It’s such a pure joy to see my friends at the airport or even in the midst of my journey.
I was excited to see Kathleen at the Gatwick airport, from where we were heading to Split, Croatia. She was exhausted after being on the plane for 10 hours from SF and a 5 hour layover in London.
The automated Customs and Border Control gates at the London airport does make it easy to whizz through but I miss getting the passport stamp. The security checking is another story. If you’ve even a small bottle of liquid in your bag and not in the separate plastic ziplock bag, then your bag will be personally screened. Seems like this was the case with most of the passengers and there was a line to get bags checked.
We got to Split airport in time and the customs and border control line was way too long. The line we were in was moving fast, thanks to the efficient customs and controls agent.
We ordered an Uber to our apartment but the directions Uber gave us to find the car we incorrect. The first two Uber’s cancelled on us. The third one we couldn’t find. After asking another Uber driver who was outside the terminal, we were able to find the location where Uber cars stop at. Since Uber is not allowed to come to the airport, they want you to come out of the terminal, walk to the streets and find the signal lights and wait there. Uber needs to do a better job at providing walking direction to this spot. We must have wasted 30-40 minutes in this mayhem.
We got to our apartment around 10:30pm. But finding our apartment was not easy as well. We just kept on going in circles since the Uber app was not giving the correct direction to the driver. We had to stop the car and just walk around to find the apartment building.
Our host greeted us and provided information about the apartment. There was nothing to rave about the apartment except the views from the balcony which we got to admire in the morning, when we arrived it was pitch black. It was an Airbnb rental investment property so there were no personal touches but white walls and ikeaesque furniture. Thank God the apartment was air conditioned but the tiny bedroom I was staying in didn’t have air conditioner nor any ventilation, so had to keep the door open and yanked up the living room air conditioner so that the cool air will get to my room. The twin bed was not super comfy as well but I was too tired and passed out.
Kathleen on the other hand couldn’t sleep because of jet lag for couple of days.
Day 1 – TLC in Split, walked to old city center from the apartment which was just 10 minutes by foot. Explored the street markets and had a Veggie wrap for lunch at a Vegan fast food place in the market. Ended up in the Cellars under the Diocese Palace, which was the location where Games of Thrones had filmed the dragon scenes. The Cellars now had lots of jewelry and art shops, and I ended up buying two coral bracelets. You can say that it was an impulse buy but at least I got something from here that I can wear it more often. Also, the corals are from the Adriatic Sea and came certified, so I hope it’s not the fake ones from China.
Later, I met up with Kathleen in Old Town and we explored the city together. We had drinks on the promenade while enjoying the view. Stopped at “Tommy’s,” the local grocery chain to pick up some food so we can make our morning breakfast. The weather was in 90s, so we went back to the apartment to relax and once it cooled down in the evening we went back to the center to have a nice dinner. Coincidentally, Kathleen’s sister and brother-in-law were in Split as well, so we met them for drinks. It surely was a late night out and we got back to our apartment around 12:30am.
Day 2 – Split City Walking Tour, We did end up waking up late but I made sure to do yoga asanas and stretching exercises to start the day right. Then made omelette for brunch with Earl Gray milk tea. So yummy!
The weather outside was too hot to explore, so we decided to stay in and research excursion options for the rest of our trip.
We left around 4pm, when the weather started to cool down and took the “City Walking Tour,” which was a great way to learn about Split’s history and checkout some cool places, such as, Palace of Diocletian, Golden Gate, Silver Gate, Iron Gate….
I decided to have a crepe dinner while listening to the Croatian opera singers on the Promenade stage, while Kathleen joined her sister for late night fish supper.
Day 3, Day tour to Krar Waterfalls and Wine Tasting
We woke up at 6:30am for our 7:40am full day excursion. We got to the meeting point on time but there’s always someone who doesn’t get there on time and disrupts everyone’s plan. Since the tour agency had over booked, they were looking for someone to volunteer to be on a private car rather than the van. Of course, without hesitation both us said “yes.” We still had to be with the entire tour group but it was so much comfortable being in the car. The drivers wife, Katarina, had joined us and she was super sweet and took good care of us.
Since it was raining, instead of going directly to the Krak Waterfalls, we went to the town of Sibenik.
Heads down it was the most beautiful town and our local guide was very informative and gave us lot of tips about which way we should venture to explore the town on our own during an hour break. During our walk, we were able to find a cafe visited by locals, which is always a good way to get feel of a town. Had hot chocolate in the outdoor cafe before it was time to head back to our car.
Our next stop was the infamous Krar Waterfalls and by the time we got there, it had stopped raining. Hallelujah!!
Usually, it’s jam packed but due to rain forecast, it has deterred lot of tourists, which was a plus for us. The waterfalls were magical and we ended up going in the water in spite of it being cold.
After spending 3 hours at the waterfalls, we boarded the ferry to get on the other side, where our car was waiting for us to take us to Skradin for wine tasting at Sladic winery.
At the Sladic winery, we got to taste white, rosé and red wines, checkout the underground cellar where they stored some of their wines to age and saw the wine making process. Also, they produce some of the best brandies. The Rosetta brandy had unique double labeling, outside being the Rosetta window in beige and gold (inspired by the church in Sibenik), and when you peel the top layer, the colorful Rosetta window appears. Very clever.
Katarina took us to the farm in the back and plucked different kinds of figs, almonds, apples and pears from the trees in the farm for us to taste. We also got to smell some herbs and lavender. Thanks to Katarina this experience was so much more special and intimate.
Day 4, Split Photo walk tour with Sleven was a good way to explore the markets and watch the local woman’s gossiping in the market, checkout streets and alleys which I would have never discovered, hike up the hill for the best panoramic view and end the tour at the park which only the locals know about.
Spent the evening by the beach trying to find the best spot to watch the sunset.
Day 5, Day tour of the Blue Cave and Hvar Island
Again, we had to wake up much earlier and get to the ferry meeting point at 7:15am. I had assumed that it will be a tour via ferry but didn’t realize that it was a tour via speedboat. We were fortunate to have picked the seats in the covered back area of the speedboat or else we would have been roasted in the sun while getting hammered by the choppy waves.
Monk Seal Cave –
Blue Cave –
Komiža Island –
Budikovac Island to snorkel
Hvar Island –
Took the speedboat back from Hvar to Split, and decided to have our last dinner in Split Promenade, people watching, while the sun was setting in the background. What a perfect way to end our Split adventure as I was heading out early morning to Italy.
