Split, Croatia

 One great thing about the cruise was each day we woke up in a new place. It was pretty magical to go to breakfast and sit on the back deck of the ship and eat while looking at a new landscape. Monday morning we got off the ship in Split, Croatia and took an Uber to what we thought was a beach but turned out to be a park where they do cliff jumping. It was kind of early so no one was there doing it and we were unsure so we just walked around the park and then took an Uber to the actual beach, which was lovely. It was so clear and deep and it was all locals there since we were away from the cruise ship. We swam around for an hour or so and then took an Uber back to town, walked around and got some gelato (I got pistachio) and I bought some cute earrings and then we were ready for our tuk tuk tour with Nino. He was a college kid studying engineering and he was nice and answered our questions pretty well and was a fun guide. 

 

 

 

Our first stop was the very park we had already been to but this time there were kids cliff jumping so Curtis did it too. Then he took us up this mountain to give us lovely views of the beach and then to the oldest neighborhood in the city for more amazing views of the harbor. Then down into town for our walking tour of the old city. We saw Diocletian's palace (a Roman emperor who came to Split to retire). There are four main gates and a famous square that included an Egyptian sphinx that was thousands of years old; just wild to me. It was really beautiful and amazing to see something so old and I loved the story that he persecuted Christians so years after he died they took his body out of his tomb and threw it into the sea then turned his palace into a church. We also saw the statue of Gregory of Nin who was a bishop that was told he had to give mass in Latin but refused and still did it in Croatian so the people would understand. It was taken apart and hidden in pieces in 1941 when the Italians came during WWII and then put back together and located right outside one of the gates to the palace. People rub his big toe for good luck but we all declined because it was hot and we didn't have hand sanitizer. 

 

 

When we were done with the tour we looked at a few local vendors' stalls and then we got pizza from the first pizza place in Split. Since it was the Somebody Feed Phil show that inspired this whole trip, we also got the sandwich he got on the show, a cevapi, from this certain place and it was delicious! Then we got gelato  (I had lavender lemon) and Josh got a pastry. So fun to just sample local treats. It was a holiday  (anti-Fascist day when they separated from Fascist Italy in 1941) so unfortunately the bakery Lily really wanted to go to was closed but thankfully pretty much everything else was open so that was the only disappointment. By the time we had walked around and finished our eating we were going to go look at the market but it started thundering and it was about time to get back on the ship anyway so we walked back and got on. As it turned out we left port before the storm hit so we saw it from the water but we weren't in it; it was pretty cool. 

 

 

   

Curtis ran every day after we got back on the ship, on the treadmill, to keep up with his cross country training. The rest of us sat on the back deck and watched us leave port. Then we would all shower (one at a time in the room because it was that cozy) and then go to dinner. That night we tried the other main dining room (didn't like it as much because it didn't have the great views) and then we went to see the magic show by Danial Ka. It was a bit dramatic but entertaining enough. It was a great day in Croatia!