The day started just like yesterday. The journey is beginning to feel a little like Groundhog Day. Go to sleep, get up, pack, walk to bus station, buy ticket, sit on bus for 4 hours, look at beautiful scenery out of the window, arrive someplace new…

The local bus caught from the bus station dropped us right outside the city walls. Like Split and Dubrovnik, Zadar’s old town has been preserved as a walled area with winding streets and bustling restaurants and cafes.

Zadar has the most amazing white marble streets which give off a blinding reflection from the sun and radiate the heat upwards. There was no respite even in the shade from the power of the summer sun.

This time, our ‘hostel’ was actually meant to be an apartment – still booked through Hostelworld, Rooms in the Centre of the City was just that – a beautifully decorated private apartment within the walled old town. Everything was within easy walk, however the residential street means it will not be too noisy at night (I hope).

After wandering the streets, visiting the Cathedral, and the site of yet more ruins, I wanted to go find the sea. The most fabulous thing about Zadar for me was the Sea Organ. Built into marble steps at the sea front is the most amazing organ – which turns the waves as they ebb and flow around concealed tubes into harmonic sounds. The music of the sea is both calming and invigorating at the same time – like wind charms turn nature into music, so the sea organ performs the same miracle, and to be truthful I could have spent the whole afternoon there with a book and a beer just letting the randomness of the sound wash over me.

Nige however, was getting bored, so I persuaded him to come back for the sunset, and we headed back into the town for more street wondering and beer sampling.

I’m not sure I could have managed more than a day or two here. There were people we met who were here for the week – what did they do? Do they just sit by the hotel pool (which will be out of the walled part of the town) drinking beer and sunbathing? What’s the point of coming somewhere beautiful just to do that?

Sunset at the sea organ was amazing – imagine sky over the Adriatic changing from blue to pink to deep red accompanied by the random melody of the sea. There were people just hanging out, like us, chatting and waiting for the sunset. A perfect end to a perfect last day.