It was all about the food in Split. Like Dubrovnik, Split sits right on the coast, so seafood is a big deal. It's much less touristy than Dubrovnik though, so you get a much better sense of how the locals live and eat. I felt very comfortable there. On my morning runs, it was fun to watch the fishermen cleaning their catch while sipping beers. Just some fresh fish and cold beer... They seemed like the happiest people on earth. The seafood market was a lot of fun too. Everything was incredibly fresh. And thanks to a very good exchange rate, we had a lot of memorable meals.
Pictured below: fresh catches of the day seen at the local seafood market (including two really mean looking dudes -- bottom row), various seafood preparations, and a delicious pumpkin soup that totally changed my opinion about pumpkin soups.
We were fortunate to find a cheap airbnb within the walls of Diocletian's Palace. Every morning, we heard a guitarist outside our window performing old-school American songs like "You Were Always on My Mind" and "Can't Help Falling in Love," our first-dance song at our wedding. He sang the songs with a perfectly thick Croatian accent.
On our first day, we took a tour of Diocletian's Palace with our guide, Darko. It's quite a big retirement home for one person. We were there at the end of the tourist season, so it was just the three of us on the tour that day. The tour was great, but the only thing I can remember is Darko's description of the extravagant meals had by Diocletian and his friends. Apparently, it was customary for them to force themselves to throw up in the middle of their meals to make room to eat more. Dinner parties aren't what they used to be...
After the tour, Darko was nice enough to treat us to some wine and small bites. The weather was nice, the wine was delicious, and the homemade bread had ham in it! It all made for a great afternoon.
Other highlights during our visit: hiking around the local national park, visiting Ivan Mestrovic's sculpture gallery, and partying at a hostel bar with a yacht crew who worked for a secret bijillionaire (on our last night, there may have been a contest for who had the most chest hair between me and the yacht engineer and one of the deckhands, and I may have gotten second place).
We had a really great time hanging out with Bill in Croatia... It'll be a part of our Europe trip that we'll always remember.
