In Dubrovnik we stayed in a very funky apartment. I referred to it as Great Aunt Sophie’s garret. It was a fourth-floor walkup (Who reserved this, anyway?), built into the attic rafters of an 18th century building.
Climbing the stairs was an epic journey of opening and closing doors, dodging other tenant’s laundry, and skirting around a motley array of houseplants.
Inside, there were only two straight walls in the entire place – the rest were at low, wonky angles – crisscrossed by sturdy ceiling beams awaiting the unsuspecting noggin. James, bless his heart, scored several glancing blows and a few direct hits! He basically walked around hunched over doing the duck walk.
Our garret had four tiny windows, and the views from them were spectacular – absolutely worth the climb. Over the terra cotta roof tops we could see the ancient city walls and fortifications, too many church towers to count, every classroom in the Catholic school next door, and kittens playing in the ruins out back.
At night we gathered around the kitchen table, lit lots of candles, sampled a new wine, and discussed the day’s events … just like home.
We liked Dubrovnik so much we decided to extend our stay. So when our temporary lease on that little slice of heaven expired, we moved to a different apartment on the bay. It was only on the second floor and didn’t have any ceiling beams. That was probably good – James’ noggin needed a break!
Peace,
Terri
P.S. And yes, that is our laundry hanging in the back window. It was laundry day here in Dubrovnik, so we thought we’d join in!
GALLIVANCE 
What a quirky, fun-looking place you stayed in! Shawn and I just walked the walls yesterday, and so I’m now trying to pinpoint where your former apartment might be. We’d read that it takes about 2 hours to stroll the walls – we were up there for about 3.5. Love this city!
Tricia, I’m so glad the rain finally gave you a break! Wasn’t walking the wall spectacular? How does Dubrovnik compare visually to Trogir?
Both are beautiful ‘pearls,’ just different sizes. 🙂 Dubrovnik is grander, and quite dramatic with its hilly setting, but I appreciate them both equally.
Well, thanks to your great posts, Trogir is definitely on our future list. I’ve been sending some people to your blog that are going to Croatia in the near future – and they love your posts. Have fun!
How nice of you to share the posts; we now have special friends in Trogir and beyond, so it’s good to know more visitors will be coming their way. 🙂
You two are intrepid travelers, so I think you’d really like Trogir – especially in the more quiet travel seasons. Its proximity to Split and Šibenik is wonderful too. I’ll be posting on those gems soon.
After Dubrovnik, you went to Mostar and Sarajevo? I think we might be heading to Montenegro or Albania tomorrow. Decisions, decisions. (I’ve seen Bosnia-Herzegovina, Shawn hasn’t, but we’re hugging the coastline for the sunshine right now.)
That sounds like a great route. We didn’t get to see either place, so they’re both on our return tour list. I can definitely believe you’re loving the sunshine after the winter you experienced! We’re in coastal Georgia USA right now and it’s glorious!
It must be pretty pleasant there year-round; is that where Gallivance’s basecamp is? 🙂
Yes, we’re on St. Simons Island – another little slice of heaven! We’ve just about finished our renovation and family business, so we should be able to hit the road again in the near future. We’re trying to figure out our next adventures – the fun part!
Which destinations are on the initial wish list?
They run the gamut from South Africa to South America to Round the USA on Amtrak to camping. We’re at that “let’s throw all the possibilities out on the table” stage! Sound familiar?
Sure does – and so fun, isn’t it? We’re all very lucky to be in that stage from time to time. 🙂
Love the look of that apartment but I can see that permanenetly leaning sideways could become a hardship! Still, nothing’s a hardship to be in Dubrovnik, right? Beautiful!
Hi Jo, It was so funny because the minute we opened the door to the apartment, the first words out of (very tall) James’ mouth were, “Well, this should be interesting!” I’d remembered to ask about all the particulars … except ceiling height! LOL
Nice apartment – great location.
Thanks Andrew. This was one of those apartments that was quirky, and a bit strange, but for us location is the most important thing. ~James
I agree – I was lucky enough to have a similar room on the island of Hvar!
This blog always brightens my day.
Thanks for the very kind words Elizabeth. It’s always nice to be appreciated by talented bloggers like you. ~James
I walked the walls taking photos of cats and people’s laundry. (grin) Well, I also took a few photos of the beautiful roof lines, churches and walls I confess… a mere 500 or so.
It’s funny, we also took a few laundry photos. In a place as photogenic as Dubrovnik, anything makes a great subject. We also saw and photographed lots of cats … and strangely, no rats. ~James
The no rats gets a grin. We noticed the presence of cats in our tour of the Mediterranean much more frequently than we have ever seen in the US.
It looks like such an interesting little place and the views – wow!
Hi LuAnn! It’s incredibly picturesque with such a fascinating history. And the restoration they’ve done since the war ended is beautiful! ~Terri