If you thought it was already boiling hot in Dubrovnik brace yourselves, it’s going to get even warmer. Dubrovnik has been basking in temperatures in the high twenties with endless blue skies for weeks but the temperatures are going to get turned up a few notches as a “mild heat waved” is on the verge of rolling over the region.

The Croatian Hydrometeorological Institute (DHZM) still has stated that tomorrow there is an increased but still moderate danger of a heat wave.

In fact, the weather forecast for all of the rest of this week shows temperatures in the low to mid-thirties with high levels of humidity.

And the website Accuweather has also followed suit by releasing a statement showing yellow warnings for a heat wave with temperatures expected to exceed 32 degrees.

Friday looks like being the hottest day of the week with highs in excess of 33 degrees predicted.

And it isn’t going to get cooler any time soon as the long-range weather forecast shows rising temperatures and blue skies well into July. Dubrovnik will probably not see rain for the foreseeable future.

Experts are warning people to avoid the midday sun and to drink plenty of fluids.

The Renaissance Garden project, based on the contemporary interpretation of cultural heritage, will be performed as a multimedia concert with the guidance through the villa. This authoring project is concived and performed by The Rest is Music organization in cooperation with Dubrovačka baština d.o.o. and supported by Caboga Stiftung Foundation and City of Dubrovnik.

The first of the four concerts planned for this summer will be held on Thursday, June 27, at 21:00 in the summer residence of Bunić-Kaboga. The special bus line for the concert starts at 20:30 from Pile with a stop on Vukovar Street, and return is scheduled at 22:45 from the summer residence.

Tickets and more info you can find on the link: https://www.sveostalojeglazba.hr/renaissance-garden-2019/?lang=en

Renaissance Garden project derives from the mythical and every performance of this project is an artistic intervention of reviving the space where once a rich cultural and social life was held, thus making the summer villas even today a gathering place for the local population and their visitors from abroad.

The author of the concept is Ivana Jelača, pianist and creative leader of the RIM organization, who will perform with the soprano Marija Lešaja and the flutist Ines Ivanjek in the chamber ensemble. Marojica Bijelić, a longtime associate of the RIM organization will make a short tour through the villa as the host of the event. The author of documentary and visual materials is Iva Dedo, photos are by Katarina Karakaš Spiroski, and the costumes of the fairies were especially designed by Duška Nešić Dražić.

Preformances in the Summer Villa Bunic-Kaboga: June 27th /July 8th /July 24th /September 2nd at 9 pm. Ticket price is 120,00 kn, including organized transport to the villa and back for the audience. The bus leaves at 20:30 from the Pile gate station, with stop in the Vukovarska street bus station. Transportation from the villa is scheduled at 22:45.

Jon Bon Jovi arrived in Dubrovnik yesterday for a cruise on the Dubrovnik Adriatic on the mega yacht Rarity, and at a staggering $260,000 a week he is sure to have a family holiday to remember.

The world famous rock star is no stranger to Dubrovnik, in fact he first visited the region back in 2011, when he was obviously fascinated by the Adriatic and the beauties that Dubrovnik has on offer. He likes it so much that this time he has brought his whole family for a luxury cruise on-board the yacht rarity, which at 55 metres in length leaves plenty of room for the family to spread out.

Bon Jovi (57) arrived in Cavtat yesterday afternoon where he boarded Rarity together with his wife Dorothea Hurley (56) and youngest son Romeo Jon. And a cruise along the Croatian coastline will certainly be a great break for the family.

Although he held a concert in Croatia a few years ago, the famous rocker has not come to Croatia to work this time but to enjoy a break, and has no announced concerts in this area in the upcoming future. He looked relaxed as he arrived in Cavtat and seemed more than happy to sign autographs with fans as well as pose for photos.

Jon Bon Jovi and his wife have been married for almost 30 years, in fact the couple met at high school.

Bon Jovi likes to spend holidays in places far away from the public eye and is often kept reserved from the media and doesn’t publish vacation photos on his social media accounts. But when you are Jon Bon Jovi you don’t really need to clamber for likes on Instagram. In fact, his Instagram account simply has the words Singer || Songwriter || Last guy to use social media.

