8/31-We stopped for coffee, then started a climb. The heat required another rescue for Rhe ( I love Backroads support!) and at the top of the climb they were preparing for a bocce tournament of dozens of teams throughout the islands. Hannah and Mia had a special treat for us of local cheeses.
8/31-After the boat ride, we headed across the island on our bicycles.
8/31-After breakfast we made our way down to the water and boarded a boat to Brac (pronounced like “scratch” with a”br”). We had a yacht to ourselves for the day. We got our “route rap” discussing the plan for the day onboard, then disembarked to start the ride.
8/31-Started out with a hearty breakfast at the hotel breakfast bar . This is no Best Western breakfast, I tell you. I could only capture a portion of it in the picture. And you had the option of ordering from a full menu if you couldn’t find anything to your liking….
8/30-that night we had beer and cider with amazing labels! And the view from the top of the Coronaro hotel was fabulous!
8/30-Today’s ride is through an agricultural area outside of Split-Our first chance to see rural Croatia. It was very hot and Rhe started having troubles. We called the leaders, MIA, Hanna, and Rueben, and soon Hanna showed up in the van To give her a ride back while Paul soldiered on to the end.
8/30-We all got on a bus and were taken to a rural area outside of town. We found out we are the only two in the entire group riding “acoustic” bikes. Everyone else in the group is on electrIc bikes. Our fearless leader, Rueben, had to wait for skydivers to touch down before he gave his spiel.
8/30- Our instructions are to be at the Hotel Coronaro at 8am dressed, fed and ready to ride bicycles. So we left the apartment for the last time. Reception told us it would cost 65 Euros each to eat there, so we walked across the street and got pastries for 9 Euros total. Graffiti is gone!
8/29- some scenes from walking around after dinner. We listened to more music, and noted that Split proudly displays its Olympic medalists with plaques on the promenade by the water.
8/29- For our last night on our own in Split, we ate on the rooftop of a restaurant named Art-a-coke ( pronounced “choke”). We had to promise to be out of there by 7:30 pm to get a seat. As we left, we looked back and saw them showing a movie on the adjacent wall.
8/29-feral cat houses
8/29 - it is hot here. Just look at Paul’s shirt. 90 degrees plus most days. After the hike, we ate at the Downtown Grill, which featured BBQ. Across the street was an interesting diner as well. I had Split’s signature dish, black risotto. The little boxes are cat houses for the tons of feral cats.
8/29 - Today we went for a hike in the Marjan Park. This is a huge park just west of Split. It used to be a volcano. It has all kinds of structures from all times in history. splitholiday.com/top-attra…
8/29 - Our apartment in Split is nice. You can see details at homes-and-villas.marriott.com/en/proper… The view from the balcony was spectacular. To find it in the maze of streets, we looked for the goofy face.
8/28 - We also saw some interesting signs along our tour, including one advertising an art exhibit. If you look closely behind the graffiti, you can see how a modern couple deals with a baby’s diaper.
8/28 - Our fearless leader’s name was unpronounceable by English speakers. She told us to call her “Irene.” She is a historian and knew all kinds of cool stories, particularly about how evil Emperor Diocletian was and how much filth accumulated in a 1700 year old castle without toilets.
8/28 - Inside Jupiter’s Temple we listened to some traditional Croatian songs. The roof of the temple was built with the top open, which actually kept the soldiers dry in the rotunda below. They almost didn’t let me out of the Palace at the end of the tour.
8/28 - so I was off by a day or two on my previous posts. The last posts took place on 8/27. Today (8/28) we had a tour of the Diocletian Palace, which makes up a large part of the touristy area of Split. It is where GOT Daenerys’ dragons got locked underground and she freed the Unsullied.
8/29 - and some talented buskers under a full moon.
8/28 - be sure to swipe left to see all the pictures I post. Here’s some night scenes from Split.
8/28 - We also enjoyed a walk to the beach, where we watched cliff divers, people swimming in the Adriatic Sea, local boats as opposed to gigantic yachts ( note the masthead on the blue boat), and a relative to our dog, Zuzu. Also learned a new name for ATM machines.
8/28 - we had fun yesterday and today exploring the city. So many windy little streets and passageways, and the unexpected.
8/28 - The palace in Split is where the scenes from Meereen City were filmed. In fact, they have Game of Thrones Tours and a GOT Museum! The next city we visit is Dubrovnik. That’s where the King’s Landing scenes were filmed. thirdeyetraveller.com/split-gam…
Let me back up a bit. Paul and I are on a 4-week vacation in Europe. The first part of the trip is in Croatia. On our own at first, but on Sunday we join a bicycle tour with Backroads, which will take us from Split to Dubrovnik through the islands on a luxury bicycling tour (?!?) lasting 6 days.
8/26 - we slept until 11 am, then explored the city of Split, Croatia, which has so much history that I can’t even attempt to address it here! The middle of town is a huge palace built by the Romans before Christ was born. More on this later.
