We arrived in Split Thursday evening. We were able to find parking a few blocks from our downtown apartment that we rented. If my Dad had not been along for the ride, I am not sure we would have been able to utilize the small parking spot we found with our large van, but he made it fit. (My Dad can parallel park like nobody’s business, I should have taken a photo).
Friday morning we set out to discover Split’s market scene. It was bustling. There was all kinds of produce, nuts and lot’s of lavender oil. And of course since it is a tourist destination there was some “stuff” as well. I loved their scales for the produce, and all the old ladies(just makes you want to know their stories). There was also a fish market a few blocks away, with some fun looking and stinky fish.
Split, Croatia is probably most famous for “Diocletian’s palace”. A palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian. It is really interesting to see as the city of Split is essentially a medieval city built in and around the ruins of the palace. Many of the streets are what would have been the hallways of the palace.
There is this big room with a round ceiling with a big hole in it (did not originally have a hole, would have been a complete ceiling with some beautiful artwork), it was once the impressive entry to the living quarters in the palace. Now it makes for some wonderful acoustics for klapa singers.
Nick, Jonah and my Dad decided to climb the bell tower to burn some energy (mostly Jonah’s energy…) Upon returning, Nick informed me that the windows were all wide open and a bit scary (easy to fall out of for the likes of Jonah). But everyone survived and got an amazing view of the city.
Mom and I decided to use the other “half” of the ticket from the bell tower climbing to go check out the Cathedral of St. Domnius. Originally, it was built as Diocletian’s mausoleum. In the middle ages the Christians in the area decided to kick out Diocletian (who was notorious for his cruelty to Christians) and create a church. It is considered the oldest church still in it’s original form, and if I remember correctly, is also the smallest.
We enjoyed wandering the streets of split and getting a feel for the local life.
Towards the end of the day we wandered up the “Marjan hill”, the large city park and wooded recreation area. It was beautiful up there, a bit of a hike (especially with two kiddos), but a nice break from the city below.
After our stroll in the park we wandered our way down the hill to find some dinner and stroll the boardwalk along the sea.
And last but not least, my favorite moment in split. This young man with down syndrome was enjoying the didgeridoo immensely. He was smiling and just taking it in. I love that the street artist was so willing to engage with him as well. And you can see the people in the crowd looking on as well, everyone passing would just smile. I love this picture. It’s just so universal, every where you go in the world people are still people. Even when they speak different languages and maybe do things a little differently.
