Croatia || Dubrovnik Old City walls

Ok I swear this is my last post about Croatia—it was just so beautiful!! And HOT! Someone recommended that we walk the city walls as early as possible to avoid high heat…well that idea flew out the window after we stayed out sipping Croatian beers in the harbor the night before :). So let me be that someone to you: walk the city walls as early as possible (or at sunset)! But if you do catch yourself walking the walls at high noon, be sure to bring your bathing suit—high noon is also the best time to take a dip in that crystal blue Adriatic!

‘til next time Croatia :).

Head on over to La Mia Vita to catch my guest post on how I became an expat! 

Croatia || Dubrovnik by night! And our sweet hostel...

Hvar? Check. Korcula? Check. Pristine beauty in Mljet? Check. We were finally on to our last stop in Croatia: Dubrovnik! Probably the very reason why we planned a trip to Croatia was because of Dubrovnik…we had seen so many pictures over the years and just had to go! The fact that we were there in peak season and during the Dubrovnik Festival meant that it was crawling with tourists. But that view over Dubrovnik’s red-roofed old city onto the Adriatic did not disappoint. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our gracious Croatian hostel owner (of Family Stanos pension!) and his cute/crazy daughter (who…I swear she spoke better English than me! Her pops said she learned it from Cartoon Network…and oh ya, she’s only 5-years-old and loves iPhones). She clearly got her craziness from her dad…this guy should have been a comedian…and a bootlegger because he proceeded to welcome us with his homemade moonshine. Fortunately he didn't mind that the bottle was empty by the time we ventured into the old town...probably because he drank most of it ;). 

Croatia || Paradise on Mljet

Just when we thought our Croatian adventure couldn’t get any better after swimming in the beautiful waters of Hvar and boating around Korcula, we arrived in Mljet. The tiny harbor was so quiet and peaceful and was a perfect retreat from the more touristy spots we had been so far.

The next morning, we were up bright and early to grab some bike rentals and cycle around the island. Mljet is covered with salt-water lakes, inlets and has a national park right in the center of it. Once we arrived at the national park, this part of the trip quickly became our favorite. The national park’s saltwater lake was surrounded with a bike path just a stone’s throw from the water’s edge. The water was a rainbow of turquoise colors and the bike ride was so damn peaceful! Every so often, we pulled our bikes off the path and jumped in the water. The four of us were in absolute heaven on Earth!!

Somewhere in between those swimming spots and bike paths, Mljet became our favorite place. We were awestruck from the sheer beauty of it. 

Mljet certainly confirmed one thing: Croatia was the most beautiful country we’d ever been!