Well, not exactly today, except on my blog……….I am catching up and writing as fast as I can (life and holidays seem to get in the way) If I don’t get a move on I will be off again and not have the Mediterranean finished. Picking up where we left off before the holidays, we just finished a lovely morning in Budva and now we are driving back to Kotor. So taken from the bus window……………we are driving along the coast. Nice, huh?

The old Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by a three-mile wall fortification built during the Venetian period.  The name Kotor means ten gates, probably the original number of gates. It is located on the Bay of Kotor, one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea. Some have called it the southern-most fjord in Europe, but it is a ria, a submerged river canyon. The unifications around the city include ramparts, towers, gates, bastions, cisterns, and a castle way up on the hillside. It is hard to believe that only 930 inhabitants are living in the Old Town.  The town has a lot to offer in restaurants, shops, and churches and comes with an impressive landscape too! The popularity of Kotor is in it’s location and charm and it certainly helps that Kotor has been designated a UNESCO  World Heritage Site. Let’s look around!

See that tiny church up there? That is the Church of Our Lady of Remedy, which is about halfway to the top!  This church was built in 1518 and although it appears large when viewed from the city below, it is rather small inside with two pews and room for no more than 20 people standing.

There are an additional 1355 steps, to the San Giovanni Castle, that sits at the top of the hill high, above the city. Can you see it?  We had two choices when deciding on the excursion for Kotor. We could tour the town or hike up to the church and castle, about a four hour hike! Guess which one we chose?

Here is a close up the the town’s fortifications.

And here is a long, long shot or a close up of the Church of Our Lady of Remedy, taken with our IPhone!

And then you can see the harder trek up to the Castle…………

The town map shows seven churches within the city alone and look how many palaces there are! Eleven!

This is one of the main entrances into Kotor……..

They are into big, big sculptures for the upcoming festival……..

and pendants fly………..

I have to check out every restaurant and bakery……..

This awning caught my eye with the hanging lantern…….

The Cathedral of St Tryphon is located in the town square.  Behind the grill in the reliquary chapel are assorted body parts of saints, including St Tryphon himself, brought from Constantinople in the Middle Ages. There have been many redo’s to the church to repair earthquake damage. I like a church that sells Pizza outside, wouldn’t you?

And inside……….

and closer up………

and a photo from the church of the square……this way……

and that……….

And one of the palaces, which feature different museums today.

Some weird things seen on the streets…..

and talking about narrow streets……

and one of the lovely cats to be found on them…..The population of cats have become a symbol of the city. There are several cat stores and a cat museum, as well as the “Cats’ Square.” Water and food is left throughout the city for the cats to feed on, and cardboard boxes are often arranged to be a place for the cats to sleep………

He was napping outside this lovely restaurant………..

and time for some quick shopping before we leave…..we are looking for Christmas ornaments….

Back to the pier for today! We had a lovely time in Kotor!

See you tomorrow with the Doors of Kotor!