We arrived in Dubrovnik late at night, and went to sleep pretty quickly after checking into our hotel.
The next morning we woke up to an excellent breakfast at our hotel, which had stunning views of the water.
Highly recommend the Valamar Argosy Hotel.
After our breakfast, we headed straight to Old Town, where we began our tour of the City Walls, which you can read more about here.
After we descended from the City Walls, we had some time to kill before our lunch reservation, so we decided to walk the Stradun and check out a few things on our travel wish list.
The Stradun is the Main Street in Old Town, and there are a variety of restaurants and shops lining it.
There were two bookstores I stopped at, in hopes to find a book in Croatian to add to my collection.
There was also a bizarre amount of what I would call extreme touristy shops, which I truthfully found odd.
I know this is a highly touristy location, but there was something very off-putting about walking these gorgeous, historic streets, and seeing cheap t-shirts and keychains hanging in some of these beautiful stone buildings.
Very much could have done without that.
The Stradun floors were extremely smooth, likely from the multitude of feet that walk across them each day, and they were also always impeccably clean. They must clean them every night or morning to keep them in the condition they’re in. It was kind of amazing.
Definitely used to be a sewage drain, but interesting nonetheless.
Peep the clock from King’s Landing!
There are a few dramatic shots of this baby in the show.
Old Town was stunning. I stopped every two feet to take a photo of something.
We wandered into The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary since we were so ahead of schedule.
We paid a small entrance fee to look at their treasury, which was full of relics of the saints. Photos were not permitted, and we also had to cover our shoulders to enter.
I thought it was interesting and terrifying, as they apparently had the bones of miscellaneous saints in their treasury, which was spooky. They were also all gilded or in elaborate metal containers, so there was just something interesting and grotesque about looking at the craftsmanship.
The cathedral itself was beautiful.
I particularly liked this section off to the left side of the cathedral, with a depiction of the Virgin Mary.
Plus, there was this cute little cat sleeping outside.
I wanted to pick him up and take him with me. I wonder what he was dreaming about?
We also walked past one of my favorite architectural structures in Old Town – Rector’s Palace.
Let’s just take a moment to appreciate it.
The detail on this building is insane.
Check out the view from within these arches – just look up.
And also, look at the Cathedral peeking out between the arches. This city is so beautiful.
And the craftsmanship on these doors??
Get out of here!
I never ended up with the time to take a tour of this building, which I regret. I wish I could have seen more than just a peek through the front entrance.
During my next visit I’ll see more.
If you’re keeping up with our Game of Thrones count, this is the filming location of Daenerys Targaryen asking the Spice King of Qarth for ships for her army.
By this time, we were hungry and thirsty, and luckily for us, it was time for our lunch reservations!
This was my favorite restaurant that I ate at in Croatia, not to mention the entirety of my European adventures. Please step into Gradska Kavana Arsenal.
Are you joking me with those views?
The key here is that you need to book your table in advance. I booked our table months in advance, and locked us in on a table right on the water.
Stunning. Flawless. Perfection.
The menu mentioned keys to longevity and good looks, so I was immediately sold.
I opted for the seaman’s risotto, and I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve thought about this risotto since eating it.
Not one drop would be wasted.
We sat back, savoring both the food and the view.
We couldn’t get enough of it, so we ended up ordering espresso martinis.
And lastly, they had some kind of pistachio dessert that we could just not say no to.
After a delightful lunch, we wandered the city again, this time finding our first hint of actual dragons!
It’s all in the details, baby.
They had a cute little market happening, and I bought a leather hairpin that I love.
We found the Jesuit Stairs, which we would come across many additional times, as we’d booked two different Game of Thrones tours, both of which would take us here.
I’d also come here later with a photographer and feel like a real life princess.
We perused a bit more, enjoying the details.
The fountains with lion’s heads.
The glimpse of the city through the archways.
This bird that is staring directly at us for some reason.
The pulley system that closed the doors of the city based on how the weights were distributed.
Next up was one of our most fun adventures – sailing the Adriatic Sea on the very same boat Daenerys Targaryen sails in Game of Thrones.
You can check out the experience on AirBNB here – I would absolutely recommend it.
It was extremely cool to climb on board.
They even offered us dragon’s blood cocktails to sip while we hit the high seas.
Here I am enjoying my drink, so happy to be on the same ship Daenerys Targaryen herself sailed upon, my sunburn slowly beginning to come through.
After a moment, we were off, and I couldn’t believe the view from the bow of the ship.
Look at those mountains in the background.
Let’s take a closer peek at the ship.
The rigging fascinated me. I really wanted to climb those ropes, but I’m guessing that would have been a major no from our guides.
Everyone seemed to cluster at the back of the boat, which I thought was interesting. The most beautiful views were at the front of the ship, in my opinion!
I peeked over the side of the ship – look at that water churning.
It was melodic.
As we curved around the city, we could see Old Town come into view.
The sun began to set as we docked in the port.
Hello, Gradska Kavana!
The city somehow looked even more beautiful as dusk began to settle in??
I mean, look at that light.
Our tour did not end there – it started by sea, and continued on land.
We hit a few major filming sites, and they showed us photos from the show in those locations. For example – Sansa fleeing King’s Landing.
At one point, we even got to see our ship sailing back from where it came.
So lovely.
After the tour, we set out to find a Game of Thrones t-shirt to buy, as well as a throne to sit in for a photo.
You can find these in many locations in Old Town, however the real throne is located on Lokrum Island. Stay tuned for my trip to the island on our third day in Dubrovnik.
We wrapped up our evening with some delicious gelato.
The key to finding good gelato is to look for these silver containers. The other containers without lids, where the gelato is piled high, is not as creamy, delicious, or authentic as the kind that comes from these types of containers.
The piled-high gelato is meant to draw in tourists, where as this gelato is more concerned with its quality.
We strolled the streets with our gelato, enjoying how the lights illuminated the city at night.
Look at how clear the Stradun is at night.
And with that, our first day in Dubrovnik came to a close.
Until tomorrow, Dubrovnik.
On our second day, we’d take a cable car up Mount Srd to see incredible views over the city.
Stay tuned for more!
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