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Published: August 13th 2007
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Split 1
Diocletian's palace August 4, 2007
Croatia - A Vacation from our Vacation!!
After 6 weeks of travel we were getting weary. We needed a vacation from our vacation. Aunt Debbie has a co-worker, Srjan, who owns a charming B&B in Makarska, Croatia on the Dalmatian coast. We were able to find a week that he had free to spend on the beach. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
After we left Plitvice National Park we headed for Split, Croatia. It was a short drive and we had gotten into the whole routine…arrive in town…park the car…get a map...orient to the town…find lodging… have fun! Well….that was June and July and now it was August in Europe when pretty much everyone in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, and Great Britain go on vacation. Split was full. One of the hotel clerks we came across was kind enough to hook us up with an older couple, Ivan and Rosa that lived practically on the Riva (water front) that rented out rooms. In Croatia this is a common practice dating back to the Yugoslavia days to provide enough space for tourists called sobe. We had read about it
Makarska
High above Makarska in our guide book…Rick Steves swears by it but with 2 kids…I was skeptical. Well now I had no choice. Here we were for 2 nights at Ivan and Rosa…along with several others. They were doing a bang-up business. Rosa took in the money and she was raking it in! It would have been fine except for the noise of the Riva (partying and scooters till 3:00 am). The 40 degrees Celsius and no air conditioner, and oh…did I mention Will was on his second bout of diarrhea with fever and we had to share a bathroom with the whole house!! The first night was a nightmare…I think all total we slept 3 hours.
We persevered as Split was just gorgeous! The water of the Adriatic was so clear and so clean. The walled city that was once the retirement home of the Roman Emperor Diocletian was amazing. The ruins were well preserved and extremely interesting. Justin and Will have seen so many Roman ruins dating back thousands of years that they could teach ancient civilizations 101. We also had looked forward to going to the beach finally…after all those days of rain! So off we went….to the local’s
Makarska 2
Looking down on Makarska beach…away from the tourists. It was very nice. We had a nice swim and felt perkier than when we started with no sleep and Will seemed better. The best part was meeting a lovely couple from St. Louis, Mary and Mari. They are Croatian and had come to the US during Tito and have since returned to their home town of Split every summer since the fall of the iron curtain. They gave us the scoop on Split and Makarska. They were great! We plan to keep in touch with them! That second night we all slept like logs despite the rock concert out our window that lasted till 2:00 am!
We then arrived in Makarska with reservations…and had a great week by the beach. We didn’t over do it just relaxed. Srjan’s place was peaceful, away from the crowds yet a 15 minute walk to the beach. He had a kitchen were we could prepare meals. This was my first shot at cooking in over 7 weeks. I can’t believe it but I actually missed it! We went to the beach everyday. Makarska reminds me of American beach boardwalk towns. The beach area was filled with arcade type
Makarska 3
Corn on the Beach activities. The boys went to the trampoline everyday, rode the mechanical bull, and tried to win at arcade games. The shopping was intense as well. Will was in his element! We spent one day sailing to the islands near by, Hvar and Brac. They were more beautiful than any place by the sea I have ever seen. We met up with a member of the Roma professional soccer team (and his entourage) who introduced himself to me, as if I should know him. Was he shocked when I said in my American accent…I don’t know who that is or anything about soccer? Bummer too…he was cute!
As the week came to a close we had to decide where to go from here. Our itinerary had run out. We knew we wanted to go to Italy but where…North, South? We also didn’t want to be caught in August without reservations. Luckily, I found a place in Venice for a few days so North it was. We are going to drive through Slovenia on the way to Venice and check out another former Yugoslavic nation! Hopefully it isn’t the vacation mecca of all of Europe!
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