Cruising the Croatian coast

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Split


Matt and I woke up on the night train in the morning and opened the curtains to a most amazing view of the Croatian coast at sunrise; so beautiful! In Split we found a great hotel to stay right in the centre around the corner from Diocletians palace. We dumped our stuff and went to explore. Split is a stunning town, a network of tiny winding streets make it easy to get lost but its so small you don't stay lost for long. We explored the streets, brought some wooden beads at a cool homemade wood stall, had a drink in a cafe in a little square. We walked around the park, explored Diocletians palace (which of course I loved because anything Roman I adore, and its right in the middle of the city, there are people living and working inside it!) The palace also has a tower you can climb up with fantastic views of the town, the sea and the mountains - Spilt is like a paradise! And of course it has perfect weather as well! We went back to the hotel for a sleep and met the landlady - a completely mad woman who I absolutely loved! In the evening we went for a walk along the seafront and ate gnocchi and meatballs - recommended by madame at the hostel - which were beautiful! At the hotel we met a lovely French-Canadian girl and went for a drink with her. The sea front has loads of bars so we walked for ages trying to find a lively bar but failed; they were all really quiet! So we had a quiet drink by the seafront and had a chat.

Next morning we decided to walk on the hill that overlooks the town. The walk up is peaceful through lots of woods, it was a really nice walk. We had a look in the zoo on top of the hill, I was surprised how big it was, from the outside it looks like nothing! They had a lonely tiger, some sad bears and a petrified wolf which wasn't so good, but they also had some happy animals like monkeys and farm animals, and a huge porcupine! We walked right to the other end of the hill looking for the beach on the other side. We got a bit lost and had to turn back on ourselves, but found it eventually and I am glad we did! We found a tiny bay with only two other people on it and I went for a swim in the clear warm sea. The bay had rocks all on one side so we went for a climb and found an outcrop to sit on overhanging the sea. The view was amazing! As the sun was setting we walked all the way down the longer beach around the corner, so quiet and peaceful! We made our way back to Split and ate at a stall which cooks fresh fish in front of you, caught that morning. We tried shrimps and whitebait - so tasty!


Zadar


In the morning we were up early for the bus to Zadar. It was a crazy ride - baking hot and no air con or windows open. Someone would open the roof window for a brief respite and then someone else would complain because her hair was getting messed up or something and close it again! But I was sat next to two lovely English people who live in Australia and have done loads of travelling, they were very interesting! And the views from the bus were stunning! At Zadar station we found a woman selling a hotel and went with her as we had no where else to go. We were a bit wary but it turned out fine, it was her house basically with come rooms for guests inside. It was pretty close to the town so we went for a walk to the centre.

We walked over the bridge into the pretty old town and wandered around some streets. The main square was bustling and had a huge church in it, and some Roman ruins dotted around. The seafront was lovely to walk around; a great view of the mountains opposite. There was a really strange art installation that was basically holes in the floor that wind blows through and it makes a sound like whales song or something. It took us ages to work out what it was! And there was a huge round solarpanel on the floor which we thought m,usy be for electricity or something. In the evening we walked on the front again and realised that the solar panel was all lit up with coloured lights; it was the sun with the planets radiating from it all down the waterfront. We had a great meal in a restaurnat with a lovely courtyard, and headed back to the hotel.


Pula


In Pula we stayed with an American guy called Richard who lived in Korea and Texas for most of his life, and is now a chiropractor in Pula. He met us at the bus station and took us out for a meal in a trendy restaurant. We went back to his cool bachelor pad and watched movies. In the morning we watched more movies and then went for a walk around Pula. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the long walk into town. As we were walking down a gorgeous tree lined avenue we saw a kitten and watched it for ages! We saw the Temple of Augustus (yay more Roman stuff!), the chapel and the town hall and walked along the water front. We found the train station to find out about trains the next day but the station was tiny and there was no one to ask about trains! Luckily I have my timetable book so we just had to trust it to get us to Slovenia the next day! On the way back we saw the amphitheatre and walked around it- huge and stunning in the afternoon light! We wandered back into the town centre and saw the triumphal arch and walked around the streets a bit. We headed back to Richard's house and spent the evening watching more movies and eating pizza - it was like being round a mates house! I love Croatia and really want to go back soon!!

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