My sister and I have been travelling Eastern Europe and had managed to overlap our trip with some friends from back home.

Harbouring a glorious old town, the island of Korčula is the sixth-largest Adriatic island, stretching nearly 47km in length. The dense woods led the original Greek settlers to call the island Korkyra Melaina (Black Korčula) and it is the beautiful island that our friend Jess’ family have a house on which we are fortunately able to stay in while visiting.

Quiet coves and small sandy beaches dot the steep southern coast while the northern shore is flatter and more pebbly which is where we are located (very close to the old town).

We’ve ventured into the Old Town a couple of times.  Some really quickly cool bars (its off-peak season so not very busy).  The entrance to the old city is through the southern land gate in the Veliki Revelin Tower.

Built in the 14th century and later extended, this fortification is adorned with coats of arms of the Venetian doges and Korčulan governors. There was originally a wooden drawbridge here, but it was replaced in the 18th century by the wide stone steps that give a sense of grandeur to the entrance. The best remaining part of the defence walls stretches west from here.

In the centre of the old town, dominating the little square at Korčula’s heart is this magnificent 15th-century cathedral, built from Korčula limestone in a Gothic-Renaissance style by Italian and local artisans.

The sculptural detail of the facade is intriguing, particularly the naked squatting figures of Adam and Eve on the door pillars, and the two-tailed mermaid and elephant on the triangular gable cornice at the very top.

The bell tower is topped by a balustrade and ornate cupola, beautifully carved by Korčulan Marko Andrijić.

It’s been great to see some friendly faces and experience some local culture here in Korcula – now that our friends are moving on to their next stop, my sister and I need to get going too – We are aiming to finish our trip in Krakow, Poland so need to keep moving north – we’ve booked a bus to Plitvice to visit the national park before making our way to Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city.