Myself and Lorraine have become travel buddies over the last few years. It's so great to just send a quick message saying "I was thinking about going
We both wanted a break where we didn't feel guilty for just laying on the beach all day reading a good book, having a massage, then a dip in the pool before getting dressed up for a nice meal out. It was well deserved.
I started packing 3 weeks beforehand as I was doing a 10 day event tour of the UK. I packed again on the Monday before and numerous times that week (hey, I am organised remember).
I was working every day right up until my flight on the Sunday. Then it was finally time to head off. I got a quick flight back to Dublin to swop winter clothes for summer ones and meet lorraine in the airport at 5.30am the next morning. As usual, I was early and even got a compliment from the check in ladies about my hat. Lorraine followed soon and with an easy trip we finally made it to Dubrovnik.
We were welcomed in the arrivals hall by a tall gentleman holding up a framed sign that said "Mrs Cawley". He helped us with our bags to a very smooth, air conditioned white car just outside the arrivals hall. He whisked us off to the hotel where we were treated to stunning panoramic views as the car curved around the coast. We were welcomed and ushered through the check in process with ease. After a few minutes, we were being brought to our apartment in a golf cart.
The apartment was so modern and bright that we stood a-gasp after the porter helped us with our bags. After a quick run to the supermarket to stock up for the week and some lunch, we headed straight to the pool where we swan and fell asleep until the sun set. We then got dressed up and went out to dinner in one of the restaurants along the promenade.
On Tuesday, as the weather was still gorgeous, we decided go head in to the old city of Dubrovnik. We were convinced by the receptionist to take the hotel shuttle bus in and get the boat back again straight to the hotel. When we got to the city, we decided to split up. I walked down to the harbour and sat in the sun eating grapes and dark chocolate while watching the sea lap against the boats coming in and going out. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon.
On the way to meet lorri, I noticed the drastic difference between the new and old buildings. After the 1991 bombings from Serbia and Montenegro, they started to rebuild the city in the same style as the old one but with more modern materials. The beautiful White stone stands out for all the right reasons next to the old blackened stone.
After a delicious seafood risotto and traditional pink grapefruit gelato it was time to head back. We settled down by the harbour with a peach iced tea and waited for our boat to take us back to our hotel Marina.
We unpacked our days shopping to find that housekeeping had loaded our dish washer for us, bad move on their part... A quick lye by the pool to watch the sunset and it was time for dinner. We made ourselves some dinner of carbonara from scratch and settled down for a Grey's Anatomy marathon. Hey, isn't that what you're meant to do on a vacation. Vacate your normal life, take advantage of the climate where possible but most of all; relax.
That was our routine for most of our holiday. Sleep, eat, relax, swim, lounge, read, sunbathe, eat and sleep. Beautiful!
On Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the "last day of summer" as everyone called it, by taking a boat trip to Lopud island. The island was about 30 minutes away but a promise of sandy beaches. We did our usual: dip, sun dry, read, eat, dip repeat. The 'eat' part was amazing though. Just up from the beach there was a burger place that we were both dying to try and we were not disappointed. These burger were not only giant but they were also delicious. The Irish couple next to us said they have been raving about these burgers for 2 years since they have them last. During our boat trip home, we were slowly being gained on by a pirate ship but they decided that we weren't worth commandeering.
Friday was another chill day. I was still recovering from sun burn so I stayed in the shade. The weather decided to break and we got to view an amazing thunder and lightning storm. So, we decided to have a movie night. We went down to the local bakery and got a pizza, dessert, drinks and settled down to watch Scott Pilgrim.
Saturday was the one we'd been waiting for. We had booked ourselves in to get a back, neck and shoulder massage as well as a facial. It was my first time having a proper spa treatment so was a little nervous. It was pretty much what I imagined from tv. A foldout bed with a hole for your face, soft music and candles and lots and lots of towels. I lost count of the amount of towels I was covered in. The massage was 55 minutes and I almost fell asleep. The facial was another 45 minutes and from what I could tell, it was just putting lots of creams on, leaving then for a while, then taking them off. Still, I came out with the softest skin that I've ever had and a back with no more knots. Money well spent.
As we sat on the balcony, we had our final meal and toasted to a beautiful week of relaxation.
The morning we were leaving, we both woke up early. We checked out and arrived perfectly on time to be chauffeured straight to the airport.
Dubrovnik airport will live on in my memory for it's lack of customer service or security. A short queue was split between two security check points. As most of us were frequent flyers, we proceeded to take out our bags of liquid, laptops, take off jackets, shoes, belts etc. We were rudely stopped and herded through the scanners. I beeped as I was not allowed to remove my belt but I was hurriedly given my bag and then ignored.
We eventually found a seat in the tiny, overcrowded departures lounge while reminiscing on what a great week we had.
I would recommend Dubrovnik for the sun, the stunning old city and the seafood (not forgetting the gelato) but in terms of being looked after, the nicest person was the concierge at the hotel but only because she knew how much we paid to be there.
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