but we mastered the pronunciation ;)
tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava tvrdava
Those black specks you see on the upper-left corner of the picture are not dirt, but swallows!!! Very many of them; very pretty. They really add something to the city.
Because it was already really late I decided to stay on the city walls until sunset and capture some pretty pics.
:)
And so I did, along with a few other tourists, and only exited the city walls when the people in charge came to shoo us.
Dubrovnik was having their Summer Festival when I was there. :)
This girl playing the violin could not play for peanuts.
The violin is a sexy, sexy instrument. It is the most heart-breaking, soul-wrenching musical instrument ever invented. Whenever movie producers want you to get all emotional they bring in the violin and it wails so beautifully and when the vibrato hits me in the right parts I start to tear. Seriously. Violin + vibrato = tearful orgasms.
But this girl just asgjhaldkgjalgkjsk-ed it.
Okay la it wasn't
that bad but just about one in three notes she played were off-key.
The thing I like about Europe is that you are surrounded by the arts and culture and music and just pretty stuff in general. It is part of the Old Continent; there is no escaping it. Total immersion.
Opera. :D
Small Onofrio's Fountain
This was a national drama competition I think!!! So cute!
