Let's Go For a Walk

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Our time in Split has been great and somewhat more relaxed than past cities. Once we found our apartment and settled in we were thrilled with it as well as the location. Although we are in the Old Town, in an old building, the apartment has been totally renovated and is completely new and modern. We have enjoyed sitting out on our terrace in the sunshine after touring around each day.

On Sunday, we began our day walking down The Riva, which is the official name for seaside pedestrian walkway. It is lined with restaurants on one side while on the other there were numerous booths set up selling meats, cheeses, oils, soaps, linens, jewellry, etc. We then arrived at the remains of Roman Emperor, Diocletian's palace. In its day this was a huge complex with two structures in one. It was a luxurious villa as well as a fortified Roman town. Although the better part of this structure is gone, there remains a number of ruins which have been incorporated into the city's present day street plan. We entered through the Brass Gate and came upon the Cathedral of St. Dominus, built in the 4th century and beside it the Bell Tower which took 300 years to complete. We purchased our combination ticket where we first got to visit the Treasury and then into the Cathedral itself, which once housed Diocletian's tomb in the centre. It is a domed structure with granite columns. After exiting the church we came to the Bell Tower. Before beginning our climb up this 200 ft, 183 step structure, I reminded Curtis that I can't go up if it is anything like the staircase in Rovinj. He started up and said, "It's fine. It has stone steps and is fully enclosed." Famous last words. The steps themselves were over a foot high each, making for quite a step up. We made it up several flights to the first landing and that's when things got dicey. The next set of steps were metal, with a railing. However, it was completely open from top to bottom, the railing had one small barrier, other than the handrail itself and to make things worse, the other side had wide, open arches all the way up. I made it up 3 flights and my nerves were shot. I declared that from this point he was on his own because I looked far above I knew there was no way I was going to be able to climb up to the top, let alone back down. I sent my husband on his way and I slowly went back down to await his arrival. When he came back he admitted that it was certainly a little more hair-raising for him due to the expansive openings. Glad I made that decision!

We then visited Jupiter's Temple and St. John's Baptistery where there is the 12th century baptismal font, large enough for full immersion. We walked to Peristyle, the square which was the centrepiece of Diocletion's Palace. We passed through the Iron and Silver Gates as well. Through the Golden Gate, which was the main entry to the palace, we came to the magnificent statue of Gregory of Nin, a 10th century priest from Croatia who at attempted to convince the Vatican to allow sermons during Mass be said in Croatian, not Latin. We both stopped to rub Gregory' big toe for luck (a little less intimate than Juliet's breast!).

We spent our time roaming the streets, stopping for a delicious wrap and did some people watching. We then went to the Green Market but this lively open-air market was closing down for the day. We walked down along the water where we marvelled at the huge cruise ship that was docked as well as numerous smaller ships. We continued our walk and followed the sidewalk through a park and onto another walkway that went along the coastline. People were out in force with the advent of warm weather.

We took this path for a while and ended up in Sustipan Park which is a small peninsula. Up above it is a beautiful park which is dotted with pine trees and benches that sit on a cliff, facing over the Adriatic. Now a park, it was once a cemetery and refuge of the last Croatian King and it is said he lived in the medieval Benedictine Monastery of St. Stephen Under the Pines. It was built in 1068 and today you can see some of the remains. This beautiful park is no longer the resting place of the deceased as it was destroyed in WWII.

Heading back, we stopped to check out a large, 8 lane'swimming pool that looked like it was most likely filled with sea water and it boasted a large seating area on one side.

Arriving back to our apartment late in the day, we enjoyed a nice dinner and caught up on some reading.

Monday morning we decided to make our way to Marjan Park. This large peninsula is home to a huge parkland, which is right beside the Old Town. We found the first set of stairs off a side street not far from our apartment. We climbed up the stairs through the neighbourhood of houses until we reached the first level terrace. It was a beautiful vista over the town below. Next we decided to head up the stone pathway that went further up to the small chapel of St. Nicholas. Going around to the other side of the chapel, we then took another set of steps up to the next level where we came across the tiny Split Zoo. Continuing on, we came to a set of stairs, 314 to be exact, that took us up to the highest viewpoint where we were treated to the most magnificent panoramic view of Split. We met a young hiker from Quebec who took our picture and then we continued out the other side. There are numerous paths through this park so the choices are endless. We came to a fork. Do we go up or down? Curtis went up ahead where he then called down to me to make my way up. We sat on a bench and enjoyed the spectacular view over the Adriatic while far below people were out in their backyard gardens, tending to their young plants. Curtis found a "small" path for us to take which would lead us down to the tip of the peninsula where we would meet up with the road. This path had an okay beginning, winding along the top of the hill, narrow and rocky in places but manageable. How soon that changed! Walking forever, we were now clamouring over rocks, up and down hills and all the while there was no road in sight!!! Just when I was about ready to turn around, Curtis called out, "Be careful of the ... cactus!" Too late. With these treacherous plants on both sides of the narrow path I must have moved more to one side in anticipation of what he was about to say. Sure enough, I rubbed my leg along one of the prickly menaces and immediately went to brush it off as I felt something sting my leg. Next thing I knew I had a handful of needles piercing my skin and dozens more stuck in my yoga capris!! Curtis calmly came back and picked the ones out of my pants and subsequently out of my leg while I worked on my hand. It wasn't without a few curses on my part. Certain I was "needle" free we went on (I may have just been a bit more grumpy). We climbed over logs and down steep hills following this so-called path. Finally, and I am sure to Curtis' great relief, we came to the road which took us around the far side of the peninsula. We then encountered dozens of runners and bikers on this lovely, tree shaded, motor-vehicle free road. Coming to a restaurant along the water we stopped for lunch and then made our way down the road until we came to the entrance. The most ironic part? This was the same entrance we had driven to at least 4 times while trying to find our apartment on the first day!!! We found our way back where we were met with a heartwarming surprise. The lady who owns the apartment had stopped by and left a lovely note on our door telling us that she had left us a plate of cheese and her family's prosciutto, as well as a bottle of wine!!! We were very touched and especially grateful after our long day of hiking. Later we snacked on the delicious treats and called it an early night. We figured we had walked about 10.5 km or more in total today. Factoring in the twists and turns, ups and downs, plus the stairs our friend Quentin would say,"That's the moral equivalent of at least 15km!".

This morning we puttered around and then decided that we would walk to the big City Centre Mall. It didn't look far at all on the map at all. Boy were we surprised after walking for 2 hours! We calculated the distance to be at least 8km. We never do anything in moderation apparently. We picked up a few necessities and each a new shirt for the next leg of our journey. Not really wanting to face the long walk back, we hopped on a bus which dropped us off close to The Riva. We purchased a couple of beach towels to bring home as souvenirs and a sandwich lunch for tomorrow, our long travel day.

It will be an early night as we are being picked up by a shuttle at 4:30AM to take us to the airport for our 6:10 flight. We are off to Turkey tomorrow where we are excited to visit another new country, culture and language! We just get a few words in one language down and it's on to the next!!

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Photos

Split
View from Marjan Park