View of the old city from the walls
Our first sight of Dubrovnik was from the forward deck of the PONANT ship Le Soleal as she approached the city from the North West. From a distance, it looks like a huge cliff, but as you sail closer, you can make out more details and see the old stone wall snaking its way along the cliff edge every so often anchored by massive fortifications.
From the deck, the old city is mainly hidden from view by the walls, and at best, you can glimpse the red-tiled roofs of the building close to its edge. As the ship sails past the walls to its anchorage, looking back past St John fortress, you can see the small harbour that offers seaward access to the old city.
After dropping anchor, one of Le Soleal's tenders is launched, and disembarkation to the city harbour commences. It's only a short ride, and within minutes, we are standing at the entrance to the stairs leading up to the wall.
Walking the wall is one of the great experiences when visiting Dubrovnik, and the old city's views are spectacular. We stopped at several points to shoot some 360˚ panoramas and still shots while continuing to circumnavigate the city.
When you walk the walls of Dubrovnik, about halfway around, you will enter into a cavernous section of the wall covered with a large number of paintings and drawings. In the centre of this art wall, you will find Velimir Stanic, the painter, working on his latest artwork.
The artist in his studio/office on the Walls of Dubrovnik
We always try to bring back something from our trips that has meaning to us and has been created by a local artisan, so this was a great opportunity to purchase a small painting done by Velimir and have a chat about the work he does. Apparently this has been his office and studio for many years now.
Velimir with his painting
Our beautiful Velimir Stanic painting
So we have our little painting from Dubrovnik and it reminds us, on a daily basis, of just one of the many experiences we have been blessed to have had.