Day 18 & 19.

12 & 13 April

Trogir to Split, Croatia

Leaving Trogir behind, we headed for Split.

There is only one campsite and official parking place for motorhomes here, it’s on the outskirts and at this time of year they had space for us for 2 nights. We have been really lucky and have been able to use the ACSI card in every campsite we have stayed in. Great value.

Once again this site is on the beach. There are two, split by a small rocky outcrop where they have erected a diving board. We watched as some young lads were having the time of their lives jumping into the water. It was a warm day and the sea was very calm.

On the site there are swimming pools that aren’t open yet, a spa which you can use FOC, and on the beach there’s a dog agility area and dog wash. How cute, trying to get Meg to join in with me wasn’t easy, so we gave up .

There’s a nice bar and restaurant on site so we decided to have an evening out . We had a bottle of red wine from one of the islands viewed from our site – Beach – it was very nice but gave me a hangover this morning ! First one, hope there aren’t many more. Not a good idea when the plan is for a day in Split.

Our receptionist advised that dogs are not allowed on the buses. The walk from here is nearly 2 hours so we asked if she could book a dog friendly taxi and she did. The taxi ride was about 15 minutes, so nothing for Meg to worry about.

I have been to the old town before with some of my girlies and was surprised how much I remembered. Split is big but the old town part isn’t and faces the harbour with cruise ships and yachts in view.

Half of the old town is a Roman palace. Not in the sense of say, Buckingham Palace. When this built – the 4th century – towns were built inside palaces. It is a very special place, lots of the original palace still exists. It’s pedestrianised, thank goodness and like Trogir, the lanes are not very wide, with polished stone flags from years of footfall.

Entering from the harbour gate you find yourself in the cellars – now with a selection of market stalls trying to entice you before you get into the centre of the Palace. It’s very pretty, they have fairy lights around some of the stanchions and there are little archways above, going to who knows where .

Coming up the steps that thousands of people have used over as many years, you emerge into a square they call a Peristyle. There are about 3 stepped levels around it with seat pads in places, for you to rest your weary legs. Leading from this is now a Cathedral, the 2nd oldest structure used by Christians. It houses the mauseleum of Roman Emporer Diocletian who had the palace built.

Every night from 8pm there is live music in the Peristyle. It is great fun, my previous trip included an evening in the palace. We came across it by chance and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The hotel in the Peristyle is open for alcohol sales and the DJ or musicians normally stand on the platform above the cellar steps.

Make sure you include an evening here if you visit.

Some of the small lanes now have substantial wooden structures which I presume is helping to keep some of these buildings upright. There is restoration work happening at the moment but there is still plenty to please the eye. The buildings are medieval and some are so old that you wouldn’t think people were still living in them….but they are. Walking into the newer part of the town there are colourful squares in the Renaissance style, with lots of watering holes and shaded spots for those really hot days.

At the Golden Gate entrance is a huge 8.5m high statue of Bishop Nin who is held in high esteem for introducing the Croatian language into church sermons and opposing the use of Latin as many who attended did not understand it. His big toe is very shiny as it is said to rub it will bring you good luck.

Walking around the back of the cathedral we came across a mosaic, part of which is fenced off, but strangely you can walk over the other part as it leads to the Peristyle. How lovely, something I didn’t see last time .

After stopping at one of the dinky little bars for a drink , we took one last walk through the cellars before heading to the harbour for our taxi back to the campsite.

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