Last week I made an impromptu trip to Croatia with my buddy Andrea 
. Ian has already started work so he could not join us on this trip. He did, however, have something to look forward to because this week he went to Boston. Most of us would think it must be for work as usual, so did I… Until last Sunday night, Ian had a rather stressed look on his face while packing, I asked him ‘What’s the matter?’ and he said ‘How am I going to find time to go outlet shopping?’ …enough said 
Anyhoo we had a nice breakfast at a Moorish cafe nearby Monday morning before catching the Gatwick Express from Victoria tube station. Queues to airport security took unusually long, not only do we have to do the normal security scan, we now have to take off our shoes and send them through another scan. We had to make a mad rush to the boarding gate and just made it on our 3-hour flight to Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik is an old city located south of Croatia, the Old Town of Dubrovnik is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lucky for us, Croatia Airline runs regular airport shuttles to/from Dubrovnik town centre. We caught one of these buses for 35 kunas. Our hostel was in the Lapad area, which was easily accessible via local buses (#6). After checking in at the hostel, we wandered along the touristy strip (which has lots of restaurants & cafes with romantic swinging chairs) and arrived at the wharf with perfect timing for some sunset snaps. For dinner that night we went to a waterside restaurant, on hostel owner’s recommendation. It was a really nice meal, we had some mixed grills and squid ink risotto served in a shell. Afterwards, we went into Old Town and managed to take some fantastic night pictures (still need to download some photos from Andrea’s camera).
Next day we went on a day cruise to see the pretty landscapes of Elaphite Islands which consists of 3 islands called Kolocep, Lopud, and Šipan. On Kolocep, it felt like going back to ancient times, just peaceful island life without any traffic. Sipan is the largest and most populated of the Elaphite Islands. Although we didn’t see any vineyards nor olive groves, we did see some remains of stone sculptures, chapels and churches. Our lunch was cooked & served on the boat, we had grilled scampi, fish, bread and salad. Soon after lunch we arrived at Lopud (second largest island of the Elaphite group) where we spent the rest of our afternoon. We walked along the beautiful seaside promenade then took a detour and after 30minutes we found a secluded beach on the other side of the island called Sunj Beach. It was not as nice as I imagined, there was no sun at all!
Wednesday was a highlight for us We did the famous rampart walk around Dubrovnik’s fortress walls. The walk starts near the Pile Gate and it gives the best possible perspective of the Old Town, the tiny corridors, charming terracotta-roofed buildings and various landmarks such as Franciscan Monastery, Onofrio’s Fountain, Bell Tower and Sponza Palace. On the south part of the walk, we even got to see the beautiful Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.
That afternoon we caught a 4-hour bus ride to Split, this requires crossing through the Serbian borders. As the bus went on the windy roads, right before I fell asleep, I caught a glimpse of Croatia’s incredible views of the clear Adriatic Sea and the many Croatian islands.
It was around 8pm when we arrived in Split, a city within Central Dalmatia of Croatia. As we got off the bus, we were overwhelmed with lots of people asking whether we wanted accommodation. Very handy I must admit, considering we hadn’t arranged any in advance, but some of them were really pushy. We ended up staying somewhere really close to city centre and had dinner at a local restaurant which served nice fish soup (we liked this so much, we went back again the following night ).
We spend the morning wandering around the Diocletian Palace, it used to be a palace/fort built for the retired Roman emperor Diocletian back in the 3rd century AD. It was listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Nowadays there is a museum and many cafes, pubs, souvenir shops and restaurants built within the walls of the palace. Only the basement is kept as is and for 15 kunas we got to see remnants of Roman aqueducts. After a relaxing lunch, eating a not-so-nice baguette at one of the outdoor cafés along the Riva (seafront), we caught a ferry to a nearby island called Brač. Brač is known for its marble and it is used for both Diocletian Palace and Washington D.C. White House.
I really loved the beautiful Dalmatian coast, the islands and fantastic seafood! And to top it off for this trip, I finally got a chance to travel with my dearest friend Andrea. Only wish the weather was warmer so we could have swum & kayaked!
