Whenever anyone talks about Dubrovnik, I always hear about 2 day trips: Mostar and the Bay of Kotor. The night before when we met our new British friend (who never showed for dinner) he raved about Montenegro. He said he liked it much better than Bosnia. I had loved the Bosnia day so I had high hopes. That is always the curse of death, right?

Before discussing the day I think a few things should be remembered. First, it was very overcast. It actually rained up in Croatia while we were gone so we didn't have glorious weather. Also, I think we were comparing our day to Bosnia where we had a guide. I'd be interested to see if we felt differently about the day if we had Zoran to this trip for us. (He does Montenegro, too) Okay, on to the day.

We started the day by getting our rental car. This was a bit of an ordeal. I had booked with Economy Car Rentals. I got a great rate that included them dropping off the car to my "hotel" and then me returning to the airport when we flew out. The problem was that no one had contacted me to set up details for drop off and I had no email. Only a local number. I stopped by the car rental desk at the airport and the office manager gave me his card. I emailed him with the details (apparently it can only be at a hotel?) but didn't hear back. We went to the Post Office and bought a phone card so we could use the public phone but just then got an email back. Of course.


After the big ordeal of having to find a nearby hotel to pick up our car (there are none within the walls) we were able to get the company to pick us up right by the gate. We were thrown off because (1) the guy showed up 10 minutes late and (2) he showed up in an Audi. I rented a Renault. Much much different. The guy told us to jump in the car and that we had to go somewhere else to do the paperwork. We drove up the hill a bit to a pull off and were soon on our way. Much easier than finding a random hotel or paying $30 to have a taxi take us to the aiport to pick it up. I had read good things about ECR. They use local agencies but cover all the insurance needs.

We had moved the drop off time up to 8am so that we could get on the road earlier. We needed to be back by 4 to get our tickets for the water polo game. More to come later... We were on the road by 8:30 am and headed South to the Montenegro border. If anyone else is doing this drive on their own, I'd recommend Rick Steve's self-guided tour. I tried to find it online but with no luck. We had a copy of the book and I'm glad we had it.

The drive is very easy. You basically head straight down the road from Dubrovnik. No turns. We went through some small towns on the way down the Croatian coast. Back past the airport and within 45 minutes we were at the border. There was a bit of a wait at the border control. This was the first time we really had to wait at a border. Maybe 15 minutes? It wasn't bad and Americans always seem to get shuffled right through. I was happy to get my Montenegro stamp, though!

We continued to follow Rick Steve's directions and I read the history to Josh as he drove. We were going to first stop at Perast but they wanted to charge us for parking. We didn't have anything other than kuna (although we didn't realize that was a problem) and didn't feel like paying anything. Lazy I know. I just wanted to see the village, but I was starting to get hungry. We decided to pass on the town and headed towards our restaurant, Konoba Catovica Mlini.

The restaurant wasn't supposed to open until 11am but we got there at 10:30. We heard the grounds were pretty so we decided to walk around before they opened up. We were the first to get there and saw large parking spots, so I'd assume they get tour buses. We strolled through the grounds, which were in fact gorgeous. I felt like I was someplace else entirely. Ponds, ducks, cute bridges and the most gorgeous old house that housed the interior restaurant. We peeked in as we left even though we ate outside. The waiter said we could come eat whenever we wanted and didn't have to wait until 11. We took our time taking photos and just enjoying the area.

When we went to sit down, we were told to choose wherever we wanted to sit. Outside on the terrace by the wines? By the pond? By the waterfall? On the terrace covered by grape vines? Oh the choices. Josh chose the grape covered hemisphere shaped structure. Partly because I think he viewed it as another backyard challenge. He kept asking if I thought we could grow grapes in North Carolina.

Lunch was good. Much more gourmet than our previous food, except Sesame. We were still the only people at the place until we were about to pay the bill and a small family came. Now I know why they told me I didn't need reservations at this time of year! My only complaint was that they were cutting the grass on the property while we were there and I could  have done without the noise. Not loud, but I would have enjoyed the serenity of the quietness. The strange thing was that they used weedwackers to cut the grass. Quite time-consuming I would think.

