Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is certainly on the main tourist highway, and deserves to be. It's not only a beautiful town, but also perfect for tourism, with many narrow car-less streets on which to put outdoor cafes and restaurants. Actually many restaurants tables are on streets no wider than an alley. The larger cafes are on the main strip, and a few squares. One thing I really liked was a place with comfortable easy chairs. You could spend hours sitting and watching people strolling!

I stayed at a small place run by Edi Macinko . John Owens had found it and spent a couple of days vacationing there right before the conference. John said that Edi (pronounced Eddie) was the most gregarious person he'd ever met. Absolutely right.

Edi came to pick me up at the bus station in his small motorcycle. It was a wonder that it could take both of us and my backpack. Actually, it's a wonder we got to Edi's place in one piece. He kept chatting with other bike riders as he was weaving in and out of traffic.

There's a lot to do in Dubrovnik. I especially liked an exhibition of photographs of war. The Maritime Museum was also good. This was a center of ship building in the days of sail, so it's appropriate.

The only downside is the number of toruists. It was manageable until the cruise ships came (my last day) and started disgorging hundreds of people. Then it was impossible to find a seat in a restaurant. I ended up taking a ferry to a nearby island to escape for the day.

I sat at a jazz cafe on my last night. It's right behind the cathedral and was fantastic. A five-piece combo was playing old standards, and they were excellent, especially the pianist and sax player. A great way to wrap up my visit.