Dubrovnik is just what we expected – a fairytale, walled town that looks like it could be a movie set. And today it was – HBO was filming Game of Thrones inside the walls. We’ve never seen the show, but we’ll have to make a point to watch.

Also as we expected, it was thronged with tourists. Like Prague, Dubrovnik would have been much more magical before it was discovered. (And today we were the only ship in port. Tomorrow there will be 6! Kudos to Azamara for good timing.) But it was fun walking the walls and taking in the breathtaking views from atop the city. We had even better views from a cliffside bar recommended by both Rick Steves and our cruise director.

We hit a couple sites – a 14th century monastery and the two main churches, but once again we headed for the beach. This one was only a 10-minute walk from town, and our new cruise BFFs, Marva and Kathy, were there, so we spent a very pleasant couple of hours swimming, sunning and chatting. I think after six days of cruising I’ve gotten the hang of this!

I also have to thank the friendly Croatian bartender we met in New York who warned us about the high prices in Croatia. He advised we visit by cruise ship so we could see the city, but get our meals onboard. He was right – prices were higher than in Greece. We’ll see what Split has to offer tomorrow.