Like most restaurants we came across, when we paid with credit card, there was no place to put a tip on. I had read my book and although tips aren't expected, they are always appreciated. We always got a good response when we tipped. We tried to not overtip to be "those Americans" but polite. We found 10-15% seemed appropriate. More than that seemed absurd from what we learned. When we were in Bosnia, we could use our Croatian kuna. Since we were not far from the border, we assumed the same held true here. We actually never even thought about it and left our tip for our waiter in kuna.

After lunch we headed back on our road and made our way through some more small villages. We didn't stop because we didn't want to tempt fate and really wanted to make it to Kotor Town before the rain. The drive was a bit surreal though. I'm not sure I was able to fully take in what was around us. Massive mountains that came into the water. The bay narrowed and wove around. We snaked all the way around it and you couldn't see Kotor Town for most of the way. It was hidden behind a tip of the land that jutted out into the bay. The prettiest part was probably the small island in the middle of the bay with the church on it. You could take a boat out there I believe, but for us the beauty was seeing it out in the middle of the water just engulfed by the terrain around it.


We shortly got to Kotor Town and after missing the parking lot, made our way back to it. For the record, the easier one to park in was the one on the left BEFORE the moat at the walls. If you pass it you can park in the more expensive one 100 yards up on the right. However, if it is full, it's hard to turn around and get back. We did, but I was a bit scared for our little Audi. We parked and walked across the bridge to enter the town.

Now, I'm not sure what I expected of Kotor, but it just wasn't this. I actually wonder if we missed something. Josh and I both said later that we felt a bit like we were at Epcot Center in the Montenegro exhibit. I know Dubrovnik is touristy but this just felt different to us. We got it and headed up some stairs to get a view from up top. Rick Steves' guide just told us to try and get lost in the maze-like streets. We tried. We got bored. It was pretty, but we had seen a lot of pretty little town by now.


We spent most of our time in Kotor ducking into churches or looking down alleys. There were a few churches that were quite pretty inside and had great lighting. Also, if you caught some of the buildings just right you could see them up against the backdrop of the mountains which was pretty spectacular. I experimented with my camera a bit and Josh tried to show me how to shoot candles. There is so much to this photography thing! I think I'm slowly getting better but there is a lot to remember. I was also happy to finally see some color. Although Dubrovnik and Mostar had been pretty, there was very little color on the buildings. That was one my favorite parts of Greece. The colored doors and shutters against the white and grey buildings. We saw a hint of that here in Montenegro but still nothing like Greece.

I think that was the problem. We were done with our history and wanted to see something new. We spent a while (maybe an hour and a half or 2?) and then headed for the car. We had been worried that we couldn't get back in time but this would work well.

Luckily, our guidebook suggested a shortcut to get back. If we went through the tunnel on the other side of Kotor Town it would take us down to the bay from the other side and we could catch a car ferry across that would cut off a bit of the drive. It claimed it would save us 30 minutes, but I doubt that. It was still some driving but it was a different route so we were happy with it. The ferry was cheap but would only take Euro! We had no Euro! We found a bank and were horrified when we realized we had given our waiter money he couldn't use. Oops.

We got across the ferry which was probably 4 minutes and were back on our way towards the border. The timing was perfect because it started raining while we drove. We heard later there was a short downpour in Dubrovnik and it had been a washout further North. We really lucked out with our schedule.

Getting through border control this time was quite interesting. We were moving well until everything stopped. We saw a young couple having to empty the belongings of fall their luggage on the side. We saw lots of cigarettes and a very frustrated female. Not sure what that was all about. We got through and quickly found ourselves approaching Dubrovnik.

