We purchased hearts that are welcoming hearts from DUBROVNIK – we thought they were sweet  A boat trip to LOKRUM which was a great decision – we had another beautiful sunny day in September in Dubrovnik and decided we weren’t going to just walk around we were going to find somewhere to go swimming so we hopped on a ferry that took maybe 15 minutes and took us to a paradise island – LOKRUM – it is across the way from Dubrovnik and was a great decision. If you have a choice and you are in DUBROVNIK definitely visit LOKRUM for the day.  There are wild peacocks running around parts of the island because they were brought over from a previous owner of the Island they are beautiful 

Here was one of our swimming pools that we visited – so incredible  See the ladder you just go right in – and swim in incredible waters After our first swimming “pool” visit we decided to walk around the island – it takes a full day at least to visit all the sites on the island and their is a hike involved. On the island there is a beautiful little cafe in the middle with lots of these peacocks just walking around and really good pizza.  Look at the little baby peacocks so sweet !  a sleeping baby peacock so adorable After lunch we went to our second place for swimming which was INCREDIBLE as well – a little bit more people and a little trickier to get into the water you had to really climb a bunch of rocks but it was a super cool experience.
There was this sunbather just standing there and reading while standing up and every once an a while he would check the time and continue to read and sunbathe  Scott swimming in the water And then sightings of wild rabbits – I found two ! 
A rabbit in a rabbit hole !  We hiked and hiked – it was definitely a hike – it wouldn’t be advised for those who don’t like steps – it was tricky because I wore sandals and it was a rocky hike so I was doing crazy accupressure on my feet in a way so it wasn’t the most comfortable – we also found out that scenes from GAME OF THRONES was filmed on LOKRUM island

In Game of Thrones, Lokrum is turned into Quarth, the ‘Queen of Cities’

I stopped to take photos from the bottom of Scott before climbing up the staircases to the top but before I went up I spotted another rabbit who was HUGE
Scott chilling on the top of the fortress 
The view from the top of LOKRUM fortress
Us on top of the fortress  We didn’t know what happened here but on the way back we saw a ton of feathers – I love feathers – had a bunch at my wedding for our heart we stood in and the men’s pins and our table display so thought this photographed really beautifully 
This hike through the woods was so magical and enchanting and peaceful – after a day of swimming and then being in nature it was a perfect day
One last friendly peacock to meet before we left the island of LOKRUM  Back in the OLD CITY – ST. JOSEPH CHURCH A really cool barbershop in OLD CITY – I love the decor of this spot 
And there was this huge candy shop called PIRATE BOOTY that had tons of different candy it was so fun 
Daytime on a street in Dubrovnik OLD CITY  Nighttime – beautifully lit  We saw our little buddy that we found when we went to Lady PiPi – we tried to go there again but there was a huge line
More cat friends 
Scott and I enjoyed an awesome meal at http://spaghetteria-toni.com/ SPAGHETTERIA TONI – my friend Heather said to go that it looks touristy but to go and to try it and I am so glad I did – I had pasta with 4 mushrooms and it was incredible ! 
Then we had to go to BAR BUZA – it was a bit tricky to find this place at night and I think it is more for the daytime scene – maybe during the Summer it is a lot more packed but in September there were only a few people there and lots of streets and turns to get there but once up there it was really peaceful to look down and know you are sitting above the sea – I had a delicious wine in a little bottle and we just enjoyed some fun oldies that they were playing 
Saturday in DUBROVNIK which was our last day in paradise – we went on a GAME OF THRONES tour that my sister – in – law gave us a wedding gift – she is a genius – it was so fun – it was through VIATOR and our tour guide was extremely knowledgable – there were about 3 others on our tour – so it wasn’t too crowded and what we loved is that she didn’t just talk about GOT but she also spoke a lot about the history of Dubrovnik and the OLD CITY – it was so interesting – it was about a 3 hour tour walking around one side of the OLD CITY and then around and up to the walls – where a future scene would be shot – BUT we missed Game of Thrones filming by a week so that was a bummer

Lovrijenac fortress is the RED KEEP, and the bay was from the scene of the Battle of Blackwater when King Stannis Baratheon attempted to invade King’s Landing.

Read more: http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/game-of-thrones.html#ixzz3GY0g9ZWq

Found this amazing video to show you some of the scenes filmed in DUBROVNIK

 

This area was used for one of the scenes where they are having the battle of BLACK WATER BAY  A scene from the top that is looking down on where they shot scenes for the BATTLE OF BLACKWATER BAY  Our tour guide had a book to show us the actual scenes because they look different and there are always things added in so it was interesting to see how they added a tower into something or added decorations etc

King Joffrey’s name day was filmed in this area.

This is where that scene with Cersei and Littlefinger took place – Littlefinger says “Knowledge is Power” and Cersei makes her guards get Littlefinger and she says Power is Power.   Look familiar was used for one of the Royal wedding scenes for King Joffrey’s wedding  the base of Mineta Tower, highest point on the formidable walls, doubled for the exterior of the House of Undying.

PILE GATE ENTRANCE was also used on the show The walls were used as war zone as the forces of Stannis tried to get into King’s Landing which was later defeated by Tyrion Lannister

It was raining a bit during tour so ignore my superhero cape I kept using as a poncho 

  Found this site with scenes from upcoming parts of GAME OF THRONES – we saw where this was going to be filmed – they used a ton of extras – http://watchersonthewall.com/new-images-dubrovnik-filming-pivotal-scene/ and this http://watchersonthewall.com/closer-look-game-thrones-dubrovnik-filming-emilia-clarke-sighting/

One place I wish I visited which is about 20 minutes from the Old City is Trsteno Aboretum it looks beautiful and they filmed several scenes there

While in Croatia we also went to see a concert in a church that was incredible – it is so important to support the arts and it was such a beautiful moment

Since it was raining we decided to hide out in Moby Dick restaurant – I finally tried the cuttlefish and it was delicious – this is the owner here – it was a lovely place and the owner and everyone was very nice

That night we ate at another excellent restaurant called ROZARIO that was really great and I loved the atmosphere it was in between streets in the Old City and off the path a bit – so not touristy and very quiet and special  We went to visit the monastery before leaving the Old City which was beautiful – you didn’t need that long to visit about 15 minutes but it was beautiful to see 
We saw this exhibition PHOTODOX.com which was about this friar Ilija Bansic that was living in the Congo for 37 years and tries to help the children there – his story is heartbreaking about the trauma he has dealt with while living there but also so endearing to know someone would give their life to try to help others like he is doing to try to help bring a better life to some 
The sun came out again before we left and we heard about this beach club EAST WEST- it was very quiet when we went there because I bet during the summer this place is the place to be – but now in mid September it was empty so we didn’t want to pay for a lounge chair since we knew we would only be there for a little bit so we went to the side where it is public beach area – it is rocky so this is when you can use water shoes but it was beautiful swimming – I highly recommend to hit up this beach area  Before we headed out of the Old City to catch our plane we found this amazing band that I loved their vibe and their sound called GADJO MANOUCHE – they call themselves gypsy swing and they were established in Croatia in 2008 – this was my souvenir I brought home – there wasn’t that much that was non touristy to purchase – Scott and I couldn’t find an authentic piece of artwork that didn’t cost over $200 so instead I brought home some music from the locals and I love their album so I am so glad this is my souvenir from Croatia  I love the singer’s look and vibe