More Montenegro

As I said, too many photos for one post, and I have a short attention span.

We got to experience the flip side of being around cruise ship passengers as we realized quickly that While Montenegro may not be as well known as Croatia, it is certainly on the itinerary of many cruise lines, and the passengers all streamed into the tiny walled town of Kotor the next 

We walked into town and came across a group of local artists working with pastels in a beautiful setting just outside of the city walls. 

These were the buildings they were capturing in pastels, while one woman faced the other direction and drew the huge bow of the cruise ship Amara.

We walked into the old city along with hords of cruisers, who sometimes took up the whole narrow street with large groups following their leaders. 

I went into one small church in the center and was happy to hear harmonious singing from the congregation that was standing inside. It alternated between the priest and the congregation, and went on and on. I lit some sweet smelling beeswax candles for safe travels, and finally reluctantly left. We learned later that it was St George's day, who is the patron saint of Kotor, so I think it was a special service. We saw a lot of people painting various parts of their homes, so joked that he must have also been the patron saint of painters, and that was how they celebrated his feast day. 

It was quite a beautiful little church and I'm glad I didn't miss seeing it. 

This is a typical building within the walled city. White stone, very tidy.

I liked the size of the place. It was a compact city, easy to discover.

Full of charming nooks and crannies. 

We were glad we got there just ahead of the crowds! 

After that we took a short drive to another seaside town, Budve. It had a nice beach but was too modern and congested for our taste, so we headed back to Kotor in time to take a 1:00 boat trip, because, afterall, it had been two days since we had been on a boat..It was a short ride up the coast to Perast, but very beautiful. 

This huge thing came steaming past...

This man made island was our destination.

The tiny church was filled with silver Milagros from fishermen and others in thanks for various miracles.

It was small, but highly decorated.

It had a little museum attached, and this was one of my favorite paintings there. 

After a nice stop in Perast where we had a decent Greek salad( though not as good as in Greece) we turned back toward Kotor. 

We did not eat here, but it looked very lovely- and expensive.

We were happy to get back to our terrace with a view of the sea, and the sweet scent of orange blossoms in the air.

We ate dinner at Bastion, right inside of the city walls. It was a pleasant place for people watching.