All we knew was that we needed to go across from the water polo stadium. Easy. We had no idea where that was other than the fact that Zoran had pointed it out in the horizon when we were driving to Bosnia. I took it to be that it was across the peninsula and on the sea. Josh took that to mean it was on the close side by the port. We passed the one road that took you from the upper highway down to Old Town, thinking there would be a closer road to where we needed to go. Nope. We ended up across a bridge headed back to Bosnia. We spun around and headed down our normal path and then started making up a route towards where we thought we needed to go. It's a miracle that Josh and I were still married after that drive. 45 minutes later we had driven in circles around downtown Dubrovnik. Gotten in a traffic jam. Ended up in some residential street that our car would barely fit down and then found ourselves parked in a bus parking lot. We still didn't know where Goran (Zoran's twin brother) and his bar were. I sent Josh out to search while I stayed in the car to keep it from getting towed. I saw Josh circle around several times. Not a good sign. Then I saw him talk to a bus driver and shaking of heads. That couldn't be good either.

He came back to the car and said he got the tickets but thought we should move the car. No one could tell him if we were allowed to park there. We decided better safe than sorry and found some meter parking on the other side of the building. This was getting exhausting. Even more exhausting, we didn't have enough change. Josh went to the shops right there and after a couple tries got enough change to get us paid up for what we thought had to be plenty of time to watch the match. How long does a water polo match take? Three hours seemed enough.

The match was to start at 6pm and it was now around 5. We headed back to Goran's bar as we thought it would be nice to give them our business since we got free tickets. We were well outside of Old Town and all its tourist. We were obviously the only non-Croatians around. Businessmen were joining the tables on the patio around us for a Happy Hour. Josh ordered his normal beer and I tried to figure out what to get. I saw something with Orange, Lemon or another fruit. I asked the waiter if it was good and he said sure. He pointed at a lady's drink in a tall glass next to me and I ordered it. A few minutes later and my sophisticated drink came. A glass water and an envelope of the Croatian equivalent of Tang. Yes, I ordered tang. I hate Tang. I didn't want to be rude so I drank it. Nasty. Josh thought it was hilarious. He ran to the bathroom and came back saying he had found Goran. What? How did he know who Goran was. (He hadn't been there when he had picked up the tickets before) Well, he looks identical to Zoran... At 6, Josh led me over to the far table and introduced me to Goran. Goran said he would go over with us to the match.

While the drive to Montenegro hadn't been everything I had wanted, the water polo match made up for it. Dubrovnik used to be the undefeated champions every year. In the past few years this had changed a bit and they found themselves in a 1-1 series for the championship now. The locals were very mad the team had lost the Saturday before after having been up 9-6. If they had one, tonight's match would have been for the championship. Bummer. That would have been cool.

Goran, led us into the aquatic center that used to be open aired. He explained all the rules, history and led us to his normal seats. Throughout the night he greeted all his friends and it was becoming obvious that people were asking "who are these Americans?".

The match itself was extremely fun. I had never seen the sport before but it was action packed. People were cheering. Some local high school kids brought drums and led the cheers and fight chants. It was a bit like hockey, lots of nasty blows under water, crossed with soccer or lacrosse I guess. I learned all about the players. Who was on the national team. How Dubrovnik players actually GREW up in Dubrovnik while the other teams brought in players from other countries to attend "school". We learned that the City actually pays the players' wages which is the equivalent of $20,000 a year. Barely enough to rent an apartment. Number 10, the captain, was rumored to be considering leaving at the end of the season. Lots of drama.



It was a close match. A bit too close for the locals until the goalie was replaced. The starting goalie had been out for a month with a shoulder injury. He must have decided it was now or never and came back in. He was pretty amazing to watch and quickly Dubrovnik started pulling ahead. In the end they won by a couple goals. I don't remember how many but it was comfortable. At 7:10 the matched ended just like Goran had promised. I thought we were headed home but Josh said Goran had invited us back to his bar for drinks. Okay.

