Croatia!

I have arrived back from Croatia, after a week soaking up the sun, seeing the sights and swimming in the wonderfully clear sea.

I stayed in a small town called Stikovica, a few kilometres from the beautiful old town of Dubrovnik, which is still standing despite the heavy attack it faced during the nineties.

There is plenty to do once you've dawdled around the winding alleyways and streets of Grad (the old town), admiring the architecture and poking your nose into the several shops, galleries and ice cream parlours (serving some of the best ice cream I've had- try the coconut!) in the scorching heat.

If you venture outside of the old town, you will be bombarded by people in orange or blue t-shirts encouraging you to try sea-kayaking (it's an adventure, but exhausting!)

You could take a ferry or go on a boat trip to one of several islands in the vicinity, such as the beautiful Lokrum Island. There, you can explore and hike, go to the nudist beach (if you fancy!), swim in the salt lake and see the peacocks. Or even just kick back and enjoy some live music at the outdoor snack bar.

If you take the cable car in Dubrovnik you get a wonderful bird's eye view of the city and you can relax in the Panorama restaurant at the top or look around the museum.

There are many museums if you are interested in the historical aspects of Dubrovnik. However, if not, there are loads of restaurants (which for some weird reason, the majority of have identical menus so be prepared to eat pizza, fish or meat). My personal favourite was the Steakhouse where I shared the house platter for two- the pizza is also top-notch wherever you go. Restaurant Mimosa, just outside of the Old City is very good too; although it didn't seem busy, the food was really tasty and a nice variation from most other places.

You MUST walk long the city walls, as there is a great view of the city, but make sure you go in the morning or evening as it's scorching at midday.

There is a nice park just outside of the old city and you can get down to the coast there and swim in the sea; it is less crowded than Banje Beach (where all the tourists flock to).

Dubrovnik is a really beautiful place, yet to be spoiled by excessive tourism, although BEWARE of literally boat loads of tourists shipped in via cruises almost everyday which make exploring the old town a rather hot and stuffy affair. Trying to squeeze past them and their stickered and numbered parties of fifty or so is tiring, however a destination most certainly not to be missed.