Beautiful places of Barcelona and Catalonia: septiembre 2013

lunes, 30 de septiembre de 2013

CROATIA: BEACHES

Croatia's beaches aren't generally sandy, although their water is really clear and clean. The most beautiful sandy beaches that can be found on the Croatian coast are on the west coast of the islands.

Here you can see the clear water of the beaches of Croatia

Along the mainland coast of Croatia, beaches we've been seeing are generally a set of rocks with a pool metal ladder for easy entry and exit from the water. However, the majority of Croatian people jump from the rocks for bathing. The alternative to the rocky beach is the beach of cement, also with a pool ladder, where the towel should be stretched on a cement esplanade.

However, the water is usually clear and very clean, with a very fresh look. For me, so used to the sandy beaches of Barcelona and Catalonia, enjoying these beaches has been a fantastic experience.

Then I wanted to show examples of some of these attractive beaches I enjoyed in this trip:

Beach in Rovinj
Beach in Zadar
Beach in Split
Beach Hvar Town
Beach in Korkula
Beaches in Dubrovnik

Rovinj

Beach in Rovinj

Zadar

Beach in Zadar

Split

Beach in Split

Hvar

One of the beaches in Hvar town

Beach of Hvar with the town in the background

There are large large sailboats near the beaches of Hvar

Korkula

Beach in Korkula

City walls of Korkula from this small beach

From this beach, on the right you can see the city of Korkula

Dubrovnik

Beach in Dubrovnik beside the city walls

Banje beach in Dubrovnik

Beach in Dubrovnik located in Pile district. This beach was near our accomodation, so it's the beach we most enjoyed

As we didn't rent a car, we hadn't enough time to visit some of the most beautiful sandy beaches in Croatia. If you rent a car, or you have enough time, you could visit the following beaches. Most of them can be also reached by public transport.

Verudela and Stoja beaches in Pula
Beaches of Krk Island
Beaches of Rab Island
Beaches of Makarska Riviera (Makarska or Gradac)
Lumbarda beach in Korkula Island
Zlatni Rat in Brac Island

This was the route we did through Croatia, which began in Venice and ended in Dubrovnik:

Day 1 - 3: Venice
Day 4: Porec, Rovinj and Pula
Day 5: Zadar
Day 6: Plitvice Lakes
Day 7: Sibenik
Day 8: Krka National Park
Day 9: Split and Trogir
Day 10: Hvar Town and Korkula
Day 11: Korkula, Ston and Dubrovnik
Day 12: Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina) and Dubrovnik
Day 13: Dubrovnik and Cavtat
Day 14: Dubrovnik

Finally other beautiful beaches I have visited are:

- Catalonia

- Spain

Beaches of Ibiza

Bolonia, Caños de Meca, Zahara de los Atunes and Tarifa beaches in Cádiz and Costa de la Luz.

Port de Sòller and Cala Deià in Mallorca

Rodas Beach in Islas Cíes and more Beaches of Galicia

Concha Beach in Donostia - San Sebastián

Beaches of Santander and Comillas in Cantabria

- Portugal

Beaches in Algarve

domingo, 29 de septiembre de 2013

CROATIA: CAVTAT AND DUBROVNIK

About 12pm we took a bus to Cavtat at the stop next to the Cable Car Station in Dubrovnik. After a 30min drive we arrived at this beautiful seaside village. We strolled along the promenade and some of the streets of the old town before having lunch at the restaurant Galija, where we enjoyed a Cevapcici dish.

Cavtat

Cavtat is a lovely seaside village near Dubrovnik

Boats in Cavtat

One of the narrow streets of Cavtat

Promenade of Cavtat in Croatia

About to have lunch in Restaurant Galija in Cavtat

Cevapcici is a typical dish we enjoyed in Cavtat

Dubrovnik - Pile

Pile district from the City Walls of Dubrovnik

Pile district in Dubrovnik

Rooms and Apartment Kortizija in Dubrovnik

Our Sobe (Rooms and Apartment Kortizija) was in this building of Pile district in Dubrovnik

This beach was beside our accomodation in Dubrovnik

Around 4:30 pm we took the bus back to Dubrovnik to give our daily evening stroll through this wonderful city.

