I have been so busy the last ten days I haven’t blogged about Split (except for the fire – read it here – which is all done now).  No disrespect – in fact it just shows how great this place is.  We have done and seen everything we can, trying not to break the bank.  It’s been a lovely place for a visit but our time in Split and Croatia now comes to an end.

We loved our little Airbnb here, tucked into a courtyard just off a very quiet street, our stone house was a stones throw from Diocletian’s Palace

Our stone cottage

and the harbor.  A perfect location for anyone visiting.

I think the best thing about Split is Diocletian’s Palace.  I didn’t really understand before coming here that the “palace” is actually the old town.

Bell Tower

Originally built for the Roman Emperor Diocletian in 4th century as a summer home, he enjoyed it for six years after abdicating the Roman throne.  After his death it fell into demise for centuries until people from the neighboring village fleeing the Croats ended up here.  Slowly the local people took away the stones and built-in and around the palace a city.  They rebuilt within the dilapidated walls of Diocletian’s house.  Today the

Palace

beautiful glistening stone city is built-in and around the original palace walls and grounds and it is so beautiful.  And certainly unique as far as antiquity and historic cities go.

Alas it is also crowded, but we came to Croatia knowing this would be the case.  We did not see as many cruise ships in Split’s harbor as we did in Dubrovnik but there is definitely more yachts and

Harbor at dusk

small cruise boats.  The most beautiful yachts I have ever seen in my life.  The harbor itself is also nice, a beautiful promenade lined with restaurants and shops and benches to sit, enjoy and watch the beautiful people go by.

We did some great training for our upcoming

Our fav beach Kasjuni

Camino walk while in Split – walking up Marjan Hill, and around the Peninsula.  Very nice place to walk.  We spent a little time at the “beach” although the crowds are not to my liking and the rocky area makes for a not so relaxing experience. Late in our visit we found a nice beach at the end of the peninsula within Marjan park – so we visited there twice.

We took the ferry out to the island of Brac and spent the day enjoying the lovely village of Supetar, also

Beautiful Brac

full of history.  We swam and had lunch and it was a nice break from the “big city”.

One of the funnest things we did was a two-hour sunset sailing cruise around the bay.  Dalmatia has more than a thousand islands and sailing is a national past time.   My mother in law Lynn, who was with us for two weeks, sponsored this little sailing excursion and it was a lovely way to end her time with us here.  We saw a little wind, a beautiful sunset, sipped wine and ate local cheese and

On the sail boat with Capt Glorian

enjoyed listening to our captain talk about growing up in Split and all his adventures.    Lynn has really enjoyed Croatia, especially the pastry, the gelato,

Gelato

the history, the boats, the music and most of all the people watching.  Me too.

On the last night with Lynn we had a delicious and very authentic Croatian meal at Konoba Marjan.  I great seafood feast prepared in the local style and a great way to celebrate our time in

Our waiter expertly filleting our grilled fish at the table

Croatia.

Towards the end of our time here we began a “game” of wandering off into the depths of the old town, down narrow alleys and pathways just to see

Getting lost in the maze of old town

where we would end up.  If you’ve been to Venice, Split is smaller but similar in that you can get lost in the belly of the beast.  Pretty fun to see where you end up.

After we said farewell to Lynn and shipped her back to Seattle we had a couple of days left.  We did another Camino training day and then today a stay

Marjana Peninsula on a Camino training day

home and pack day, which I actually always enjoy.  It feels good to pull everything together again each time.

Tomorrow is our final day here and we have plans to enjoy another authentic Croatia dinner and then attend an outdoor opera performance in Diocletian’s palace of “Aida”, part of Splits Summer Festival.  It will be a lovely way to end our time in this beautiful country.

We will take a rental car to drive us north into Slovenia.  We plan to make a stop at Zadar to see the sea organ, an art installation that plays music via waves (I’ll post photos) and then arrive in the village of Piran in the late afternoon.

But for Croatia – I highly recommend it, it has so

The Split fish market

much to offer.  Just be prepared if you come in the summer for lots of crowds. Spring and fall are good times to travel here too – it’s beautiful and bountiful no matter the

Sunset from the sailboat

season.

So now Chapter Nine continues as we make our way North to Slovenia.  We have visited Slovenia before, and this six-day visit is focused primarily on our friends the Chaussins (the family of our exchange student from ten years ago) who spend their summers in Piran.  We are looking forward to seeing them again and having six days to just relax after the whirlwind that was Croatia, before we head off to Portugal.

So, farewell to Split – it’s time to Split – away!

Two weeks in Dubrovnik is a perfect amount of time.  Not just a day excursion from a cruise ship but a chance to explore deeply this beautiful region, the interesting and ancient and recent history, the spectacular beaches and the food.

Two weeks on the rock. Fabulous !

We chose to stay outside of the old town in the Lapad neighborhood and I’m really glad we did.  This quiet little suburb is very near the beach and an easy and convenient ten minute bus ride to old town     Our Airbnb had a small but convenient kitchen and

Lapad

best of all a private little patio where we did yoga, played scrabble, hung out laundry and ate our meals.

We test drove several beaches during our visit.  Each offering something a little different.  There is no sand – so people strewn boulders and even gravelly beaches are the norm.  You can hire a chair and umbrella (which we did twice) or lay on the concrete  or rocks (which we did three times).  The water is refreshing and clear and a great place to swim.

We spent a lot of time enjoying old town and I

Old Town

recommend the guided walking tour ($15) and the wall walk ($20).  I also recommend taking the cable car (http://www.dubrovnikcablecar.com $23) up and if you are physically fit take the trail up instead.  It’s a great work out and the view is incredible.

Lokrum Island

We took the ferry out to Lokrum Island ($10) and really enjoyed that day walking around the island, swimming in the sea and seeing the old monastery.

We enjoyed two cultural experiences – a live theatrical Performance of “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream” inside Fort Lovejenac and a live operatic performance of Carmina Burana outside under the stars in the square.  The later is part of the annual

Carmina Burana under the stars

Dubrovnik Summer Festival an 8 week performance  extravaganza annually.

The wall walk

And definitely go to a cooking class and or a food walking tour.  A great experience.  Read more about that experience here.

We rented a car one day and drove to the amazing ancient town of Kotor in Montenegro about two hours south.  If you have the time I thought it was a beautiful place and the drive was spectacular.

Kotor Montenegron

We did not go out to any of the other local islands, but there are several to choose from.  We decided to wait and visit some islands from Split, where we are headed next.

If you visit Dubrovnik in the summer just come with an open mind that it will be crowded and hot.  But taking two weeks gives you time to avoid some of the crowds and get a bit deeper.  The ancient history as well as the history around the more recent 1991 war is worth learning and truly understanding.  It’s fascinating to talk to those who lived through it and see how far they have come in just a couple decades.

Tourism is the economic driver of Dubrovnik so be prepared for it to feel touristy.  It does.  But you should come anyway and take your time discovering all that is here – old, new, traditional and beautiful.  One of the oldest cities in the world – Dubrovnik on the rocks.

Chapter Nine continues in Split! Fabulous!