We finally arrived in Split in the evening and had to deal with some check-in issues. But eventually we showered and made our way to the old town. Everything is right on the water, so it's incredibly gorgeous. We raced into town because the Europcup football game between Croatia and Portugal was on. For the first half we sat in a restaurant called Fife and ate dinner. Nicole and I shared pan fried squid with gnocchi and a squid ink cuttlefish risotto and it was amazing. It all tasted so good and incredibly fresh. One of my favorite meals this trip for sure. To watch the second half of the football game, we walked up to a local bar and grabbed some drinks. The crowd was very invested in the game mode the game went into overtime and it looked like Croatia scored, but we were all fooled, including the team, and Portugal scored on a counter attack. It was sad ending but a very fun game to watch. To get back to the hostel we climbed up so many stairs to a beautiful park with an incredible view of the city. Of course it was dark, so we couldn't see the water well, but although it was an exhausting amount of steps, it was very beautiful.
The next morning, we headed into the old town of split. It was very crowded but we found some interesting things to look at. There was an accapella group that sang very traditional songs and they were very good and fun to watch. We wandered around what remained of a palace, including the very circular room that the group was singing in. We found an art market with some very nice artists and an arrangement of flea markets. I found some shell earrings made from local shells to be my new Croatia earrings. We also rubbed the toe of a statue to get some good luck! We even walked by the synagogue and old Jewish section, but there wasn't much there and it was locked.
After a very delicious scoop of ice cream, we made our way back to the hostel to change into our bathing suits. We then drove towards a peninsula with lots of beaches on it. But we decided to be adventurous and climb down the cliff to find some rocks to sit on and swim around. The water was so immaculately clear it was unbelievable. We swam for a very long time. I loved just floating on my back and enjoying the water, which was so warm! It was a wonderful afternoon. |
Since we were driving a manual car around the country, I wanted to teach Dan how to drive it, so that I didn't have to be the only driver. I'm teaching him in a parking lot and two policeman come to the area. As we drive by, of course very slowly, they look at us and ask "does he have a driver's license?". I said yes and we nicely went away. They certainly looked quite confused.
After a nice shower, I walked up to the viewpoint that I saw yesterday to enjoy the skyline on the city and the view of the water. It was so beautiful. Nearby there was also an old Jewish cemetery and the restaurant building had Hebrew writing on it. I wondered what type of Jewish population Croatia had, because as far as I know, there is not much left. Nicole and Dan met me there after they finished calling their families. We ended up going to the exact same restaurant for dinner. How could you not when you find a place serving very good local food for a cheap price in a pretty location. We tried three new dishes that we all split. One was a local beef dish on a thick sauce. The second was a pan fried fish. Which was only slightly my second favorite to the lamb with green peas. It was all very tasty and I was quite full afterwards. To walk off the food, we strolled down the promenade, in one direction was walked along the water and then we walked back on the street. The clouds made the most gorgeous colors over the water. It was truly unbelievable. We climbed up the hill to our hostel for the last time, as tomorrow is our ferry day! |