This time we went down into the bar which was a floor underground. Not much of a bar. Linoleum floor. Not really a bar. Just a tap. Strange. It was us, Goran, his best friend/co-owner, and a family of locals. We sat around and had a drink. I had one of the notorious mini wine bottles and Josh his normal beer. We weren't there that long but Goran's best friend came over and introduced himself to us. He immediately looked at me and asked me the name of the name of the biggest newspaper in the US. The most popular. Ummm... The USA Today I asked? Is this a quiz? Great! USA Today he exclaimed. That will be perfect. This sounds bad very bad. Goran and his buddy then told us that one of their friends would be stopping by in a minute and we should stay to say hi. He is the captain of the Dubrovnik team. Now this was just crazy to Josh and I. Water Polo is a huge sport over there. And this guy, number 10, was the main player on the main team in the country. And he was just going to walk over to the bar across the street after cleaning up after the match. That would never happen in the US!

Sure enough a few minutes later, the biggest guy I have ever seen walked through the basement door. He must have been 6'8" and 275 pounds. Not fat, just really big and muscular. He came in and introduced himself. The guys started talking quickly in Croatian and all I heard was "USA Today". Immediately Number 10 grins and says photo? He looks at Josh who gets my camera out and takes a picture. I came up to the guys armpit. And to top it off.... my camera card wasn't working, so we have no proof of it! I was devastated. I was also mortified that this pour guy thought I was a reporter. We finished our drinks and hid some money under Goran's glass (he wouldn't take our money) and said our goodbyes. We headed back home as we had a lot of packing to do for the morning.

For the second time in one day it was a miracle we were still married. We had to find somewhere to park the car. We checked all the spaces by the walls. Nothing. After circling a few times we headed back up the hill and found the garage. $30 for overnight! Crazy. We had no other choice so we parked and started climbing down the very steep steps for a long walk home. This would not be fun in the  morning...

We were supposed to go sea kayaking out to Kolocep Island today. Being that it is off season we were told by the company they wouldn't know until 3 days out what trips they were offering that day. I emailed them before we left but didn't hear anything. Once we were in Croatia we watched the weather and kept seeing possibility of rain for Tuesday. On Monday they emailed and said they were doing a paddle and bike trip that day. It was to a different island and I really didn't want to get on a bike. We were already exhausted. Instead, we decided to sleep in until 10 and just putter around Dubrovnik exploring.

We heard that the market a couple squares over from our place was good so we decided to check it out hoping to get some of those great fruit and vegetable shots or at least some good figs. (Zoran gave me one the day before and I was hooked). By the time we had gotten there most of the locals must have already shopped and it was more touristy than authentic. We kept on moving.

By 11 the hoards of tourists from the cruises were coming through the Old Town gates. We decided to exit the Pile (Main) Gate on the other side of town from us and explore more. We got lost a bit winding through the streets. I would consider staying in an apartment over there if I were to come back. It seemed like a quiet more residential area and still super close to the Old Town. We found out that hardly any locals live inside the walls anymore, which would explain why everyone was so loud. I can't imagine how loud the streets would be during peak season.


We wandered back into Old Town deciding to find a sandwich for lunch. I had read about a good place and had noted the address before we left the apartment that morning. I found the address. Even found the name on the sign at the end of the alley. Josh and walked up and down the alley three times before he asked a girl, at where we thought the shop should be, and she said "No. No more. No food. Only jewelry." Hmmmpppfffh. So I knew there was another sandwich shop recommended. Where was it?

As we walked aimlessly around Old Town looking for the now infamous sandwich shop, avoiding tourists not walking where they were going and strange men trying to scale the side of buildings, we stumbled across a few sites. First we found the oldest constantly running pharmacy in the world. Over 700 years I think. They are known not just as a pharmacy but for their local remedies, lotions, etc. We watching in amusement as some ladies learned about cellulite creams and who knows what else. It was a gorgeous space. We had read that during the war dozens of shells went off in the courtyard outside and they kept open. Who else would help these people?

Next we found the Ronchi Hat store. I remembered this from one of my guidebooks. A famous hat designer. Family from Italy. Designer in Dubrovnik. You must remember that the Royal Wedding was only a few weeks before we went on vacation and I already had an obsession with hats. Fifteen minutes later we were leaving with a one of a kind straw hat in tow for me. No clue where I can wear this little gem. Josh was disappointed when the designer told him she doesn't make anything big enough to fit a head his size.

