Dare I say Spring is here?

I would love to say spring is here as I bought some daffodils at the market yesterday.  20 kuna (2.25 GBP or 2.70 euros) for 5 bunches.  Usually I get ripped off there, but as the 5 bunches were last in the bucket, perhaps she wanted to get rid of them.  2 bunches I gave to my friend.  It was a gorgeous 19 degree f (66c) day so felt like spring was here.    My fig tree looks a bit in hibernation at the moment.

My winter sunshine

I just had to share my 9am pictures with you today, 5th of February and we have 16 degree temperatures which is fabulous for mid winter.  Tomorrow is due to be 19 degrees - perhaps time to get the bikini out for the day!  Just wish the family were here to enjoy this as the north of England is being lashed with rain and gale force winds.

Yes! We do get snow ... sort of

It is mighty chilly now, with the car temperature reading about 2 degrees C in the mornings.  However it's  bright and sunny which makes everything gleam.  I would not have noticed the snow as I live facing  the sea, but a few days ago I had to drive to one of the inland villages, and POW! around the corner saw on the hillside more than just a sprinkling of snow.  Looking gorgeous in the sunshine, like the icing on a cake, the hills really stood out against the blue sky.

Good Evening Beautiful!

We just had to have a wonderful sunset today at 4.40pm, considering how the dawn was this morning.   To have a January day like this in the depths of winter is magical.  I just hope we have many more the same until Spring arrives.   A pleasant 14 degrees too.  What more could you want? Have a great weekend.

Good Day Beautiful!

2 o'clock Friday, January 14th 2011 - can the winter weather get better than this?  Glorious day overlooking the islands and the flat calm sea.

Kolocep island bathed in afternoon sunshine.

The trees may be bare in the depths of winter, but the surrounding colours are fabulous.

I can feel a great sunset coming on at about 4.30pm.

Good Morning Beautiful!

I was an early bird this morning getting up at 6.15am, pitch black.  The dawn started at 07.00am ... with such colours I was certain it would be a beautiful day!  

New Year

As Britain shivers with yet more snow, I am back in Dubrovnik, now into a New Year.  10 degrees is not too bad for January and the sun goes down a little later every day which is great to think that Spring is just around the corner .....

Thinking of Summer Sailing

The week just gone has been a week of HEAVY rains in Dubrovnik. The Old Town turned into Venice and friends as far away as New Zealand emailed me; the news had gone around the world. So, instead of posting miserable pictures of floods, collapsed walls, rocks on main roads and cars in gutters, I thought I would post a happier picture of yachts - a photo taken during a regatta on Cres, an island in the north of Croatia.

Dubrovnik in the Autumn

My favourite season is autumn ... and look, right into November the weather has been fantastic (forget the interlude of the storm!). This was Sunday 14th Nov ... incredible calm sea all day and the sunset is to die for.

Dubrovnik from the top of Srd hill looks amazing.
The island of Lokrum at twilight.
The newly reopened cable car taking passengers up the hill in less than 3 minutes.
Would make fabulous wallpaper?
Sunset ... and the islands beyond Dubrovnik. Here we have the peninsula of Lapad, and the islands of Daksa, Kolocep, Lopud, Sipan, Mljet and to the west - Sveti Andrija (St. Andrew).
You can see all the detailing of the fortress when located up on high!
November promises pink and purple sunsets. Hardly a ripple.
Fabulous! No trickery, no filters, just a great photo of nature

Streetlights on in Dubrovnik and on the peninsula of Lapad.
Showing Gruz harbour and the islands beyond.

The last flicker of sunset. Perhaps there was a green flash?

I am honoured to have been given these photos by my colleague Jela, who is a Croatian/Canadian, here from Toronto, a fabulous friend and a great photographer! I can imagine these images being excellent wallpaper one day ... I enjoyed the day on the terrace whereas Jela hiked up the hill to take these photos, right up until darkness! Thank you!

photos J. Begonja

Good Morning Croatia!

After our battering storms we have the calm ... a gorgeous Sunday morning, with only a few ripples. The Adriatic stayed like this all day today until sunset. Life is good!

Lillies so uplifting and standing proud in a tall vase! Gorgeous scent and great to see on a Sunday.

November in Dubrovnik

Can the month get better than this? Photos taken by my colleague yesterday (crazy Ana, Croatian/Australian) who also went swimming! Well why not? With no wind, and hot sunshine, the November day was perfect. *Update: just one day later, here on the 7th, we have big storms brewing. Time to batten down the hatches...

Look at the heart shaped leaf!


Turquoise sea

15th c castle once the refuge of Italian Piero Soderini who was driven into exile by the powerful Medici family.


Gorgeous clear waters of the Adriatic.

Photos AM Popovic

Perfect October day

Can the weather be more perfect than this? For 29th October our Dubrovnik weather is glorious with warm fresh air and sparkling seas. The Adriatic is certainly the place to be during Autumn and days like this. Ana (in photo) who is our Croatian/Australian colleague celebrates her 21st birthday today - so pink champagne all round.

Cunard ship in town

We got a great view of the MS Queen Victoria this morning coming into Gruz Harbour, as we drove along the highway to work. Stopping at a good vantage point we saw her sweep easily into the dock. Fantastic October autumn day, so the passengers and crew will surely have an excellent day exploring Dubrovnik's Old Town. As Edin knows some Croatian crew (formerly of QE2, Dynasty and Princess) he was off to meet his old mates for coffee! Cunard's red funnel and waterline stripe does set their ships apart from the other cruisers.

We await the arrival of Queen Elizabeth in the coming days. At 92,000 gross tons she is larger than the Queen Victoria, so hope she is able to dock too rather than be at anchor.

Red sky at night ...

In Britain the old rhyme "Red sky at night; shepherds delight. Red sky in the morning; shepherds warning" means what it says (and can sometimes refer to sailors as well as shepherds). However, in Croatia it is the other way around! I jumped up when I saw the sky a crimson red getting deeper and deeper ... The delights of winter sunsets. Umbrella tomorrow.

Blue moon month

December is the month of "the blue moon". The popular definition means it is the 2nd full month to occur in one calendar month. One full moon was this morning, 2nd Dec, and the other will be New Year's Eve, 31st Dec at 7.11pm GMT. On average there will be 41 months with 2 full moons per century or once every 2 and a half years ..... once in a Blue Moon! The skies here in Dubrovnik tend to be quite good for watching out for stars and the moon, so will be on the lookout for the blue moon at the end of the year (champagne in hand!).

Welcome to December ...

Last Saturday I watched BBC World's interesting "Hot Cities" about climate change and the fact that hurricanes and flooding around the world are increasing (apparently NYC is threatened to be at risk of flooding!).

For the last 24 hours we have endured a vicious coastal storm - winds up to 110km (directed straight at my apt, I am sure!). I thought my windows would blow in, so spent a sleepless night wandering the apt considering if I should bed down in the living room. Every storm seems worse than the one the previous year. By 4pm today, a sliver of sunshine showed through, but by 4.15pm for sunset - it was gone. These photos show nothing, if there was sound - it would be deafening. Ah memories of living on the coast in summertime ...

Where I'd like to be ...

I took a photo from the balcony today, but makes for a depressing sight; grey low clouds, huge waves crashing, strong wind, lashings of rain etc. So, rather than using that I prefer this inspiring photo, above, of the days of summer instead. Not sure of the source of photo, but looks like Croatia with the pine trees and islands.