Well gang we’re keeping our good weather streak going (hope I don’t jinx it!) since it was sunny and mild again today (72) and no rain. Our love streak with Croatia continued as well as Split too was an amazing place! It’s the second largest city in Croatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast. This city is 17 centuries old and they say it has some of the best Roman ruins this side of Italy. It is beautifully situated along the Adriatic coast with the mountains tucked behind it.
In the morning we took a guided tour of the Diocletian Palace. Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruled from 245 AD to 313, wanted to retire in his native Split so he built a huge palace along the coast. He lived there for 10 years until he died. Then right around the fall of the Roman Empire, the locals were all trying to flee from the Slavic invaders so they all just moved into the palace and took it over and a medieval town sprouted out of it. It is now made up of lots of shops and AirBnB’s as well as Roman artifacts around every corner. Also, the basement is where they filmed parts of Game of Thrones!
Some of the Roman ruins we saw inside the palace were the Cathedral of St Domnius, where Diocletian is buried, the Church of St Dominic, as well as the Baptistery of St John. So lots of church’s inside this palace!
We then went back to have lunch (of course!) then chilled for awhile and then did a fun repeat type of excursion… the Tuk Tuk tour! They are so fun to tool around in. Similar to yesterday, where we had already toured the historical old town, we did a tour to the newer section of town. We saw the stadiums where their professional basketball and soccer teams play. He also took us to several beautiful beaches and also to a section called Marjan Hill where we could see a great view of the city from above. After the tour he dropped us off back at the cruise ship so we could get ready for dinner.
Once during their cruises, Azamara does a fun evening event called “White Night”. It’s where everyone dresses in white and they have a party out on the pool deck with all kinds of great food and entertainment. The weather was perfect for it, so we stayed there until late. Such a fun time! On to Dubrovnik!
PS: The other streak continued where the ship’s internet was being spotty so I’ll post some pictures later.
The Wandering Italian 