We were now very hungry and I felt defeated with the sandwich search. Old Town food is typically not very good and very expensive. I was  not up for a $40 lunch. We went back to the apartment and checked our book. Strange it says its next to our apartment. Sure enough. We found the "Sandwich Club" sign and got two for us. This was the beginning of our prosciutto, cheese and bread obsession. It was takeout only so we grabbed our sandwiches and started walking to the water. I had read (yes, I know I research everything) that the best place to picnic was at the Porporela out behind the walls and past the Old Port. Josh said he had seen it when walking the walls so we started towards the tip of the walls. We kept wandering around the marina and found ourselves on the other side. It was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous. We ate by the water and then explored further. We came to a bunch of rocks where there was a group of older local men swimming in their speedos.

I thought the man asked me if he could "help me in" as in I thought he was going to push me in the water. Josh thought he said "help me out" as in get me to undress and take a swim. Either way I shrugged it off as a dirty old man and kept going. As usual we took some pictures and went back to our place for a break. We now weren't sure what to do next. We had a few options. Our first plan for the day had been to take a boat out to Kolocep island in the afternoon and explore. We were worried about the timing of the boats and weren't wanting to commit to 5 hours on the island. Instead we decided to take the cable car ride up to the top of the mountain. It was pricey $35 for two, but it supposedly had the best views. We were originally just going to drive once we had our car, but the cable car sounded fun and we had time.

There are no signs to the cable car. You simply look overhead for the cars and line and walk towards where it appears to start. We then found some stairs that looked like they were private and eventually found ourselves on the next road up in a very new and modern base building for the cars. We saw a car about to leave and I thought the next one would be an hour later. We threw our money at the ticket lady and quickly slid in to jump on the car. And it pulled away. What! We turned around and she said next one. I was furious. Then I found out it was a 15 minute wait and was a little less furious.

The ride up was quick but pretty. The cable car has only been back up and running since last fall I think. It must have gotten destroyed in the fires previously? It's brand new. We got up the mountain and there was the obligatory gift shop and restaurant. We bypassed that and went out onto the viewing deck. Shot pictures and then saw that everyone was headed to the big cross location for more picture ops. Once over there we sat shot more photos and then sat down once some others left. The guy next to me must have been eavesdropping and asked where we were from. He was from London. He was vacationing alone. Needed to get "the shot" but the lighting was on the City yet. He asked if we could get it for him when the sun was in the right spot. Sure we said. He then proceeded to show Josh his camera and the shot he was trying to duplicate but with the right lighting. Josh said he would take it. The guy then explained how not to cut off his feet. He hates that. The sun came back and the man scurried over to the rock. He told Josh to make sure he counted to three. One.... The guy turned a 180 so he was facing the city. Two... I could see him put his smile on. Three.... he spun around cheesing. Okay, again he said. After FIFTEEN rounds of this - I am not exaggerating at all. He came over to have a look. No, no! He told Josh. The horizon is wrong. Josh had to repeat the process again.


Okay, now your turn he says. I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model. He was jumping all over the place getting different angles. I think we got some good ones though. Once he was done we started talking and he asked where we were going for dinner. He said we had to try this place he had gone. It was amazing. Sesame. Of course it was the place I had already picked out for us that night. Then he tells me about the driver he had used that day to go to Montenegro. He was great. 1/2 the price of anyone in town. The details started sounding very familiar. Yep, you guessed it. He had Zoran for his trip the day after we had him for ours. This was getting weird. Josh and I both had the same thought. Where in the world is Jered?

Excited that someone other than myself could vouch for Sesame (Josh really needs to stop second guessing me) we made our way back down the mountain and headed home to get ready for dinner. Sesame was just outside the Pile Gate outside of town. We had almost found it earlier in the day if we had just walked one more block. The inside was cozy but I really wanted to sit on the terrace upstairs. We were the second ones there so we got our choice of tables. We picked the solo table out on the side terrace and they let out the awning so we couldn't get wet when it sprinkled later. The setting was really nice. Candlelight. Flowers around us. The food was by far the best we had the entire trip. The salad was arugula, prosciutto and fig. So yummy. The dessert was a thick chocolate mousse, local olive oil and sea salt. (Does it get better) I don't really remember the middle of dinner but it was really yummy too. We got the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu Krk. The waitress gave us a strange look but when she said white and slightly sweet I knew Josh would like it. They only had two bottles left. Well, now none. Bottle one she managed to break the cork in the bottle. Bottle two was mysteriously opened downstairs by I'm sure someone else. Near the end of dinner a large group came and made our romantic dinner a bit louder. We finished up and headed back in to town.

