Pasike Trogir

... and making sure we had everything we needed.

Just went and had a short walk around and baked trout dinner at Serum which was a cool little place like being in someones living room.
Went to a couple of bars afterwards and found out why it was so quiet in Split - Sunday is the "day of the dead" (the way the barman in the first bar explained it to me) which is the day of the year that everyone visits the graves of their ...

... it was the perfect time to be sick. We just watched movies on his laptop, American shows on the TV with 2 channels (Friends, Xena Warrior Princess…), cooked, and played Chess on our mini travel set. Overall, it was nice to relax but I know I started feeling a little bored.

Saturday came around and the storm was clearing (only a little bit of rain and clouds that morning). We then hopped on a ferry to another island, called Korcula.

... something quiet. This spot is exactly what we were hoping for! There are only about fifty people at the campsite, which means that it is private without us being the only ones at the campsite, which seems to have been the trend lately! We bargained with the lady at the desk and paid for the cheapest spot but were able to park in the most expensive with the best views…they are unbelievable. Sailboats are going past now and we ...

... height!
To make it worse there was a bunch of random guys that hung out drinking beer next to the shop there, just around the corner from our van. Harrassing you when you went past or generally just being loud and noisy. Surprising they were allowed and I have no idea where they belonged.
The good thing though was there was an hour boat to Trogir so we decided to go out on Friday night and have some cocktails.. woo hoo.... it got ...

... can imagine Roman soldiers under the command of Diocletian socializing in the same spot more than 1,700 years ago. Narrow, white marble streets polished smooth by centuries of footsteps lead off the Peristil, and modern cafes serving strong Italian espresso are found on nearly every corner. Small apartments with laundry drying in the gentle sea breeze are tucked into narrow alleys, as are clothing and gift shops.

The Emperor’s living quarters are along the ...

... just a shower here and there, but constant driving rain...even our morning trip to the very grumpy chocolate croissant vendor (yes, I would like to buy something, I'm not just standing outside your shop in the rain for the fun of it) resulted in complete saturation. Luckily our hotel room was equipped with free internet, so we made the most of it ...

... alarm of the experienced divers who would be diving alongside me. I felt like a complete idiot, but they turned out to be nice guys- one living in Vis, and the other on holiday from the capital, Zagreb. I followed Star's example and made conversation with them, discovering that the only dives he had ever done NOT on Vis were with the same company I was planning on going to later in the week. I had really wanted to dive the Blue Cave, where at certain times of day the light enters this cave ...

... travels. However that would have been highly unnecessary because the whole town can be 'completed' in an afternoon. The quaint cobblestone streets and tiled roofs were pleasant but the town wasn't breathtaking, especially considering outside the town is surrounded by industrial areas. But it was a pleasant half-day trip and I got to check another UNESCO site off the list. Upon ...

... offering us rooms to sleep in. Apparently, the way things work around here is that families rent out rooms of their homes or small appartments, jump on the tour buses before they stop and an amazing yelling match and bargaining game begins until you finally choose a room for about 17 US Dollars. Luckily we had the decided to share a multi-room appartment with our new Aussie friends, so they did most of the haggling for us while Hilary and I stood speechless ...

... decided to cut and run for Venice. The new road from Split to Rijeka was excellent, and took us all the way in a little over 3 hours (in pouring rain), travelling between 140 and 160 kph most of the way (yes, the limit is 130, but everyone else was doing it!). After a quick pizza in Opatjia, we headed into some dense fog which slowed us down, but the entire drive from Split to Venice was completed in about 6 hours. So now we are in Venice, 2 days early. And who knows what is next...