After boarding the mega yacht in Cavtat the rock family spent the night at anchor in front of the Old City of Dubrovnik overlooking the island of Lokrum, a rather nice morning view whilst sipping coffee. Then the family took to the Adriatic for some swimming and fun with Bon Jovi joining in the fun and games. And as the Adriatic is currently around 26 degrees they didn’t feel the cold at all.

The Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik, Mato Frankovic, received a visit today from Mrs. Ljubica Kežić, a volunteer representative who for years has cared for abandoned cats in the entire city area.

At the initiative of Mrs Ljubica Kežić, a project for the castration of street cats was set up, which started in July 2018, and through this program until April 2019, a total of 446 street cats were castrated, of which 306 were females and 140 males, and in total this project cost 152,000 Kunas which was funded by the City of Dubrovnik.

Given that the funds secured for the program in 2019 were spent, Mayor Franković has decided to provide an additional 100,000 Kuna for the rebalance of the budget, so that the project can continue to be successfully implemented.

The sterilization of cats is primarily done to control and regulate the cat population, particularly when it comes to cats that are not treated and live outside.

At the meeting they also talked about a project for the future asylum, which besides the dog accommodation also has space for abandoned cats.

Just a few years ago drone owners in Croatia were few and far between, but today their number has gone massively and there are over 2,200 registered drones in Croatia.

The growth of drone use has been steadily rising in Croatia, in 2016, when the drone boom began there were only 299 registered, in fact in 2015 at the very beginning a mere 99 drones were used in Croatia. Over the past five years the number of unmanned drones has risen to 2,200 according to new data from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (HACZ). There are also considerably more drones registered in southern Croatia.

"The Croatian Civil Aviation Agency began to keep track of the unmanned aircraft system operators in 2015 when the Ordinance on Unmanned Aviation Systems came into force," commented the agency to the news agency HINA.

And the increase in drone users in Croatia has obviously brought with it new laws to maintain safety, including insurance, drone registration and flight plan notification.

"Upon receipt of a certificate of entry into the Register of Unmanned Aviation Operators, the operator can perform scheduled Flight Operations within the category for which he has been registered,” explained HACZ.

The twelfth edition of the International Music Festival "Tino Pattiera" will be held in Dubrovnik from the 28th of June to the 5th of July. The tireless Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra doesn’t cease to delight with their rich repertoire and festivals that they organize for their citizens and guests of the City, and the published program for this year's festival has won praise from critics and audiences.

Croatian and internationally acclaimed soloists with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marc Tardue and Ivan Josip Skender will perform some of the most beautiful arias in the history of opera. The soprano Katarzyna Holysz (Poland) and Nikolina Pinko, mezzo-soprano Dubravka Šeparović Mušović, tenors Domagoj Dorotić and Paulo Ferreira (Portugal), baritone Matija Meic and Melih Tepretmez (Turkey), violinist Đana Kahriman, pianist Stefani Grbić and hornist Toni Kursar, a festival that is held in honour of the celebrated tenor from Cavtat Tino Pattiere.

Katarzyna Holtz

The festival opens with Italian and Croatian arias of great opera works such as Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera” and "Il trovatore", Puccini's "Tosca" and "Turandot", and then the most famous Zajc's opera "Nikola Šubić Zrinjski" and Gotovčev's opera "Milka Gojsalić " and "Ero the Joker”. These Italian arias and the beautiful pearls of Croatian opera will be performed by Croatian opera singers Nikolina Pinko, Domagoj Dorotić and Matija Meić, under the guidance of the great master Ivan Josip Skender.

The second evening of the festival, the music goes literally under the stars and under the cover of the Dubrovnik Sun Gardens with a performance called "Guardi le stelle", while an evening of Croatian and German solo songs will bring a more intimate atmosphere in which the soloists will explore the romantic spirit of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This is an unavoidable event for all Lied fans.

