Where the mountains meet the Adriatic sea in refined beauty and golden light, it’s only appropriate to describe Croatia as such – a love letter written by nature.  

I’ve just returned from a two-week vacation in Croatia with my best friend Jessi, and it was nothing short of magical. We visited two of Croatia’s most popular cities, Dubrovnik and Split. But, before I go any further, let me introduce you to my friend Jessi. Jessi and I met at a Halloween party in Los Angeles back in 2018 and we’ve been best friends ever since. Jessi is half Colombian, half Palestinian. Funny enough, most people mistake her for being Indian, but she’s not. She is a multilingual mental health therapist and has her own private practice. She’s an absolute sweetheart and I feel very lucky to call her one of my best friends. 

Okay, back to Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is a small coastal city in Southern Croatia, bordering Montenegro and Bosnia, and is known for its rich history, stunning beauty and amazing seafood. Most of you probably already know this, but the famous cinematic show “Game of Thrones” was filmed here. Not being a Game of Thrones fan myself, many people asked me, “Why Croatia?” I simply replied, “It was one of the countries on my bucket list.” Being a photographer, I was told that I must go here, and now I understand why.

There are over 1,200 islands off the coast of Croatia. Looking at google maps, I would have never guessed this. Only about 4% of the islands are inhabited, with the majority remaining untouched. To put that into perspective, only about 75 out of the 1,200 islands have permanent residents. Incidentally, there’s one just a 10-minute ferry ride from Old Town that we visited – Lokrum Island. Although Lokrum is technically uninhabited via residency, it still has temporary facilities for tourists who can take day trips. It is full of rocky beaches, beautiful gardens, hiking trails, a few restaurants and about five hundred peacocks (GOD THOSE THINGS ARE NOISY). We wanted to explore the island as soon as we landed, but jetlag had other plans for us, so we decided to wait until the second day to explore. The water was the deepest shade of blue imaginable, and the green was as vivid as an untouched forest in the heart of Sweden. It felt like I was staring at a painting — I had to blink a few times test my reality. It took a full 48 hours after we arrived for the reality to sink in: I wasn’t in America anymore. That tends to happen when I travel oversees, and honestly, I prefer it that way. 

     Old Town Dubrovnik

Old town is a charming little suburb of Dubrovnik. It stretches less than two miles long and is a hot spot for tourists. Thankfully, we arrived during the off-peak season, otherwise it would’ve been a madhouse considering it has more tourists than locals during the busy season. We made it with two weeks to spare – quite literally. Old town is beautiful and rustic, and most of the restaurants and shops are tucked away in narrow alleyways that connect the town together. It felt like a maze, but one I was delighted to solve. If America was built this way, I’d be on cloud nine every day.  What struck me most about the flooring in old town was that it resembled that of cobblestone, but with a silky & slippery feel to it. We walked by children trying to ice skate across it, although many of them just ended up running into strangers while their parents sat at nearby cafes, smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. There were times when Jessi and I would trip over each other due being distracted by the scenery. That’s good old Europe for you — a positive trait of Europe that I wish I could bring back to America with me. 

I think the most fascinating part of Croatia is how, in one moment, you could be wondering in a little town and the next moment, you could be on an island that makes you feel like you’re a million miles away from civilization. At each turn, you are presented with a different scenic view, either of the sparkling blue water or the lush green mountains. Every so often you’re met with a surprising sight that you may have not been expecting. 

Walking around old town, we came across many unique sights. One spot that really stood out was “The Rector’s Palace.” This palace was built in the 14^th century and served as the seat of the Rector, the head of the Dubrovnik Republic. The Rector himself was required to stay inside for an entire month to ensure the building wasn’t going to be attacked by external threats. At the time, the building housed courtrooms, jail cells, administrative offices and living rooms. While roaming around the palace, I noticed that each room was distinctly different and the colors were vastly striking, with shades of gold, green and pink. Chandeliers lit up each room brightly and at one point, it felt like the king might emerge to greet us. When visiting the palace today, you’ll find a lot of special artifacts that still remain, like the original keys to the city gates. 

The Latin inscription above the main entrance reads “Obliti privatorum publica curate,” which when translated to English means, “Forget private affairs, take care of public ones.” Ha!

Walk of Shame

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’ll be familiar with these steps. The actual name of The Walk of Shame steps is, “The Jetsuit Stairs.” These stairs served as the primary filming location for King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. In the show, the walk of shame was a form of punishment upon Cersei Lannister by the Faith of the Sevens after she confesses to many crimes. She is stripped naked and paraded through the streets while being publicly humiliated. “Shame, shame, shame” they all yell at her.                                            

Food

The food in Croatia is incredibly fresh and delicious. Each dish, no matter where you go, is beautifully displayed. Even the big hoagies were plated better than those at five-star restaurants back in America. Nonetheless, this made the experience unique each time we sat down to eat, making us feel like royal queens. Speaking of presentation, the service was exceptional everywhere we went. The waiters and waitresses have a way of serving food with such grace, almost as if they’re putting on a show for you. I noticed their posture was very prim and proper, and their hands always ended up behind their back after they served a dish. It definitely didn’t take someone with superpowers to notice these gestures after having 3-4 meals a day. To put it plainly, my stomach was in heaven in Croatia, but sorely disappointed once I returned to America.

   Paljesac Stone Seafood & Wine

The Paljesac Stone Seafood and Wine boat tour was an experience of its own and one that I’ll never forget. We hopped on a bus in the wee hours of the morning and headed north to Ston Croatia, a long stretched peninsula that connects to the mainland. It only has 600 residence and is known for its oysters, wine and salt pans. As we approached the entrance to the village, my eyes widened at the sight of what looked like the Great Wall of China stretching across a hillside. Curious, I asked our tour guide about it. He said it’s the “European Great Wall” and was built in the 14th century to protect the town and its valuable saltworks from invading forces. This portion of the sea is made up of a mix of sea salt and freshwater, making the oysters some of the best in Europe, if not, the best in the world. 

Our group was small — just eight of us. We boarded a boat that took us out to the bay, where Dubrako, our tour guide, harvested oysters in front of us. As he was chipping away at the shells, he introduced us to oyster farming and explained to us how it takes two to three years for the oysters to fully mature. He also showed us the boat where the cleaning process takes place (an ugly boat that certainly doesn’t belong in that beautiful blue water). Anyway, Dubrako’s daughter, Lily, a high school student, was also in the oyster farming business alongside her parents. It was a family owned business that was neat to witness firsthand. After Dubrako was done explaining, we dove right in. The oysters were delicious — I could’ve easily eaten thirty of them. We got to enjoy mussels and white wine all before the early hours of 10:00AM.