Dubrovnik, Croatia: Riding in the Tow Truck and Walking on the Walls

As promised, here's what really happened last night, in brief.  We got a flat tire--after all day of driving--30 km from our final destination of Dubrovnik.  Unfortunately, we were on a crazy-narrow two-lane road with no shoulder and not much nearby; fortunately, we were able to limp to the parking lot of a hotel that was situated at the edge of the cliff leading into the Adriatic.  The lovely vehicle that we have is unfortunately not fitted with a spare, so we were forced to explore other options, such as: trying to get a tow truck (they couldn't come out at that time of night); trying to book a room in the hotel parking lot we pulled in to (they were full); trying to get a taxi to come take us to our hotel (the operator's English wasn't good enough to figure out our location since we didn't have an address); and finally, sleeping in the car and figuring it out in the morning.  We went with option four, albeit not voluntarily.  The best part of the whole story was that we somehow managed to sleep in in the car, and didn't even wake up until 8am.  Insanity.  We did, however, get a tow to Dubrovnik this morning (see above), and I suppose all's well that ends well.

After finding our hotel at the center of the maze that is Dubrovnik, we walked down to the city center, which is the old walled part of Dubrovnik.  These walls, which are heralded as 'the finest in the world' by my guide, are remarkably intact and well-kept up for dating from the seventh century.  Before we began exploring them, though, we had other things to think about--delicious seafood (and ice cream, of course).

Our cravings fulfilled, we climbed the stairs and began walking around the walls.  Everywhere we looked was a picture, and the beauty of Croatia continues to boggle the mind.  Included here are a few highlights of our long walk around the city.  Above, the sea-facing side of Dubrovnik.

The Isthmus of Dubrovnik from the old city walls.

Danny and I on the wall nearest the mountains, looking out over the fortress toward the sea.

Fun fact about Dubrovnik: because the fortress was founded by Rome, like Rome, all the fountains in the old city contain drinkable water.  Despite the whole debacle of the tire, we had a happy day.