Peaceful setting

There is a small chapel on the island of Lopud right on the promenade. The courtyard looking out to sea makes for a peaceful location with a perfectly placed bench for contemplating.

Children: seen and not heard

I have been to the sandy beach on Lopud island this week and saw a strange beach "toy". A huge transparent plastic ball was blown up with air and then children zipped inside and enjoyed 10 minutes to play inside, rolling around the sea. The beachboy had hold of a rope so no fear of the ball blowing away. Very unusual and intriging.

Holiday Time

Will be heading to the islands and the beach this week so no time for posting til after the weekend. I need to use my new beach bag from Lombok (above) which I bought several months ago - it's huge! Speak to you all upon my return.

Mickey Rourke in Town

photos: Željko Tutnjević

Mickey Rourke was in town last night for the Dubrovnik Film Meeting. He's been in Sarajevo for the Film Festival and Dubrovnik was his last stop for promoting his film The Wrestler. Red Carpet at 8.30pm we got our good places for viewing. Actress Gillian Anderson also was amongst the guests too. When Mickey finally arrived the crowd surged, so I got a few photos, but none as good as here (credits). With his usual expletives in the interviews I hope the Croats didn't understand english! Afterwards we'd pre-paid for a 4 euro ticket for an open-air viewing of the film. Surrounded by centuries old buildings of the Rectors Palace and Cathedral, the setting was quite surreal.

Aristocratic residences

I have a pleasant 20 min coastal walk from home to the Old Town. The land is scorched and dry now after weeks of 30 degree temps but the views are still beautiful and stunning. Dotted along the way are some typical examples of large residences, still occupied, by the Dubrovnik aristocracy. Some houses are a little "faded glory" but exude glamour from times gone by.

Restaurant with a view

Heading into the Old Town last night it was great to stop at the restaurant Dubravka 1836 just on the edge of the drawbridge entrance. Idyllic setting with gorgeous views of the sea and the battlements (can they be gorgeous?) in the setting sun. The Sea Cloud windjammer sailing ship came sailing by too which seemed so close. The restaurant is perfect for the best salad and carafe of wine just right for a hot summer's evening.

Fabulous Friday

My photo for Friday is of Barracuda a 23.55m classic sailing yacht owned by Intl DJ Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim. Actually a 1944 twin-masted gaff rigged ketch (formerly a spyship) which has undergone an opulent make-over. Available for rental here. More photos. Normally the itinerary is Sardinia - I will have to have a word with him to bring it to Croatia! With our 1,000 islands it would be idyllic. Have a great weekend!

Dalmatian villa at its best

Here's a luxury villa for holiday rental on the island of Brac in Dalmatia. Stunning interior for a relaxed summer beach lifestyle. Accommodating up to 12 people, the villa and private pool offers comfortable surroundings, next to the beach with anchorage for one's yacht. Alas not for sale, but a lucrative source of income for the lucky owners. Information & rental courtesy of De Bona.

Beyonce in Dubrovnik

Photo Daily Mail

Photo credits

Beyonce & Jay-Z are in town. The world news has reported a little altercation whilst in Dubrovnik last night read here and here. However, I am more interested in the yacht which they have chartered. Va Bene is a 47.8m (156ft) motor yacht owned by Eric Clapton, a fact which none of the papers reported, but my NZ friend used to work as Chief Stewardess onboard. In 2005 my company provisioned 7 times for the yacht, alas without the Great Man himself. My friend gave me a palm tree from the yacht which sits in the living room now, which I called "Eric". It's doing very well, thank you. As for Beyonce & hubby I think they thought they were in Hollywood and not in a little charming Adriatic town ....

Pale and Interesting

My Homes & Gardens newsletter today drew my attention to the new online boutique homeware store website Pale and Interesting. Reading through I see it is run by Atlanta Bartlett - the famed British interior stylist, so can see why the photos are so stylish and dreamy. For those who like fabulous stylish interiors check out one of Atlanta's other website - Beach Studios.

Where I'd like to be

My favourite island? Fuerteventura circa 1989 - years when there were more goats than people! Times have changed with more commercialism, but the Jandia beaches with 19miles/28km of golden sands are still the same. My friend recently returned from holiday and sent me this photo. Reminded me of the World Cup Windsurfing & Kitesurfing Championships I used to watch every year. Click the website for a superb aerial shot of Los Gorriones hotel and the fabulous expansive beach. We could do with a little breeze here in Croatia now, there has been nothing for weeks.

Daily views

I know some of you may have seen these shots before, but Michael, Elizabeth and Nicholas came round for dinner last night, and no sooner had they sat on the balcony, then sunset struck and the view vanished. They can trawl through the blog, but here are 3 photos of the view. Sunsets in winter are magical as the sun drops into the sea. It is too hot for me now, 30 degrees, roll on autumn (though I might regret that, when the storms arrive!).

Tottering By Gently

click photo to enlarge.
My company used to send me (free) monthly copies of the Country Life magazine, read by the hoi-polloi of high society and royalty no less. One cartoon made me chuckle. As they say in Croatian - Polako, Polako - slowly, slowly, as the economy seems to be improving ....

Black is best for risotto!

Here is a photo of my great old friend Michelle enjoying her dish of black risotto. This highly prized and popular Dalmatian dish is made with the ink sac of the squid/calamari - thus the unusual black colour!

Have a great weekend!

Here's a photo from Jane Coslick - the award winning designer who often appears on House of Turquoise blog. What a great verandah here - with turquoise and white benches looking out to islands. It's been a busy week for me (VIP visitors!) so not much posting, but will do next week.

Michelle's Retreat

Posting earlier a photo from my friend Michelle, made me realise I have a few friends called Michelle - American in Florida, American in Dubrovnik, Australian living in Dubrovnik, British and a Kiwi! Michelle from Auckland works on a 54m superyacht, and we should have met for coffee today but she found herself at anchor. Her little piece of heaven in New Zealand is above - a place for rest and relaxation. Bliss! She grows agapantha's - my favourite!