There was an orchestra concert that night in one of the halls but Josh said it looked too stuffy. Instead we headed over to the outside Jazz Club we had heard the last couple of nights. We grabbed a table, two drinks and listened to a Croatian trio murder American music. It was pretty entertaining. We called it a night and headed to bed.

I will start by saying I hate blogging on an iPad. I spent the last 45 minutes typing up the post to hit a wrong button and lee almost all of it. Ths may be shorter than planned because I'm a bit furious at the moment....

The day started out fairly early. We had made arrangements to meet our guide at 9am by the entrance gate to the city. We made a successful trip to the bank to cash some travelers checks. Well successfulbis relative. Everyone in there was Croatian except us. There appeared to be a number system for the order but we couldn't figure it out. There was an ATM looking machine but it was all in Croatian. I stared at it for a bit and the local lady next to me looked at me. Never bothered to help so we waited patiently. Patiently for 15 minutes. Then some other foreigners came in and the local lady pointed them towards the funny machine and helped them get a ticket. Soon they had jumped in front us. Josh jumped the line and played dumb. The bank teller told us she couldn't help us since we didn't have a number. I asked how we could get a number since everything was in Croatian and no one would help us. We were next... That was the only time I had felt disrespected in this country so far. Inthink it must have been an age thing rather than country background.

We got our money, found some cheap danishes and were right on time. Zoran pulled up at 9am on the dot and we jumped in. Immediately I was at ease with him. We are used to nice and knowledgeable guides, but they all usually feel a bit like a salesman or are working for an American tip.

Our first stop was a village that mixed Muslim architecture with Christian architecture. Apparently it was first Muslim and then the Christians took over and added renovations and additions. At least I think that is right. Josh and I somehow managed to get lost in the tiny hillside town and found a path the connected us back to the roads. It set the stage for Mostar.

I didn't realize it but Bosnia has a small strip of land on the coast. We exited Croatia. Entered Croatia. And exited again to get to Mostar. The Bosnia folks didn't pay any attention until the last checkpoint. I excitedly asked Josh if he thought we would get stamps. Zoran turned around grinning and said he already asked. He also confirmed that only Americans get so excited about stamps. Nontheless, I was thrilled with mine.

We parked in Mostar and Zoran started spewing history as we walked towards the town. I knew two things about the town prior. It was pretty and had been destroyed in 1993 by the war. As we walked I saw a lot of the damage but very little beauty. Almost immediately after thinking that the old town came into view.

It's hard to put everything into words or even show with pictures. I could hear the sadness in Zoran's words as he described the prewar and postwar Bosnia (and Mostar). Before it represented acceptance. Anyone could befriend, marry or live as they pleased. Race and religion didn't matter. Now everything is based on segregation. Even Mostar is visibly east of the bridge versus west of the bridge. Even though the Muslims and christians live together pea fully, the mosques and cathedrals compete to see who can be higher.

We went and viewed a photo exhibit that showed photos from the war. We watched live footage from the bridge tumbling. It was very sad. I wasn't expecting that from the day. The town was beautiful and quaint but subtle reminders of the devastation were everyone. I'm so glad I got to experience that.

The lighter side of the day was making it through the tourist section and not getting accosted by the vendors. I was tempted by the vintage coffee grinder though.



Zoran led us to a small out of the way restaurant and gave specific instructions on what to order. I had heard rave reviews about "his restaurant". After a failed ordering attempt with the owner who spoke no English I got up and pointed out the actual food. I must say it was one of the best $12 meals we have had. Two Burris. Phyllo dough filled with something. Potato and spinach. And an order of cepicaci (close enough) which are sausage like things served in pita with onions and a roasted red pepper paste. Yummy, yummy yummy.

