Croatia - Split

We arrived in Split, Croatia by air on Friday night. Checked into the Hotel Meridien Lav, in Podstrana (20 minutes by taxi), and went to bed pretty early.

Today (Saturday), we started the day with a great free breakfast and a walk along the Podstrana shore of the Adriatic Sea. We took the 1:30 pm shuttle back into Split and spent the day there. We ate a traditional Croatian sandwich from a local corner bar, then gelato from a very cranky gelatoria shop owner, walked around the streets, paid three different entry fees to see areas of Diocletian's Palace, climbed the very scary bell tower, and then ate again- this time pizza.

Now it's 8:00 pm, the kids are swimming, mom is emailing and I am blogging when I should be finishing my book. Especially since the only one who reads my travel blogs anyway is my mom and she is here with me! I guess I'll keep it up though since it's kind of like a scrapbook but easier.

So far Croatia is interesting. Way less crowded then Rome. Cleaner in some ways, like no grafitti, and dirtier in others - very strong sewer smell! Some of the people (mostly shopkeepers) are pretty standoffish, although Mom did talk to the ticket guy while we were climbing the bell tower. He said that the name "Listik" is definitely a Split-area family name and that 100 years ago my Great-grandmother Mary probably walked through the same streets we were on today. Very humbling.

Croatians are very fashionable, especially compared to fleece-clad Pacific Northwesterners. Lots of black, leather and heels.

And, actually, our concierge in the hotel has been really helpful- he told us about the sandwiches, gelato and pizza places we went to today. And Rachel bought a doll and the shop owner gave her a little turtle made of sea shells for free, so maybe the people are pretty nice, after all.

Tomorrow we wake up early and take a ferry to see some of the islands. Good night for now!

-- Posted from my iPhone