Split - 168 hours of no dragons

No Dragons!  This is probably the biggest disappointment after a week in Split.  Of course that is a Game of Thrones reference.  And we love GoT!  Visiting and staying in Croatia you get to see many of the spots that the show was filmed in (scenes from Split).  It's fantastic!  Oh, you might catch us reenacting a scene or two as we walk through the city.  It’s like waking someone sleepwalking – it's dangerous, be careful.  ;-P

Split is so much more than GoT.  It is the second largest city in Croatia behind Zagreb.  It’s not only a tourist attraction with beautiful historical sights, but a city people actually live in.  So you can find a genuine experience here.

After the first week, here are our top things to do.
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1. Take in the Riva.  Even in late October it’s still a bustling place full of people all day long.  It’s a great place for cocktails or a meal and people watch.  You can sit for hours and watch the changing scene throughout the day.  Sunsets can be epic from the Riva!
2. Wander the back alleys of old town.  This is where you can find more intimate shops and feel like you are exploring, especially if you are looking at the details.  We personally found that once you escape the throng of the tour groups, you can find better food, reasonable prices, and more authentic atmosphere.  Still touristy, but better.  Here are our favorites: coffee shop (D16), budget eatery (Pizzeria Gust), fine dining (Bokeria Kitchen), local cuisine (Villa Spiza), and brunch (Brasserie on 7).
3. Visit the markets (Green Market, Fish Market) and grocery stores.  You can really get immerse in a place and culture when you do that.  You can see everything from what people eat, what the society values, and meet the people.  For most of the week, we’ve been trying to cook at our apartment.  We had an opportunity to explore the local produce, meats, cheese, and wines.  It's been wonderful.  
4. Nightlife in Split is proper.  It can be quite the party town in the summer time, but even in mid-fall, the lounge and clubs can be packed.  We did have an opportunity to go out a couple of times in the last week with folks visiting.  People do get dressed up.  It’s a blending of all the latest fashion trends -- 80s bohemian, hipster grunge, and urban goth.
5. Hike Marjan and run the coast.  We try to work out most every day.  Split provides great scenic hikes/runs in almost in every direction.  Our favorites are Marjan and around the peninsula and running south of the city along the coast and the beaches.

It's not always perfect.  Our apartment is beautiful and is built within the Diocletian Palace.  The palace is more than 1700 years old, but living in a place like that has a few drawbacks.  First, there are a lot of tourist/tour group that go by our door all day long.  It’s busy and can sometimes be loud, but most of the time just festive.  We are right next to the bell tower and the bells ring starting at 6am every morning and does so several times throughout the day.  This hasn’t been a problem for me since I’ve been up before 5am every day, but I imagine once I get over jetlag it can be a problem.  Finally, living in the old town, you can smell sulfur (or sewage) every so often.  We’ve stayed in 3 apartments/hotels now in the old town and this has been a problem for all.  You can even smell it on the Riva at times as well.  Probably not a big problem for a short visit in town, but maybe something to think about if you are here for longer stay.

That is our impression after a week.  It’s a great city to start our adventure.  No dragons, but it’s been pretty amazing!

​-Vu

P.S.

The next few weeks will be about working through more of the boat details.  I know folks have been very curious on our social media accounts.  We will be sharing some of that soon!