Looking at any maps or pictures of what the locals call the “Old City” and the first things jumps out are the walls. Since first being settled sometime in the 7th century, it has changed hands a number of times. Without including numerous Balkan tribes, the French, Spanish, Venetian, Carthaginian, and Russian empires have all laid claim to this ground over the centuries, so it is no surprise that it is heavily fortified. Today the walls are one of the most picturesque tourist attractions symbolizing the strength of this city and its culture. So what better way to start than climbing and walking the perimeter?

But first, breakfast. Ivana, who has been taking amazing care of us at the hotel, prepared a great spread of fruits, meats, cheese, pastries, yogurt, and coffee. It was fantastic. We ate as much as we could – which was admittedly most of the tray – before starting our day.

After walking through the Pile Gate, we climbed up steep steps to the top of the wall. The view was incredible and each corner, or new set of stairs brought a new embattlement and view of the city and the Adriatic. The Old City is a gorgeous terrain of terracotta roofs and gothic buildings dating back to the 12th century. A lot was destroyed in an earthquake in the late 1600s, but what remains still blends in with what was rebuilt around it. As we walked around the walls, roughly a mile and a third, we were surprise by how tall and thick the walls were in places. The pictures will never do it justice, and even having seen them from viewpoint of the Lannisters in Game of Thrones as they look out from King’s Landing, they looked surprisingly foreboding and not something invaders from the sea would want to take lightly.

The tops of the walls are dotted with bars and a couple souvenir stands, which also fave respite to some who were struggling with the stairs and the sun. We keep going wanting to make sure we had time for everything else on our agenda for the day.

After the walls we headed right to Rector’s Palace. Still a location involved in the city’s government today, the palace holds artwork and relics back to the beginning of the city’s history. We were surprised by the artwork and wide array of influences, but realized we should have expected it from a city that has changed hands so many times and been so deeply involved in trade since the Renaissance. There was a lot of Spanish and Italian shown on canvas and even some hints of North Africa. While the palace was interesting – and shockingly warm inside – it wasn’t as big as we expected and we covered it thoroughly, but quite quickly.

We left Rector’s Palace for the Sponza Palace. This is a unique building – still used today – which serves as both a rainwater catch for the city’s water supply and a repository for much of the city’s history. The inside was shockingly quiet and away from the crowd on the street, with very few visitors inside. We read a ton about the founding of the city, the earthquake, and its overall history in more detail than we’d seen elsewhere.

After our second palace of the day, it was time for a little religion. We headed to the Domenican Monastery. If Sponza wasn’t crowded, then this was basically abandoned. Very peaceful inside and shockingly cool, we walked through a beautiful building with a central garden which was very serene. The history of Catholicism is strong here and artifacts were plentiful. There was a very unique, and huge, Bible from 1448 on display. It seemed to have many fewer pages than the last Bible I read, which made me wonder what was missing from this version or had happened since then to be included in mine… The Monastery was great but it was almost 2pm and we were thinking some water and a snack were becoming important.

We ended up stopping at Backus Wine Bar, a place we’d seen on the map before ever got here. It’s on a small narrow street, with tables in the shade, and we knew it had wine. Water and food were a question mark we were willing to accept. We let our soon to be friend Jacob suggest a wine from the menu and we were quite impressed. His second choice was even better, so we bought a bottle. Fortunately he had a meat and cheese plate, some bread, and sparkling water for us as well. He even tried to teach me to read Croatian – everyone got a laugh – but I can now order one very specific wine from a menu without sounding like a total ass. We didn’t finish the bottle, so he kept it for us and we will go back tomorrow for the last couple glasses. It was a fairly quiet afternoon on that street so we spent time talking with him. A native of Dubrovnik he talked to us about growing up here, the importance to his family that he retain roots in the city even though he had to move to Paris for work, and we shared stories about people watching tourists. Everyone we have met here has been genuinely friendly and hasn’t seemed as pushy as what we’ve encountered in other tourist cities. There is something unique about the culture and people here that is truly refreshing.

