We left Zagreb and had a 4 1/2 hour drive to our next destination, Split, the 2nd largest city in Croatia. Our little apartment was fabulous, a little distance out of the madness of the Old Town. We had our own little garden to relax in….when it wasn’t raining!

We found out on our first night that Uber works well in Split. Our driver dropped us off at the Esplanades and waterfront called Splitska Riva. Boy oh boy, we were hit by wall to wall people, it was extremely busy.

The Riva is a 500 metre long waterfront boulevard stretching along the Adriatic Sea with stunning views of the harbour and lined with palm trees. After our long drive we needed to hydrate so found a nice spot for an aperitivi before dinner.

Dinner was next on the agenda so we wandered and wandered and wandered and finally decided on a great little restaurant in the back streets of the Old Town. The sea bass, the calamari, and the grilled veges were absolutely delicious. Good choice!!

Behind the Riva is the Old Town and it is centered around the Diocletian Palace. In 295AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a residence to be built there for his retirement, as one does!

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius is considered to be one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings still standing and was built as a mausoleum for the emperor. The Bell Tower was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries and reconstructed in 1908 after it had collapsed. That was the reason we decided not to climb it as we thought it may be due to collapse agin….had nothing to do with Greg’s knee!

The Fruit Square was once a bustling fruit market and now is full of restaurants, bars and shops. It was impressive both during the day and at night time.

The People’s Square dates from the 15th century and has many beautiful buildings built by the nobility over the years. It has a Romanesque clock tower with the remains of a medieval sundial. Again it was stunning day and night.

The following day we opted to walk down the steps to the Old Town to get some water views and quite a few steps there were. However the views were worth it looking out over the Matejuska port. One of our party was a little quicker than the other 2, who seemed to be lost at some stage and looking for something but God only knows what!😂

We wandered again toward the Old Town and came across Republic Square, said to resemble St Marks Square in Venice…..we agreed.

After a coffee, Greg sat and made himself comfortable while Rhonda and Jude went shopping! Greg had enough time for 2 or 3 beers while the girls dodged people walking through the Old Town, going in and out of shops, checking out bargains, and working up a thirst to meet Greg 2 hours later for a well earned drink themselves. The Croatian National Theatre is in Split and was opened in 1893 and is one of the oldest surviving theatres in the area of Dalmatia.

We enjoyed our time in Split, particularly the time spent in our lovely quiet apartment far from the noisy pushy tourists in the Old Town. 😂 It was soooooooo busy.

After 2 nights in Split we put Harley on ferry to make our way to a much anticipated 6 night relaxing stay on the island of Hvar, staying at Stari Grad. And it has been exactly that but that’s for the next entry!

So it’s that time again, time for a mineral water as we all thought it was time for an AFD! 😕🙄🙃😝

Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow!

weather still great, not too hot, wine and beer still cold

lots of love

Greg and Rhonda and Jude.