Croatia Vacatia

Hang tight, this is gonna be a long one!

First, we woke up around 5 to try and catch the sunrise. Alas, it wasn't up yet, and it was kinda cloudy anyway.

So, we went back to sleep for a little bit. We didn't buy a room or seats, just 'deck' tickets (what do you expect for 20 euro?), but luckily the ferry wasn't crowded, and we each grabbed 4 seats to lay across.

After waking up again, we went out onto the deck to see this view, ain't too shabby.

Before we got to the harbor, the pilot boat came by and dropped a man off onto the ferry before speeding away.

I can see Croatia!

A view of Split from the harbor

As soon as we got off, we started into town. First, the greens and produce market.

Then, we hit up an ATM to pull out some Kuna. Croatia is on the waiting list for the Euro, I believe. So, instead of getting a few small bills to get us through the day... we got these. The exchange rate is roughly 1USD = 5 Kuna. In reality, I'm only holding $40.

The streets of Croatia shine in the sun, and everything is white.

Pizza delivery on a Vespa, too cool.

The entrance side of Diocletian's palace. The main entrance is called the Golden Gate...and its not a red bridge.

A part of the palace

While shopping, we passed this egg stand (eggs are REALLY cheap over here by the way, about 40 US cents for a dozen), and the tent over them says 'HIPPOS', but we didn't see any hippos for sale, very disappointing.

The statue in front of the palace has a toe that is golden. We decided that over the centuries, people kept rubbing it for luck, so we did the same. We have no idea why the big toe is actually golden.

In the palace walls (now used for various businesses and shops), there was a singing quartet!

And since I figured out how to get the movie to correspond with the pictures, so they aren't always at the bottom of the page...

For your viewing pleasure, the Croatian quartet:

Oculus in the palace

Guess what? I still look the same, even in Croatia.

Then we walked along the Split shoreline until we found the beach! On the way, we saw this sun dial and cannonball set up. While we were looking at it, some guy who spoke English fairly well told us a little about the sun dial and how the words around it correspond to the crossing winds over the sea.

We did not find an open bathroom on the beach to change into our swimsuits, but we all happened to have blankets, for our overnights on the ferry, so this is how we changed.

The water here is incredibly clear

The beach we spent a few hours on. It is freezing, just like the Tyrrenian on the west shore of Italy.

I'm lovin' it?

The street running along the coast are made of a slick, pristine white stone. I loved this area. The public spaces in Europe are simply, amazing.

Croatian gelato: 6-12 Kuna. It wasn't nearly as good as it is in Italy, but it did the job.

O-H-I-O Croatian-style

No peeing.

Croatia is where the necktie originated! This was a very pricey tie shop, very sheek.

After 14 hours of Split fun, it was back on the ferry for another night.

A group of people on the boat all started dancing in circles, singing songs in a language we didn't know. It was fun to watch. We would have joined in if we knew the steps, or the words, but we didn't. So, we observed.

It was too early to find a place to sleep, so we sat in the caffe for a little bit. Mary and Lindsey both passed out in the booth. I gave them a few minutes of shut eye before waking them up to go find a spot to crash. This night, we weren't as lucky as we were on Thursday. There were 2 bus loads of tourists on our boat. We got a glimpse of the roster, and 500 people were on board. As crowded as it was, we managed to grab 2 seats each to sleep in. It was cramped and horrible, and Mary and I eventually both made in onto the floor to sleep. Not gonna lie, it wasn't the best night sleep I've had, but it part of the adventure.