Today was our last day in Split so we decided to head into the Diocletian's Palace before boarding the ferry. We feasted on a brekkie of home made ham, Gouda cheese and fried eggs before setting off with our back packs. We found a stall next the wharf allowing us to store our backpacks for 30 kunas. Free of our backpacks, we headed for the palace. We were rather disappointed to find this UNESCO World Heritage site hidden behind massive permanent canopies erected by cafes and gelato bar owners eager to exploit their prime location.
Not letting that deter us, we wandered into the basements of the Palace to explore the hidden chambers. The air was cool and damp in the basement and the entrance was cramped with stalls trying to selling worthless trinkets to tourists. We made a quick escape by paying 50 kunas to explore the "proper" basement. The ceiling was high and long arches stretching diagonally. There were information boards in each chamber explaining the history and the use of room. Turns out that the basements of the Palace were a refuge to the Slovans (?) back in the 7th century after the fall of the Roman Empire and was evident in the condition of the building. We weaved through the basement and in the East wing of the basement found athletics equipment. Strange? We could not decide if it was either the city was preparing for some athletics event and decided to dump all the equipment in a historical site or some goon thought this was a good tourist attraction. Confusion and disappointment were our sentiments.
Deciding to give the Palace another chance, we went up to ground level. The Palace in the sunlight was slightly more decent and we could see a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance architecture that were kept in relatively good conditions. The view was however tainted by cafes and boutiques jammed in every conceivable corner. It was difficult to find a corner to just rest our feet and enjoy the Palace in peace. We decided that we were done with the Palace, took a photo of some men posing in Roman outfits, polished off 2 cups of coffee in a cafe and headed to the city view point.
It was a slow, steep walk up to the top of the city and the mid-day sun was out again. Sweat was dripping off our foreheads and we were feeling uncomfortably hot even with our sunnies and hat on. The view was however, worth the hike up. Perched on a balcony jutting out from a cliff, we took a picture perfect snap shot. The skies were crystal clear, the city dotted with bright orange roofs and the deep blue sea hugging the coastline. We took a pause to admire this sight.
After the initial awe, we started to feel the afternoon heat again. Continuing our hike up the hill, we rested on a bench for a little siesta under the pine trees.
Refreshed from our little power nap, we strolled back down to Old town and plonked ourselves down on a comfy couch in a bar with free wi-fi before boarding the ferry onward to Korcula Island.
2 hours later, we docked on Korcula and headed to Lumbarda, eastern end of the island in a taxi. Tomorrow was Robin's birthday and Jess had planned 2 nights in a local Pansion. :) After freshening ourselves with a much needed shower, we strolled out to the coast and had a sea food dinner on a terrace over looking the sea. The wait for our food was long but we didn't mind as we entertained ourselves with conversations and Croatian wine.
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