Croatia was rather hot when we reached it in late August for our Balkan travels. Temperatures were touching 32-33 degrees C in the day.
But the charming old town of Dubrovnik kept cool.
Built from glossy, thick local limestone bricks (that took a battering during the nearly eight-month seige by the Serbs in 1991-1992), with a marble-like finish that made the streets looked polished, it reduced the heat considerably.
Pleasant breezes -- the very definition of zephyrs -- wafted in from the Adriatic as well, where flotillas of bobbing boats -- everything from luxury yachts to cruise liners -- were moored.
Ragusa, as this Pearl of the Adriatic, on the Dalmatian coast was once called, in a southernmost corner of Croatia, was ruled from Venice in the 13th century and there is a distinct Venetian elegance to the place, that continues into Kotor in Montenegro.
Sitting at an open air cafe, sipping on a complicatedly-crafted citrus cocktail and nibbling on focaccia, makes for a highly stylish pastime, so you momentarily feel like you are George Clooney or his gorgeous lawyer wife Amal.
A busker added to the ambiance, playing away on his accordion and the famous and beloved Dubrovnik swifts flew overhead twittering their own plaintive song, as a pink-gold moon rose over the town, completing the mood perfectly.
We had already spent part of one of the days taking a cable ride to the top of Srd Hill that afforded views of the red-roofed cottages and landmarks of Dubrovnik, surrounded by the sparkling Balkan blue sea.
My grandson could not stop talking about that adventure.
A trip to the warm-water, pebbled Lapad beach had been accomplished on another morning, meandering past gracious Croatian bungalows and down the lively-ish beach promenade, with Cillian attacking the water in Spiderman gear. It was followd up with a break for rocket leaves-topped pizza at a trendy cafe named Tutto Bene.
Enchanting side journeys to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kotor in Montenegro had been taken too.
Even hotter, Mostar was bewitching with its intriguing Ottoman accents...
Lovely baklava, sweet fresh green figs...
And range of crafts and wares in bustling bazaars...
And, of course, the regal Stari Most over the Neretva river.
Mostar, whose suffering in the Balkan War was indescribably terrible, had been rebuilt and discovered its own new chi.
It was, unusually, a lively little bit of Turkey transported right smack into Europe... Not surprising given that this is the Balkans, that the Ottomans ruled for five centuries.
The boat voyage to Montenegro along the coast into the serene narrow bay of Kotor had been extremely memorable if a little rocky, although my grandson enjoyed the bumpy ride to "Mountain Pedro," as he called it, laughing all the way, as people turned green and barfed.
Cat-dominated, medieval Kotor was full of character and easy lazy charm...
A bit like Greece, with an old-world vibe...
A well-preserved fortified city, it was a place of several churches, like the 12th century Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (above) in honour of Kotor's patron saint.
It came across as prosperous and was now a popular stop on cruise maps. I was most thrilled to have made it to a remote destination like Montenegro in my lifetime and meet some of Kotor's famous felines.
Back in Dubrovnik, roaming the souvenir shops was carried out too, buying magnets, a shot glass for my friend Monali who collects them, postcards, Croatia socks. Dubrovnik doesn't have as many crafts to offer as neighbouring oh-so beautiful Mostar but a lot of hand embroidered items and jewellery were on sale. That's good in a way because it saves you from blowing up too much money.
And since we were staying in accommodation with a kitchenette attached, we were cooking our own vegetarian pastas that generally come out more scrumptious than what you can get in a restaurant and that conserved our budget further. That always entails visits to the local grocery store -- in this case an entity called Tommy in Dubrovnik -- which we love to take on (I do it in every country I go to), browsing the types of pasta, range of cheese, types of chocolate, brands of local liqueur, flavours of coffee, varieties of bread and assortment of fruit.
But how I enjoyed the ice cream available in the old town. The famous Dolce Vita, that has been serving ice cream to Dubrovnik for 26 years, had a delicious pista, white chocolate, raspberry scoop.
And my grandson was tucking into orders of fries wherever he could get them. Somehow more expensive fries always taste better :)).
But being a little boy who enjoys his bananas he totally tripped on stepping into Bananito decorated in banana colours and banana trimmings.
They were offering frozen bananas dipped in any topping you like -- pistachios, crumbled oreos, raspberry syrup, chocolate sauce, crushed peanuts, rainbow sprinkles, coconut flakes, almonds, chocolate chips and whatever else might take your fancy. But Cillian opted for the refreshing Frozen Banana In Yoghurt Shake. Ideal match for the weather.
It's a great drink for our climate too and I tried it again at home. Here's my recipe:
Bananito Milk Shake
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- 1 banana, not too ripe, frozen overnight
- 1 tbsp honey
- 200 gm yoghurt
- Dash milk, optional, almond milk might be preferred
- Handful of other fruits like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, if preferred
Method
- Peel the banana and cut into slices and freeze overnight in a closed container.
- Grind, in a blender, the yoghurt, honey and the frozen banana, making sure the banana pieces get blended well.
Add in milk if required to get a thinner consistency.
And the other fruits, if preferred. - Adjust sweetness by adding more honey if required.
Serve in a tall glass immediately.
