Our 6:30 AM wake-up was early but we were ready for the day. I was still so stuffed from the night before so we had a very light breakfast before walking down to our boat. While I had the right power converter for my phone, I did not have one for my laptop, so we tried to find a converter in one of the little markets by the boat docks and we ended up running into our dinner companions from Stori Komin at the market! It is amazing how small and charming Hvar, Croatia is.
I couldn’t find a charger and am now at 3% typing this on the boat to Split. Fingers crossed I find a charger soon or this post is going to be a shortie….
Thank my lucky stars! Our hotel in Split, Hotel Coranado, had a spare converter so I could charge my Mac! *Phew*. Our boat ride to Split was about 50 minutes and uneventful. Once we debarked, we walked up the pier and used Google Maps on Ryan’s phone to find the hotel! We had no idea that the small alleyways we were weaving in and out of were actually part of a 4th century palace that Diocletian, a Roman Emperor, used for retirement! Must have been nice…
Since we arrived at the hotel so early, we could not check-in, so we gave our bags to reception and waited for our tour guide, Nemo, to arrive. With two check-in counters, there was some confusion finding Nemo, but, like every good story we overcame adversity, found Nemo, and hopped in his Mercedes to go to the island of Trogir.
We walked over moat to get to the island and then toured through the narrow roads. Our guide gave us some fun facts, like how the stone roads that had a line in the middle were markers to lead out of the city centers. Also, the reason that the pathways were build so narrowly was to keep them cool in the summers and warm in the winters. We saw some beautiful cathedrals, lots of churches, and were even serenaded by 5 men in an acapella group in the open court house. Apparently, the open court house was the place to be back in the early day as the whole town would watch the court cases and gossip about those involved.
After about an hour of walking around Trogir we headed back to Split. We were getting a little peckish after walking an entire town, so our guide took us to his favorite gelato spot. They had apple pie gelato, which I couldn’t resist. It was heavily!
We took our ice cream to go as Nemo guided us through Split. We learned all about the palace of Split and how it was built. How it used to have 4 walls but, in the Medieval times, a main wall as knocked out and another section of the city was built. Some parts of the city were from the 3rd century BC! There were even Egyptian 5 sphinx statues throughout the city that were over 3.5 thousand years old. It is astonishing that some of the cities homes and apartments are older than the USA.
Our tour concluded around 2 PM and we went up a street that our guide suggested for lunch and ended up at a pizza place. I got lasagna and Ryan had spaghetti bolognese. Thank goodness we walked 6 miles already…
After lunch, we could finally check into our hotel so we walked back and got to our room. It is a very nice hotel and Ryan decided to test out the bed with a nap while I took off to walk around the markets and shop for an hour or so. It was such a beautiful day I couldn’t just stay inside!
Around 4, I came back to the room and we got ready for the evening. We decided to walk up the 200 steep stairs of the cathedral tower. Some of the block stairs were 2 feet tall and the iron stairs up after the bells were slightly terrifying, but we finally made it to the top and the view made all of those stairs worth it!
We went down to into the crypt under the church for a few minutes but it was underwhelming and, instead, we were lured by the songs of a band in the square. They were amazing and we listed for a while before going to find dinner.
We ended up at a restaurant called Apetit and had a delicious meal of salad, bread with oil and vinegar, grilled squid (a Split staple), and truffle macaroni with prosciutto. So much good food! We also enjoyed the $3 house wine that would rival any $20 glass in the US!
In an amazing mood, we walked around the city center, taking in the vibrance of the night life, getting another round of gelato to top off the night, and heading to the rooftop terrace at the hotel to watch fireworks in the distance.
The Impatient Traveler 
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