Dubrovnik is a beautiful place, but it is clouded by the inevitable mist of tourists that spoil it's charm somewhat. The Old City, enclosed in a walled fortress which dates back to over 1000 years ago, is a beautiful sight. As you enter the old city through a gateway, the narrow alleyways transport you back to a time before our own.

Unfortunately, the old city has been inundated by the italian influence on the Croatian coast: Pizzarias and Gelaterias and designer shops crowd the streets as Italian divas in Gucci saunter around with their well-dressed men in tow.

At one point, I turned to my friend and said that I felt as though I was walking the back streets of Venice, not Dubrovnik! And it really was that way - I even saw venetian masks peering at me from the stands and windows of souvenier shops. People greeted us with the Italian 'Buena Sera' (good evening), probably because we looked a little Italian with our dark hair and features, and the only marks of Croatian location were the pokey gift shops with t-shirts and postcars of the old city on display...oh and the odd fresh fish restaurant.

We went for a quiet dinner at a restaurant near the western entrance to the Old City and for a mere 49 Kunas (about £5) each we got a mix fish grill plate with potatoes. The food was scrumptious and so was the coffee that followed it. Everywhere in Croatia does good coffee. We made a morning habit of it and failed to find one cafe that did crappy coffee, even the instant coffee they sell there (same brands as UK) tastes worlds better!

Even though it was tourist-ridden, we couldn't complain about the magic of the Old City. The medieval preserved architecture, tidy brick-work, atmospheric lanterns and charming alleyways were lovely to walk through, especially when we veered off the main tourist zone and into the residential streets.

Whilst in Dubrovnik we were introduced to the hospitable nature of Croatians. At the airport, for instance, we were approached by a man looking for tourists to rent one of his rooms. I knew to expect this from Croatia - always be prepared to be acosted by at least 5 old men/ladies as you step off a bus/train/ferry/plane, asking if you need a nice, private, ensuit, cheap, close-to-beach room. The man's name was Mr Ivica and I asked him if he could tell me where to get a bus into town. Unpo hearing that we were staying at Bokun Guesthouse he smiles and said that Mr Bokun was his family friend, a good friend, and he would take us there if he didn't find anyone to take home with him.

We ended up getting a ride with him - for free, kindly - and agreed to stay at his place the following night if we couldn't renew our room at Bokun's. His eagerness to show us Dubrovnik as we drove in from the airport may have had a lot to do with him wanting us to rent a room from him, but there was a kindness in his actions and words which surpassed just wanting to chew your ear into making you stay.

The Bokun Guesthouse was paradiso! as our host, Ivo, exclaimed as we struggled with sign language and random expressions to communicate wth him. The garden was an eden of organic vegetables, fig trees, kiwi trees, grape vines and vibrant flowers.

It was right on the harbour front and we saw some amazing private yatches and boats as we took a stroll that evening. The gleaming white boats oozed wealth, and the sailing boats made us hark back to the pirates of the caribbean!

Later, our host, Marianna, took us to a beach not far from the Old City. It was a lovely little cove but, once again, it was Vogue incarnate, being near to several large expensive hotels.

However, none of that mattered as we lay back on our straw mat, dripping with salty water having gone for a swim in the azure blue water, and watched the sky errupt into a phenomenal sunset.

Dubrovnik seems like a city with a split personality. On the one had the Old City, the harbour and the beaches paint the perfect city-break/beach holiday - a wealth of history, wonderful water, designer shopping, and close proximity to islands such as Miljet the national park, and Lopud - known for a beautiful sandy bay. On the other hand, it is a place that still bears the marks of having seen war, and the experience is still very much imprinted in people's minds. Much of the new development seems to be exclusively touristic - holiday homes and local houses equipped with rental space, resulting in a sign for SOBE (rooms), apartments and accommodation every 5 metres. This makes much of the new town feel like a resort, and strips it of much of the charm that the Old City part of Dubrovnik has managed to retain.

We did make the most of our second day and took a trip out to Lopud island for about 36 Kunas (roughly £3.50). The ferry ride was about an hour and Lopud's chilled out and sparse beach front, dotted with palm trees and small coffee shops, was a nice change from Dubrovnik.

It also had a beautiful church, perched upon a small cliff peninsula on the edge of town.

The beach was scrumptious, too, and it's rare in Croatia to find such a long stretch of sandy beach - the norm is pebble beaches, or rock beaches that slope into the sea where you pick a big rock for yourself on which to bake.

The view of Dubrovnik's harbour mouth was fabulous from the ferry, as was the glorious orange sunset that graced the sky as we drifted into the harbour bay.

Dubrovnik was beautiful, but a little cling-film-wrapped for me. So, we hopped on a 6 and a half hour ferry to Hvar, one of the bigger islands along the Croatia coast, near the mainland city of Split.

To be continued...