Today was a sunny and very warm day in Split, Croatia. Doing a bit of homework on the port, I found out that it is most famous for being the birthplace and retirement of Diocles, the Roman Emperor in the 3rd century. Ruins of his palace remain remarkably intact, so Pieter and I headed directly there, right across from the tender dock. You basically walk through the basement of the palace, where lots of souvenir vendors and local artists now set up show. Off to one side, there was an underground well that was discovered in the 20th century, but dates back prior to the construction of the palace itself. Wow, that’s old. Trying to wrap my mind around something that old is really, really difficult, but I tried to imagine the people looking like what I’ve seen in books, art, and movies about that era in history.
Once though the basement area, you emerge out into a sort of courtyard with the chapel to your right. Being Sunday, there were services going on inside, but one could still climb the bell tower for a nominal fee. I was feeling in control of my fear of heights and really wanted to see the whole city from the top of the tower. It was a beautiful climb up, with a few different landing points from which I got some wonderful pictures. There were pretty large-looking mountains to the east and the stunning coastline to the left. In between was a sea of terracotta tiled roofs, a mix of worn stone medieval, Roman, and Renaissance architecture and sprigs of flora growing through all the cracks. This area of the Mediterranean is called Dalmatia and the weather, landscape, and shores are really perfect for vacationing. The more modern areas of Split are pastel concrete buildings with palm trees all around, reminding me more of South Florida than anywhere else.
Heading away from the Palace, we fell upon the Green Market, which is a street market made up of produce and antique vendors. I bought some delicious cherries, which are everywhere we go on this itinerary. They must be in prime season! We ran into Teren, one of our singers from NY, who was heading to Zara. We hitched a stroll with him up one of the marble paved roads and shopped around a bit. Pieter’s been on a quest for purple shoes since buying a couple purple shirts at H&M in Athens and found a fabulous pair of plum kicks to complement the chemises. :)
The three of us were shopped out and ready for food, so we stopped at a sidewalk café on the Riva, which is the waterfront area that is lined with palm trees and cafés. In a moment of insanity, I neglected to take a photo of this lunch. :) This is especially tragic since I was able to try the Croatian version of spinach. I can’t remember the name, but they were a thin-leafed green that is boiled with small pieces of potatoes and is quite yummy! The local version of spaghetti, bread, and beer were also great! It was also nice to sit for a spell with Teren and talk to him about his long career in the biz. I got to talk to both he and Pieter about my potential conversion from PC to Mac this summer. Both of them, as well as most of the cast, are Mac users and I’m getting lots of good feedback about my idea to switch over. The major drawback, of course, is the loss of my on call tech support representative – my brother. He’s an IT dude with a PC background, so it’ll be hard to take that leap!
Then it was back to the ship and off to do show laundry for tomorrow’s playing of “Get Down Tonight”. After that, I’m pretty sure there won’t be much on my itinerary for the evening, as I’m sun-tired and ready for a chill night finishing Bolt!
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