As if wandering around Dubrovnik for a week wasn't relaxing enough, we stopped next at the island of Korcula, halfway between Dubrovnik and Split. An easy two hour ferry ride got us right to Korcula Town and we quickly settled into our accommodation for the next two nights. It boasted a sweeping view of the water and mountainous island across from the spacious balcony. Our host offered us a bottle of her family vineyard's wine, a bowl of freshly dried figs, and left us to relax for the evening.
We spent the next two days wandering the old part of town and relaxing on their pebble beach. Korcula is much like Dubrovnik in its walled exterior, red roofs, and lovely stone archways, but it was much quieter. Tour groups here consisted of 2-5 people, not the 20+ in Dubrovnik. We enjoyed strolling along the walls with the strong sea wind blowing through our hair, and our lunch at Aterina where we sampled their take on a local delicacy, black risotto (cuttlefish in its own ink). We could feel the immenince of the off-season both in the lack of tourists and closures of some businesses. We reaped the rewards of this by staying late at both our Dubrovnik and now Korcula rentals meaning leisurely departures and a happy baby who got to have her afternoon nap in her crib.
It was a quick taxi ride over to Lumbarda on the other side of the island which was even quainter and quieter. Our next host graciously upgraded our room since we were some of his last guests for the year. The panorama from the massive balcony was breathtaking. He pointed out the two sandy beaches that inspired us to choose this location and invited us to come up to his family dining building at 7 for a welcome drink.
The true beauty of this offer was that the building he was referring to was literally outside our doorstep. A mere eight stairs brought us one level higher than our flat meaning we could take our baby monitor with us and be closer to our sleeping child than if we'd been on our own balcony. A dinner out without the need for a babysitter! :)
Already giddy with the concept, we were astounded when we sat down and saw exactly what our generous host meant by a "welcome drink." There was a plate of thinly sliced ham with olives, a plate of octopus, marinated anchovies, a basket of bread, pickles, and sliced cheese. He offered us first his home-made herbal brandy, then his vineyard's white and red wine, giving us both bottles to take with us when we were finished. It could most certaily be considered a meal - all on the house. It was the perfect start to our five-night stay.
The penthouse suite we were staying in was perched high on a hill above the small town. A 15 minute walk brought us to a sandy beach with the gentlest entry possible, which was just perfect for Baby. She loved crawling around in the sand (shoving handfuls in her mouth), splashing in the surf, and "swimming" in the water with us. We popped in briefly to two wineries in town for tastings but they each had only their white on offer as the season had basically ended. We did manage to try the house cherry brandy at the second stop and were intersted enough to buy a bottle. We ventured out to find more tasting rooms but they were all closed. The slow-paced island was perfect for us to enjoy our time together as a family and make the most of the spectacular balcony view.
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