After the success of last year's optional trip to Dubrovnik, we decided to head back to Croatia this semester. From Lanciano, it's an easy overnight ferry across the Adriatic. It's quite the experience to fall asleep in Italy and wake up in Dubrovnik.
After check-in, it was a short walk into the Old Town. The city walls encircle the medieval centre, and it is still possible to walk the length of them, which is just under 2 kilometres. We did exactly that!
There was time in the afternoon to explore the city centre, have lunch, and do some shopping (and search for the filming locations featured in Game of Thrones if that's your thing).
From the town, we took the cable car into the hills for a spectacular view of the city. We met later for a dinner together in the new port.
The following day included a war tour of Dubrovnik, where we learned of the Croatian War of Independence that lasted from 1991 to 1995. Nearly 60% of Old Town Dubrovnik was damaged or destroyed during the siege of 1991. However, after a massive restoration project, you would never suspect there was so much damage, only going to show the resilience of Dubrovnik and Croatia as a whole.
Our final day included a bus ride along the coast to the town of Split and a tour of the Palace of Diocletian.
From there, we ferried back to Italy overnight. The views from the ferry were serene, allowing time to reflect, to say goodbye to Croatia, and look toward making the most out of our last weeks of the school year.
