Split

We walked across the road from the boat terminal into a park, to figure out where we were headed. We could leave our luggage at our accommodation, but not until 10 o'clock. While Ray was consulting his phone for directions, I noticed a little old homeless lady collecting plastic bottles, and decided to give her some money. (Our cashless trip had turned into a cardless one by the time we had reached the shores of the Adriatic). On leaving the park, I left my handbag with our passports and money etc still sitting on the seat. The little old lady notified me immediately. Karma.

It was only a short walk to our digs, so we had a coffee and decided to learn some Croatian with the help of a translation app. Trying to repeat the Croat for "where is the toilet", apparently Ray was saying "where is the hot bottom".  But I have "thanks" down pat - "koala". (Hvala). Thankfully, just about everyone here speaks English. 

After dumping our bags we got our 10,000 steps up wandering along the waterfront and visiting the old city. The wind became stronger as the day wore on, and the water became choppier. A bit concerning for our boat trip starting Saturday. We also noticed that the ristorante prices are almost equivalent to Switzerland's exorbitant prices, especially in the old city and on the waterfront. I guess the large numbers of tourists and the very expensive boats in the harbour might drive prices up. 

We decided to dine at a nice little restaurant around the corner from our room, where the prices weren't too bad and the waiter was from the Philippines. He is finding it hard to learn the language too. 

Today I finally got to swim in the sea. There is a beach only 600m from where we are staying, with sand and everything. Unfortunately the wind was still blowing, so it was choppy, but the temperature was 23 degrees and the water was very clear. Hopefully the weather forecast holds true, because the wind is supposed to die down overnight, to make it perfect conditions for sailing tomorrow. 

Once we entered the Old Town of Split, one of the first things we see were some ancient (possibly bathroom) Roman Tiles

A bell tower from one corner of the old Town which looks like it has been rebuilt more than once. There is continuing renovation works occurring in different parts of the Town.

The main square of the Old Town. As conquerers came and went, they tried to make it their own, adding, tearing down and adding more. As a side note, surprising how many dogs were to be seen, just about everywhere(including on the boat over.)

Marko Marulic, poet, thinker, lawyer and all round national literary hero, who apparently invented the word psychology. Not sure when this statue was created.

One of very few sandy beaches in Croatia. Unfortunately, it was not very pleasant here with a strong wind, so Brenda went in round the corner where it was a little more sheltered.

Not sure if this promenade had a name, but it lead from an exit out of the old town down to the waterfront - dock area.

That promenade eventaully leads down to this large Square which faces the waterfront.

Whilst there are a few restaurants along this side of the Square, overall the Square is remarkably under commercialised as just about everything else is super-commercialised.