A Tale of Three Cities

Here's the slightly delayed post from last week!

A Quick Summary

This week, we took a train from Florence all the way south to Naples. There, we spent 3 nights and explored a nearby waterfront town and some more ruins. Then, we flew to Dubrovnik in Croatia, where we spent a night checking out that city. Then, we took a bus the next day to Kotor, Montenegro, where we spent the rest of the week doing some hiking and exploring different parts of Montenegro!

Weekly Highlights

Contrast of cities:

Getting to see three cities (Naples, Dubrovnik, and Kotor) within 2 days was really cool seeing how different they were. They all had various old buildings and lots of churches but the style and feel of each city was so different!

Naples felt a lot like South America in a way, it was bustling, lots of people, and lots of things going on in the street. 

Naples street

Dubrovnik was very touristy, especially when the cruise ships came in. However, it was a super nice city right on the water and the old fortress as well.

Dubrovnik

Kotor was definitely my favourite of the three; it was a still a little touristy but felt a lot more relaxed. It was also right on the water and in the mountains which made for some really nice views!

Kotor

Herculaneum

So, I've been thinking more about the Roman Empire, and it is really impressive just how fancy and ornate their buildings were. We went to tour Herculaneum, an old Roman town that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. All of the buildings you could see evidence of these huge paintings on the walls, elaborate mosaics on the floors, and a marble facade covering pretty much every other surface. It was crazy to imagine just how fancy the town would have been back when it was all built up.

Exploring Old Town Dubrovnik

We spent some time walking around the old town in Dubrovnik, which is the part of the city that is within the walls. In the city, the streets are super narrow and not straight, with lots of stairs everywhere. Since all the buildings are multiple stories tall, it feels like you're walking around in a labyrinth. It was very disorienting and often I feel like we would pop out somewhere completely unexpected!

Hiking in Montenegro

Mom and Dad rented a car, so we spent a few days driving around exploring Montenegro. It is such a beautiful country, and we got to do some really nice hikes around! There was a cool mix of ocean views, lakes, and mountains in our hikes, along with driving some very narrow switchbacks to get there.

Food Review

Napoli pizza:

Naples is known for its pizza and we got to try some, it was really good! The pizza dough itself was amazing, with just a simple sauce and toppings on it. Unfortunately, I've discovered this week that my stomach can't handle the food in Italy all that well, too much gluten and dairy I think! I had a bit of a rough week stomach wise again with all of the pizza and pasta we were eating.

Rice and Oats:

After my stomach pains, I switched to a diet of mostly plain oats for breakfast, tuna and crackers for lunch, and rice with some chicken and veggies for dinner. It was pretty boring to eat but my stomach has felt so much better so it has definitely been worth it. 

Plain rice

Dad's birthday dinner:

The Balkans are known for their grilled meat, so for Dad's birthday we got some in Montenegro! This was one of my favourite meals, we had this huge platter of grilled meats and veggies with a bunch of good sides too.

Other Photos

View from Mt. Vesuvius

Sorrento, a town just south of Naples

Rubber ducks in Dubrovnik

Photo history museum

Climbing into a castle in Montenegro

Made it!

Walking around Perast, a small town near Kotor

Lipa Cave, Montenegro