After lunch we toured an old Turkish estate that was turned into a national monument. The architecture was impressive and we learned that back in the day the mothers were not allowed to sleep in the same room ad their husbands for 40 days but instead had to sleep with their baby alone. Interesting...

We took a bazillion more pictures and headed to find Zoran. We headed out of Mostar and he asked if we wanted to see waterfalls. Sure! Who doesn't like waterfalls? It was getting later in the afternoon so I wasn't sure if were going to still get our oyster farm in. We went with the flow.












By this point we had beat the odds. The forecast for the day had been heavy rain. Other than a few sprinkles we had lucked out. It was actually gorgeous while we were at Mostar. When we got to the waterfalls it was starting to rain so Zoran drove us down to the viewing site and we hopped out. When he said waterfalls I wasn't expecting anything this big. I never envisioned this when I thought of Bosnia!

We hopped back in the car and started back towards Croatia for our oyster stop! Josh was given the okay to take an hour nap. Shortly we were headed over to Ston on the peninsula. You could see the oyster farms everywhere in the bay. Zoran warned us that we might not get to eat them right out of the water like we were all hoping. Something to do with inspections, diahrea and a 20 day no sale period for the entire region. The farmer he knew was very safe, sustainable and by the books. We might have to go to a local restaurant to actually eat them. Confused I asked where those oysters came from. Oh, the same area farms we were passing. Apparently most cheat the system, sell the oysters and orovide fake certificates of sale from other regions of Croatia. Awesome. Zoran expained the health issue was no big deal. Part of the natural oyster cycle. Hmmmm.

We made our way down a hairpin driveway and pulled up to a house on the water. Zoran greeted the woman of the house and we made our way to the oyster shack and equipment. They wouldn't budge on the rules. They couldn't risk being shut down by the inspectors. We told them no problem. We really just wanted to see the operations. Zoran pulled up the holding containers of oysters and mussels. Showed us the work that goes into cleaning everything and let us take photos. I could have relaxed there all day with the breeze on the water. What a life.

We thanked the owners and set out for the restaurant. We made a quick stop at the old salt factory and got to the restaurant in Ston. I shouldn't have been surprised ut was all locals. The food was about 1/2 the price as in Duvrovnik and much better quality according to Zoran. (he had been a chef for 15 years at the restaurant sister of our first night pick. He said he had to get out of the business when the industry lost it's integrity. His belief is that if h doesn't see the chef at the market every morning, they are getting their food elsewhere and it isn't fresh. He's obviously opinionated with his restaurant choices). The oysters we ordered were the best I've ever tasted. You could taste the salt water in them. Delicious. We chided down and hoped we wouldn't be punished with the diarrhea.

It was after 6 so we sadly paid and headed back to town. Zoran gave me a list of wineries to visit on the way to korcula, noting which ones had good wine and which ones were just cool to see. He told us the acceptable restaurants in town and made arrangements to get us in to the national water polo championship on Wednesday. We said our goodbyes and headed to the apartment.

We kept our promise to Zoran and got ready for dinner rather than take a nap. Moby Dick was his rec. We found our way there and grabbed a seat. They were packed which is a good sign. They also brought out their fresh fish to see. Another good sign. We opted for a seafood plate. It was nothing short of massive. Mussels, prawns, squid ink risotto, calamari. And two barracuda fillets. The mussels, risotto and calamari were all to die for. I've never had squid prepared so well. It was a pricey meal but I can't imagine how much something of that quality would be back home.

After dinner we visited our new favorite, dolce vita. We had discovered the ice cream parlor the night before and cones for $1.20 were a steal. Zoran confirmed to us it was the best in town. All the others use water to make theirs. Not sure what the proper way is but we were proud of ourselves. Quite full we headed hone and were happy there wasn't a discotheque going on outside. Just a movie crew. Really? Are we back in Greece. Another great day.