Let’s be honest. After a couple/few hours at a wine bar, we needed some time to collect ourselves. It was still early, 5pm-ish, so relaxing made sense before dinner at 8:30. Only the sky turned gray, and we realized that the severe weather alert for tomorrow was now current. Thunder. Lightening. Rain and wind all started. We walked to dinner with an umbrella and rain coats, noticing that the Stradun was less busy as people with new ponchos and fancy umbrellas with “Dubrovník” written on them headed for Pile Gate.

When we arrived at our restaurant, they initially thought we were just seeking refuge from the rain but once they learned we had a reservation they gave us a table inside. Apparently many people said they’d eat just to get out of the rain, but never ordered. That’s not okay. But all was cleared up and we took our seat.

Bistro Tavulin stood out when we were looking for restaurants before we arrived and the food did not disappoint. Between the two of us we had pumpkin soup, apricot prosciutto salad, pistachio pesto linguine, and sea bass. Everything was fantastic. The apricot prosciutto salad might be one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. I’m not just saying that because it was my third meal of the day featuring prosciutto, I’m not even really a fan, but the salad was exquisite. Oh, and another bottle of wine. Of course.

The third best part – after the food and wine – was realizing that the rain had slowed while we ate. And thoughts of a reasonably dry walk home were making us happy. But, the heavens had other plans. We had barely made it back to the Stradun when it started raining harder. We had the umbrella. One had the hood up, not me, and we figured we’d stop for a couple bottles of water for the room to remind our bodies that water doesn’t come from grapes. This was the beginning of the end.

We walked up the street to get into the market and the street was running water down at us. By the time we made the market door, the umbrella was useless and my wife’s flip flops were drenched and slippery. We grabbed our waters, paid for them, and as my wife handed me the umbrella she accidentally hit the button to open it. In an American market, no problem. In a Dubrovník market the size of a small bedroom and packed with shelves and people, that’s an issue. And one that I was being blamed for as I was now holding two large bottles of water in one hand and the freshly opened umbrella that was blocking the largest aisle and the door in the other. I was very popular, and I can now add Croatian to the list of languages in which I’ve been openly ridiculed.

We got outside, finally, and my wife’s flip flops were removed as there was so much water it didn’t matter. We slogged the last 100 meter across the Stradun to the Pile Gate. And the wind picked up. It rained harder. And from all directions at once. We simply took off to get to our hotel as quickly possible, which created a new set of problems.

First, there is a single street to cross. One lane only. But the taxis and busses always wait for the lights. Surely they could see we were trying to get home and let us cross. But they made us wait. Us and the three people with their luggage – no raincoats or umbrellas – apparently trying to get to the airport. If you’re reading this, we hope you dried off because you were definitely American, your luggage was definitely soaked through, and that means a long wet flight was likely in your future.

Second, we had to walk up a short side street to get to the street with our hotel. Maybe another 100 meters. But that distance had a small river running down the middle and at least five places with rainwater funneling off a three story roof into the walkway. We navigated that. But not without getting more wet, partly because I decided to flip my hood up not knowing it was full of water which then ran down the inside oft jacket all the way down my back. Congrats North Face on making an exceptionally waterproof jacket with a hood that can double as a water bag. All of that is okay. Because…

Finally, the boss level. Our hotel’s street was a literal river. We had to walk up hill, maybe 30 feet, to the gate to our garden and the roof covering of our hotel. However, the entire street was a river. Maybe 8” deep. Fortunately I still had shoes on, which would be wet enough that I might be able wear them when I get home. We slogged to the door and into the hotel we went, hung our clothes in our shower to dry, and flopped on the couch.

What a day. You hope when you travel you make memories that last. And that you smile and laugh because you had the experience with someone you love. It was an amazing day. With a ton of new experiences, real laughs, great food, fantastic wine, and a fun story. Days like this are why we travel.

So now we will spend the remaining time of today making a backup of lan for tomorrow which included a lot of time outside that may no longer be realistic. But that’s okay, because that’s what makes travel fun.

It’s also worth noting that as I’m about to hit “Submit” on this post, the rain has completely stopped. Love it.