Paulo Ferreira and Matija Meić 

The festival ends with a gala concert dedicated to the greatest genius of Italian opera Giuseppe Verdi, which will include his entire musical career - from "Nabucco" via "La Traviate" and "Il trovatore" to the most beautiful fragments from his Don Carlos epoch-lyrical drama. An event not to miss! Top quality music, the beautiful ambience of irreplaceable Dubrovnik and great Croatian and foreign soloists and are all a great invitation for all lovers of opera to be in Dubrovnik from June 28 to July 5 and enjoy the most beautiful operatic arias through four concerts!

All concerts start at 9:30pm

How many times have you stood before a restaurant, looked at the awful photos of food and walked away? Yes, catching just that right photo, making that special meal look even more yummy is an art form. And we caught up with one of the best in the business as he snapped away at Sesame Restaurant in Dubrovnik. Award winning Xavier Buendia is a master at food photography.

And he has an international feel, based in Brighton in the UK, Xavier is, as he says, a beautiful mix of Mexican and Catalan. “I was raised to think of myself as a citizen of the world,” says Xavier. We caught up with him whilst he put his camera down for three seconds to find out why Dubrovnik inspires him and why food photography is an important tool for restaurants today.

How did you come into the world of photography?

From a very early age. I have always been taking photos and I always have a camera with me, but it started really as a hobby. I never really considered photography as a career. I can remember looking through pages of my grandfather’s Life magazine and Vogue being really blown away at the images. I used to be a sommelier, I did that for 15 years in fact. But I guess I had a midlife crisis and changed my career path. I really wanted to find something that made me happier. I’ve always been creative and artistic. In fact, it was my wife’s idea, she always said that I was very good with food and wine so why not combine this with my love of photography. My passion turned into my business. Like many things in life it all started with a friend who had a restaurant, I took some photos for me and then it exploded and within months I had lots of interest. Maybe I was in the right place at the right time. But you also make your own luck.

How important do you believe it is for restaurants to have good quality photos of their food?

The way you present yourself is very important. And restaurants should present their food in a way that truly represents the creative work that has gone into making the dish. It is a selling point of course. The food can be the most delicious homemade stew but if it doesn’t have the right attention to detail then it just isn’t going to succeed. One of the first lessons that I learned in the industry is that people eat with their eyes. You can have the most amazing gazpacho but if present it poorly it will just look like a tomato juice. Photos tell stories.

Everyone today is a budding photographer; everyone has a camera on their phones with enough megapixels to make a billboard advert. How has the rise of social media affected your industry?

It doesn’t affect us at all. I have seen it all before. I’ve seen owners ask their staff to take a quick photo of the meals with their smartphones. There is a very big difference between taking a photo and making a photograph. As professionals we are thinking about the light, the highlight, the background, the frame and the story we want to tell. Setting up the picture takes experience. But this takes a lot of experience.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and the food they produce for you to take images of isn’t up to standard?

Yes, it does happen sometimes. I tell them to take it back and tidy it up, or give them tips on how to make it look more presentable. I have to think firstly about my reputation and secondly that I am getting paid to do a job.

Is Dubrovnik a photographer’s dream?

Simply put yes! It is a very photogenic city, the light is changing all the time and there are interesting lines and contrasts. It has all the things that photographers are looking for. When I walk around the city I am never without my camera.

You have been fortunate to collect some recognition for your work, there are a few awards on your mantelpiece I believe?

Yes, the first award I won was back in 2016, in fact my first year working as a professional photographer. It was really a kick start for my career. I had two images selected for the finals and one got an award and the other a mention. I entered the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year awards, more out of curiosity. I believe it was pure luck but it's nice to get my work recognized.

“Excuse me could you come and remove an animal from my house,” – “Is it a cat in a tree,” – “No, two large snakes.” This could well have been the telephone conversation between the Dubrovnik Fire Brigade and a resident in Zaton.

The Dubrovnik Fire Brigade received a call on Sunday afternoon from a resident of Zaton, near Dubrovnik, who had noticed two large snakes hiding in the shade. The fire brigade sent two firefighters to deal with the slippery problem and they quickly scooped up the snakes, which weren’t poisonous, and released them into the wild away from homes.