Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Miscellaneous Dubrovnik




Through a hole in the Old City Wall, there is a tiny entrance to one of two bars....Buza I and Buza II (pronounce Buza as Boo-ja--the z is a long j sound). We sat at Buza II waiting for the sunset, but that was the day we had flown in and the travel, the heat, and the fact that sunset was a lot later than we anticipated made us quit the scene a bit early.







Buza I is located closer to the Ploce end of the Old City and does not have any sun shade to speak of.








Buza II is more centrally located along the sea side of the Old City Wall.























Sam and Ivo hit it off right from the start.








































While we sat there enjoying the fact we were in such a beautiful place, the entertainment was provided by young people jumping from rocks about 20-30 feet above the deep Adriatic water. I don't know about you, but no way would I do that by choice!!!

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I needed a haircut. I needed that haircut badly. I think my last haircut with my stylist in Huntington was sometime in November and I bet she thinks I have fallen into a deep hole somewhere. I got my hair trimmed at an Aveeda salon in Seattle in February when I was there for a weekend and was wandering the streets until Graham was done with a meeting. I failed to get into my stylist again throughout the spring and by May I finally decided I would just wait.

I got my hair cut in France in 1982 when I was in Europe for business. I got my hai cut in London when I was there on a trip in 2000. Why not get a hair cut this trip?

So, rather than pull a name out of the air, I asked my friend Carol if she liked her hair stylist and why. It sounded good, so I had her book me an appointment.






Can you imagine yourself in the penthouse suite with nice quiet music playing, the light aroma of fresh flowers in the air and this million dollar view? The hair stylist was amazing and I wish I could show you a video of him cutting Carol's hair, but I haven't figured out how to post videos to the blog yet. His scissors and comb were flying and if I didn't see the snippets of hair falling away, I would figure it was showmanship.


But our haircuts were really really good. His name is Ivo also (similar to John and very common name) and he trained in Italy. He is recognized to be so good that he was a contestent in a contest of the world's best hair stylists held in Las Vegas a couple of years ago.. The cost? About $25.


This group of women were in glorious preparation for one of their weddings. It seems that Dubrovnik has become a wedding destination. They were from Manchester, England.







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The evening before my haircut, as we all were walking through the Old City to a wonderful restaurant on the Old Harbor we passed this group. The kilts really grabbed our attention and listening to them speaking, it was confirmed that they were Scottish.







Later, the bride and groom walked down to where the restaurant was located and posed for some wedding photos. Like the guy form West Virginia who got married at Castle Duart on the Isle of Mull, some people are very fortunate to be able to afford a wedding in a wonderfully romantic location.......I just hope they live the marriage as well as they planned the party.



























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On the Old Harbor (Ploce) side of the Old City, but outside the City Walls, a quarantine structure was built at the beginning of the 17th century. Because of the terrible spread of infectious diseases like the Plague, all traders and passengers coming by caravan and ship had to stay there for 40 days. Now the buildings are used for various purposes--offices, art galleries and cultural activities.

















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Grocery shopping in the new city is in small stores but also in supermarkets similar to what we have in the US. The one we went to was like a small Wal-Mart with some small amount of clothing, but mostly food things, some housewares related to food prep, toiletries and alchoholic beverages.








The meat counter had large cuts of beef and you could request a small piece. The deli was full of many kinds of salami types of meats.











And don't forget the ice cream!!!!










I ate more squid in the 9 days I was in Croatia than I have in my entire life. I loved it!! At this supermarket you could buy packages with squid of all cuts.























Of course the wine selection--whites, red and sparklings---caught my eye. Like other places in Europe, there are many more choices of decent table wine at low prices.













1 comment:

Dubrovnik Travelady said...

And some folks ask why I live here...