To see a bit more of the island, Bob and I decided to walk 6k to the town of Lumbarda to check out its beach that our host had told us about. While the day was a bit overcast, we had a good walk there and back.
Back in Korčula, we walked out of town along the other harbor (opposite from where we stayed and from which we left town in the morning for Lumbada) to get a good overlook of Old Town.
On Monday, September 18, Bob and I caught a 6:30 am ferry from Dubrovnik to the island of Korčula. The ferry trip took about 2 1/2 hours getting us to the island at 9:10. Korčula is an island of about 15,500 people. It is also the name of the main town on the island, population 5,600. The town’s main claim to fame for tourists, other than being a beautiful island get-away, is its medieval towers in the Old Town and being the supposed birthplace of Marko Polo.
After deboarding from the ferry, we had a picnic breakfast by the harbor and then walked a quick 5 minutes into Old Town in Korčula (the town) to our accommodation. We stayed in a room over a pizza restaurant that faced the promenade on one side of the Old Town peninsula.
On our second full day in Croatia, we took a 15 minute boat ride to the nearby island of Lokrum which is a designated nature preserve with a botanic garden, historical remains, and a number of beaches. Boats between the Old Town of Dubrovnik and Lokrum run every half hour.
After returning from the island, we walked to Banje Beach, Dubrovnik’s most famous beach, and then back through Old Town to our accommodation.
Sunday was a cloudy day with light showers off and on. We still got out to see some of the areas we hadn’t yet explored.
Dubrovnik is a small city of about 43,000 on the southwestern coast of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, in the region of Dalmatia. It is famous for its walled Old Town and was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. Bob and I decided to start our official introduction to Dubrovnik with a hike up Srd Hill for a good overlook of the city. The city is built at the base of, and up the side of a hill, so we had some steep urban walking on a series of steps in the residential neighborhoods before getting to the base of the hill hike along a busy highway. Those not wanting, or unable, to hike up the hill can pay for a gondola ride to the top.
After hiking back down, we worked our way back through neighborhoods and into Old Town. Old Town is architecturally and historically interesting, set along a gorgeous coast, and filled with a number of museums, shops, cafes, and restaurants. We were only disappointed that you had to pay to walk on the wall ($24 each!), as we had been able to that for free in the UK. We decided to save the money, as we had a view from above on the hill.
For the final European stint of this travel adventure, Bob and I purchased 2 “free” (actually $55 each since free seems to be impossible anymore) tickets from Chicago to Dubrovnik, Croatia. All we had to do was fly American Airlines (AA) from Chicago to Charlotte, NC, then Charlotte to Madrid, Spain, and then Iberia (AA partner) into Dubrovnik. All of our flights were on time and problem free. However, we left Charlotte at 4:40 pm, much earlier than our usual flight departure times for Europe. We weren’t tired getting on, we ate early, there were a lot of lights on all night/day during the flight, and the flight attendants went through the aisle during “sleep time” to offer orange juice or coffee?! It was the first cross-Atlantic flight that neither of us managed to sleep at all. After a 3+ hour layover (and an unusually long, convoluted bus ride to our plane, we boarded the Iberia flight from Madrid to Dubrovnik where the only food and drink offered was for sale. No free water or anything else offered. We don’t plan to eat on flights anymore but were surprised about no free water or soft drinks or anything. It was a 3 hour flight. But, the price was right, as we kept reminding ourselves, and we got to our desired destination intact. The beauty of Dubrovnik, and the friendliness of our accommodation host, kept our spirits up until we could get some sleep.
After getting settled in our room, we walked to one of the many beaches that surround the peninsular coast of Dubrovnik. We picked the Copcabana Beach as we liked the name, it wasn’t too far from where we were staying , and it faced the waters where many of the ships came and went. It was a lovely little beach area with a sense of fun.
Bob and I were able to spend a few gorgeous late-summer weather days in Chicago at Bob’s nephew and wife’s house both before and after their wedding. They live in a great area of town — within a mile of the Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory and Lake Michigan and about 2 miles from Wrigley Field. They are also right off the brown line on the El and near lots of great restaurants and shopping. We took advantage (within limit so) of our proximity to Whole Foods.
In terms of sightseeing, we tried to see areas of town that we hadn’t explored much before and that were free cuz that’s how we roll these days. One of the first places we visited was the Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory. Both were free, very impressive, and pretty busy for a Friday afternoon.
After the wedding, we met up with my Aunt Dee who lives south of the loop . It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, so we walked two hours from the Lincoln Park area to a neighborhood closer to the McCormick Center. The walk gave us an opportunity to see a lot of different neighborhoods, and we were rewarded with a great meal at a tapas restaurant and an introduction to Mariano’s, a poor man’s Whole Foods, by my aunt.
One day we walked into downtown via the beautiful Lakefront Trail which was also my running route during our stay.
On Labor Day, the day after the wedding, my sister picked Bob and I in Naperville and took us to her new house in Rockford, IL. We spent our time with her exploring the Rockford area as well as visiting other relatives in the area.
We spent a lovely half-day in Madison with my Aunt (and godmother) Terri who we had also visited in Seattle.
On Wednesday evening, Brenda took us to the Rockford Conservatory where we listened to a great local band and viewed a light installation by Bruce Munro.
On Thursday, we spent a great day at the very beautiful Starved RockState Oark outside of Utica, IL. We definitely want to come back!
Bob and I flew from Florida to Chicago for some serious family time highlighted by our nephew, and Bob’s godson’s wedding. It was a perfect weekend with Bob’s family. The festivities began on Saturday with an afternoon Cubs game –and the Cubs won!
The wedding and reception were in Naperville, home of the bride and bride’s parents. It’s a beautiful community.
Some photos from the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception —
I can’t believe we have been out of our Florda house sit for almost two weeks! While we have been busy seeing family in Illinois and Wisconsin, we have checked in with our home owners to learn that they have survived Hurricane Irma with no damage to their home and no loss of electricity. We are still amazed at the devastation facing much of Texas and Florida (and the Caribbean) from Harvey and Irma (and, if you have seen their photo on Twitter, they seem like such a nice elderly couple!)
Some final photos from our stay in The Villages —
Some other photos of our exploration of the community —
And one last tribute to two wonderful dogs —
Bob and I have been having a pretty laid-back time in The Villages with our two dogs. We (as in Bob) are now golf-cart driving and parking pros. We like that the golf cart is electric-powered and definitely enjoy golf cart traffic “jams” rather than car ones. We have also bonded with our sweet dogs who enjoy treats, play time and/or walks, and time at the dog park.
One of the advantages of golf cart riding is the ease of snapping photos en route of the beautiful local scenery. See some “moving” pics below —
We have also spent some time checking out the various town squares and recreation centers.
We found a nature center to visit as well. The Sharon Rose Weichens Preserve is a wildlife refuge in The Villages.
Peckish Travels