Long time no post - sorry!
Wow...I cannot believe it has been well over a month since my last post. Not sure where the time has gone, but I have only 8 days left in my two month stay here in this beautiful city. And honestly, I am ready to head out to new adventures. Which I will tell you about further down in my ramblings.
While the city of Split is indeed beautiful, you can see and do everything in about one week of good sight seeing. We switched apartments and are now located in a really nice neighbourhood called Zenta, still in the city but close to the beach with water and island views. What an improvement over the last place.
Excursions:
Hvar:
Day trip to the island of Hvar to see the old town (Stari Grad) and then the town of Hvar. The day was beautiful for a 2 hour ferry trip. Again nice old towns with beautiful waterfronts but like everything else here it is all shut down for the winter months. There is only one bus on the island of Hvar and it runs twice a day, so we paid for a $50 cab ride from old town to Hvar town. Had to do something as the ferry to Split was not leaving until 1700 hrs. and it was only 1100 at this time. |
| Hvar Town |
Mostar:
Ava and I took a two night excursion to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar went through major damage during the independence wars of the former Yugoslavia. We stayed in the UNESCO World Heritage area of the Stari Most (Old Bridge). Beautiful area to be in, but again a one day excursion would have been nice as the rest of the city is pretty run down and still damaged by the shelling it took. Many buildings are still in ruins with artillery damage apparent.
The bus ride was was 4.5 hours of sheer hell. The coastal road is like riding a roller coaster with sheer drops into the ocean, and guard rails are not a common safety feature here. I never get car sick but this was pretty close to it happening. Every 30 seconds or so you are in a turn. We went through some interesting towns on the way to/from Mostar. Mostly old factory towns and ports from the soviet days and they have seen better times. But the people are really friendly and helpful. We stayed in this really great hotel called Hotel Kriva Cuprija 1. Right by the old bridge and is built right on the river into the old walls. The rooms are gorgeous and big. Recommend if you ever find yourself in Mostar.
While in Split we have ventured around the main parts of the city. We have hiked up and down Marjan Hill, which is a massive green space located in the centre of Split. The climb is not for the frail, considering there are multiple stairs involved a the beginning of the ascent. But once up there the views are incredible. As well it is a major rock climbing area.
One of the main purposes of my travels is to settle in as a local and actually see if I could live in any of the places I visit. I can honestly say that Split is not going to make that list. While it is pretty it is also pretty boring.
The food here is interesting. The meat especially. I have never seen butchering of carcasses quite like they do it here. It is hard to tell what the hell it is they are chopping up as it is just pieces of carcass and the guy behind the counter wields a large knife and hacks away until he gets through the other side. YIKES!
As I have said before, the people are friendly and helpful. It seems that the local dress code for men is fleece sweat pants. Everywhere you look they are in that particular uniform. Going out for dinner the women are dressed beautifully and the guy is in sweat pants (no underwear), sneakers and usually a hoodie. This code even applies to the pre-school boys.
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| Mostar Old Bridge |
Trogir:
Trogir is a charming little town located 30 km from Split. It also is a UNESCO world heritage site. The old town is located on the Dalmatian coast and is internationally famous with yachtsmen from around the world. Trogir was founded in the 3rd century BC and is referred to as the Monument Town. The old town is located on an 'island' accessible by small bridges and traffic is banned from the historical area. The promenade is spectacular with many entryways into the old town, where people still live, work and go to school.
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| St. Dominic Church and Monastery in Trogir |
One of the main purposes of my travels is to settle in as a local and actually see if I could live in any of the places I visit. I can honestly say that Split is not going to make that list. While it is pretty it is also pretty boring.
The food here is interesting. The meat especially. I have never seen butchering of carcasses quite like they do it here. It is hard to tell what the hell it is they are chopping up as it is just pieces of carcass and the guy behind the counter wields a large knife and hacks away until he gets through the other side. YIKES!
As I have said before, the people are friendly and helpful. It seems that the local dress code for men is fleece sweat pants. Everywhere you look they are in that particular uniform. Going out for dinner the women are dressed beautifully and the guy is in sweat pants (no underwear), sneakers and usually a hoodie. This code even applies to the pre-school boys.
Up-coming trips:
I leave Split on March 15 and continue my journey of Croatia until March 29 whenI head back to Italy.
March 15-20. Dubrovnik with a side tour to Kotor and Budva Montenegro.
March 20-29. Zagreb, Croatia. Big city finally.
March 29-31. Trieste Italy
March 31-Apr. 6 Florence Italy (Uffizi Gallery, shopping and good food)
April 6 - 18 Rome (cooking lessons and side trip to Villa d'Este and Hadrians villa)
April 18-23 Amalfi coast ( Revello and Pasteum)
April 23 -? Bari Italy (rent a car and drive to sites and possibly towards Milan?)
after that the calendar is open as we have to be in Amsterdam for the 9th May and flight back to Canada on the 11th.
That's it from Croatia and hopefully I will keep this more current.
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