Below you have some useful information:

- Our accomodation in Dubrovnik was:

Dubrovnik: Rooms and Apartment Kortizija (highly recommended)

- Restaurants in Dubrovnik

Pizzeria Tabasco (Near the Cable Car station)
Dubravka (beside Pile Gate)

- Restaurants in Cavtat:

Galija (at the end of the promenade)

This was the route, which began in Venice, we did in Croatia:

Day 1 - 3: Venice
Day 4: Porec, Rovinj and Pula
Day 5: Zadar
Day 6: Plitvice Lakes
Day 7: Sibenik
Day 8: Krka National Park
Day 9: Split and Trogir
Day 10: Hvar Town and Korkula
Day 11: Korkula, Ston and Dubrovnik
Day 12: Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina) and Dubrovnik
Day 13: Dubrovnik and Cavtat
Day 14: Dubrovnik

Finally, other great cities I have already visited are:

Barcelona

Berlin

New York and Washington

London

Dublin in Irleland

Istanbul in Turkey

Saint Petersburg

Rome and The Vatican

Paris

Florence in Tuscany

Lisboa in Portugal

Madrid

Venezia

Athens in Greece

Brussels in Belgium

Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

Tallinn in Estonia

Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

Marrakech in Morocco

sábado, 28 de septiembre de 2013

CROATIA: DUBROVNIK

We arrived at Dubrovnik at 17:30 pm. The driver kindly left us beside Pile Gate, where we had our accommodation. One minute before I was astonished by Fort Minceta, a tower of the City Walls, when the minibus drove next to it.

After leaving the bags in our Sobe in Pile district, we took a bath in a nearby small beach. In the evening we were ready to discover Dubrovnik. After a first walk along the Stradun, where we booked an excursion to Mostar in Lea Travel agency, We had dinner at the Pizzeria Tabasco, located near the Cable Car Station.

The most interesting places we visited in Dubrovnik were:

Pile Gate
Onofrio Fountain
Stradun
Sponza Palace
Rector's Palace
Franciscan Monastery
Cathedral of Dubrovnik
City Walls of Dubrovnik
Old Port
Dominican Monastery
Fort Lovrijenac
Ploce Gate
Banje Beach

First day in Dubrovnik

Pile Gate

Pile Gate in Dubrovnik

Onofrio Fountain

Onofrio fountain from Pile Gate in Dubrovnik

Stradun

Stradun and Clock Tower in Dubrovnik

Sponza Palace

Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik

Rector's Palace

Loggia of Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik

Clock Tower in Dubrovnik

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery in Dubrovnik

Second Day in Dubrovnik (and Mostar in Bosnia)

At 8 in the morning we were already going to Mostar, from where we came back to Dubrovnik around 18pm. After a short break in our accomodation, we went to Dubrovnik to our evening walk.

Cathedral of Dubrovnik

Rector's Palace and Cathedral of Dubrovnik

Street of Dubrovnik

Street in Dubrovnik

Third day in Dubrovnik

At 9 o'clock we were already walking along imposing walls of Dubrovnik. It seems early, but not so much because in Dubrovnik the sun rises at 5 am, so at this time it was quite hot. After almost 2 hours under the sunlight without any shady place, we were very hot, so we went to Banje beach for a swim.

City Walls of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik from Fort Lovrijenac

Walking along the city walls of Dubrovnik

It was 9:30 am but it was already hot in Dubrovnik

Cap or hat is indispensable during the tour through the walls of Dubrovnik because of heat and lack of shaded areas

Roofs of Dubrovnik from the city walls

Old Port

Old port of Dubrovnik, and behind, the clock tower

Old Port of Dubrovnik from the City Walls

Dominican Monastery

From this point of the city walls we enjoyed a nice view of the old port of Dubrovnik and the bell tower of the Dominican Monastery

Dominican Monastery in Dubrovnik

City Walls

The imposing Fort Minceta in the city walls of Dubrovnik impressed me the first time I saw it

Here we were about to finish our tour along the impressive walls of Dubrovnik

I enjoyed a lot taking pictures of Dubrovnik from the city walls

A closer view of Fort Minceta and the towers of the City Walls of Dubrovnik

Fort Lovrijenac

Fort Lovrijenac and the bell tower of the Franciscan Monastery from the city walls of Dubrovnik

Ploce Gate

Ploce Gate in Dubrovnik

Banje Beach

Nice view of Dubrovnik from Banje Beach

About 12pm we took a bus to Cavtat at the stop next to the Cable Car Station. Around 16:30 pm we took the bus back to Dubrovnik to give our daily evening stroll through this wonderful city.

Fourth day in Dubrovnik

We spent our fourth day in Dubrovnik walking quietly along its streets trying to discover more lovely corners. We also took some pictures of Pile District, the lovely area of Dubrovnik where we had our accomodation.

Nice Corners in Dubrovnik

Quiet place we found in Dubrovnik beside the city walls

Lovely place in Dubrovnik

Street market in Dubrovnik

After having lunch in Dubrovnik we took the bus to the airport at the stop next to the Cable Car. You should check the bus schedule the same day in the morning at the tourist office (for example, there are one close to the Pile gate). The price is 35 Kuna or 5 euros (you can pay in Kunas and Euros). The journey takes approximately 35 minutes.

Below you have some useful information:

- Our accomodation in Dubrovnik was: