Split and Trogir

Why start the Split blog with an ATM? Well, as the guide explained, there is an epidemic of ATMs here in Split and Trogir. In Split alone, there are over 50 machines, with more springing up weekly! They can be found in virtually every street, on street corners, anywhere where there is space for someone to rent them out!

How lucky we were to be in Split when no cruise ships were in. Apparently there are over 300 per year and the number is set to increase. We thought we had problems in Akaroa with 70. It seems to me that something must be done to curb numbers, but I guess the hundred plus cafes which line most of the streets and alleys in Split, would not exist without them. 

Tourism is booming here and Airbnbs are opening all over the city, even in the city walls ( little windows in historic walls!)

Much of this ancient city dates back seventeen centuries. It has been torn down, rebuilt, remodelled and repaired and a living museum has been created within the magnificent walls of the Diocletian's  palace.

The visit to the subterranean halls was fascinating because they have been so well preserved and offer a good idea as to how the emperor's palace, built isn305 AD, would have looked. Only  these halls remain intact, thanks to the rubble which had been emptied into them, subsequently preserving them.

After our morning tour, we were whisked off to a nearby Unesco site, Trogir, a town with 2300 years of history, influenced by the Greeks, the Romans and Venetians. There were so many palaces, churches and towers, and of course so many cafes and ATMs. It was very picturesque and tranquil compared to the more popular Split. 

Apparently, this tranquility disappears in the holiday months when tourists fly or sail in from all over Europe.

After a whirlwind tour and a very tasty lunch in a garden restaurant, we headed back to Split for a free afternoon. I had a fantastic afternoon and evening with Janey. We both love getting to lookout points, so we walked to the end of the esplanade to start our climb up to the top of Marjan Park. What a gorgeous view over the marina and esplanade.

The path up consisted of hundreds of stone steps. 

The temperature in Split was above 20 degrees, but dropped rapidly as we climbed some of the steps into the start of the park. What pretty houses built into the rock.

After many many more steps, it was very pleasant to climb more gradually up this concrete ramp. Amazing! There was nobody there! We did meet a few people later, but the majority of visitors prefer the city centre to lots of steps. Good for us!
Further up, we did stop to watch some red squirrels leaping from branch to branch and even over the walkway to the trees on the other side - a massive leap for such tiny creatures!

We were nearly put off climbing the final 314 steps to the top lookout by the flag because just then, we heard the first thunder. The clouds looked extremely heavy and ready to release their load! However, we carried on, determined to get there, and made it just as the first raindrops fell.

Luckily, we did still get the wonderful 360 views, so it was well worth the uphill slog. The vegetation there was also beautiful.

As we left, the clouds did open and our trip back down was very refreshing, but we did get soaked once again. Not to worry, a warm shower quickly made me feel fresh again and so we set off up to the sixth floor roof terrace of the hotel (the lift was so much easier than the climb up the hill, which was the equivalent of 31 storeys according to Janey's fitbit!)

What a fabulous view of the city it was. We felt very satisfied that we had walked from the hotel to the right, and up to the flag on the top of the hill on the far right of the picture.

To make the views even more spectacular, there was a fantastic rainbow over the newer part of Split.

I had to laugh at the sign on the sixth floor terrace! 

After a great aperitive and period of people- watching, we had dinner at a lovely place in the centre of the old town, and then had a brilliant hour at the Peristyle, the area now considered as the main town square. Here we sat and listened to a solo musician singing many old favourites. The atmosphere was terrific. It was a great end to a fantastic day full of so many enjoyable experiences.