Tag: Gianni Ice Cream Shop

Croatia, etc. Day #2 “Perfect First Day”

by reissmd, posted in Dubrovnik, Lokrum Island

Last night we settled into our hotel and then took a walk around the “Old Town”. This is a portion of Dubrovnik that is surounded by Medieval walls and has a number of historic buildings. The city dates back to the 7th Century and is an architectural gem. In 1979 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of this portion of the city.

Yesterday we had been quite well fed during the day having stayed at the various airport lounges and receiving food on both airplanes. In addition we started the day with breakfast at home.

So last night we weren’t interested in dinner but we did have a yearning for some gelato. Patrice spoke to the concierge who recommended Gianni Ice Cream Shop (UI, kneza Damjana Jude bb, 20000, Dubrovnik. I know that doesn’t seem like a real address but Apple Maps used it and we found the place). Apparently the owner, Đani, previously worked at a Michelin star restaurant in Dubrovnik (“Restaurant 360”). I mention him not because of his association with this restaurant or the ice cream (which was terrific) but rather the unique first letter of his name. Đ is used in a variety of languages. It looks cool but would be a pain trying to print using a standard keyboard.

While trying to find the ice cream shop we passed at least 6 other ice cream or gelato stores. The only thing outnumbering these types of establishments in the Old Town were the number of ATM machines. We saw no less than 10 in about 2 blocks. Many places had two ATMs at the same location. Have these people not heard about credit cards?

This morning we awoke after sleeping well and headed down for breakfast. Sorry no pictures. I promise I will take some tomorrow. But I will say the offerings were plentiful and the quality was superb.

After breakfast we returned to Old Town and went to an exhibit of works by Salvador Dali. Seeing the works of a Spanish artist in Croatia makes total sense don’t you think? It was some of his water colors. A number of the pieces were just copies but we really enjoyed this brief activity. After that we ventured to Lokrum Island which is a short boat ride from Dubrovnik.  The island looks beautiful from the highway and the air (we saw it on our arrival from Frankfurt).  This area’s main attraction is the monastery where a great portion of the HBO show “Game of Thrones” was filmed.  I never watched the show.  Well that’s not totally accurate.  I did watch the first episode and when I saw a man’s head rolling down a hill before the opening credits I decided this is not my kind of program.  

The monastery was interesting. There was a line of people excited about taking their picture while seated on a throne that was apparently part of the set of the show. Being the lemmings that we are we had to follow suit. One thing you can tell from this picture is that the woman who took it is NOT a photographer. See below.

Hilarious picture. My hairy legs look like they are Patrice’s.

The island is inhabited by a large number of peacocks and peahens. They are very loud and the males are quite beautiful when looking for a mate.

Peacock in his mating pose. The only living being in front of him was a female tourist. Hmmm.

Next we decided to visit the Island fire station.  There we found Nino and Niko, two firefighters stationed on the island who shared stories with us. They told us about their jobs and I shared what I know about firefighters in Los Angeles.  They were extremely cordial and even gifted me one of their firefighter patches which says Vatrogasci Lokrum Dubrovnik (which means “Firefighters Lokrum Dubrovnik”). See below. 

Robert showing off his patch with his new BFFs, Niko (left) and Nino (right). 

At night we met our guide, Gabby, and the other travelers on the tour. We spent about 3 hours together and Patrice was very proud of me because I didn’t manage to alienate anyone. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.