Where was I when we last left off? Padua!…well, Venice, actually, and from there we finally “set sail” across the Adriatic on the amazing Silver Nova. Our first evening on the glassy water was relaxed, getting to know the ship, and, of course, one of over-eating because if you can order as many courses as you want, well…you do!

We awoke with the Croatian shore filling the view, excited to see a new country. We’re no longer in Italy, of course, but this coastline was once part of the Venetian Republic, interestingly. Docked in Split, our day will start with a nearby city called Trogir (no, I’d never heard of it either!). We board the motor coach with our guide and group of about 20, driving along the coast through rolling hills, the strategic protection of higher mountains in the distance. We’re not quite sure what to expect…it turns out to be a charming medieval village situated on a small island. We cross a bridge – that is frankly short and low enough you don’t even realize you are going onto an island. 

It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with narrow cobblestone “streets” that are more like passageways. We know we are going to see Dubrovnik tomorrow, and this seems a good taste of the medieval that is to come. Our guide leads us through this curious place…in a very matter-of-fact tone and pace. We will have many guides on this trip…this one might be the crankiest…at one point, someone from another one of our tours lost their group and she told them “I’m sorry you’ll just have to find them; I can’t be bothered with details like this.” 😲

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence was interesting, perhaps most notably for the really bad statue of a lion done by a sculptor who had never seen a lion. We continued our guided walk around Trigor and then given some free time – and our guide did send us to the BEST gelato place called “Giovanni” (while also forgetting to tell us that a D with a slash through it is pronounced like a soft g. We found “Dovan” eventually). The deepest, darkest, bitter, sweet cold creamy chocolate amazingness ever…

A relatively short ride back to Split, and we are at Diocletian’s Palace perched at the water’s edge, so we get a slight ocean breeze relieving the heat of the day (so far on this trip, it has been hot everywhere). Originally constructed in the 4th century AD, the palace still makes up about 1/2 of Old Split – it’s massive, and was not only his palace but also a military garrison. We find shade to hear a bit more about the walls towering above us that are in-filled with modern structures. We’ll see this in Dubrovnik too – how a modern world has inserted itself into the ancient constructs and life continues. It is both preserved and used, connecting the past to the present in a very cool way.

Only portions of the palace remain, but a giant sign on the street shows us what it looked like. Pretty amazing in its day, and looking up at the facade, wandering through its foundations (now a marketplace), the sense of medieval times is lurking everywhere.

We wandered the cobblestone alleys, passing through town squares of ancient stone…merchants’ windows beckoning, and right on cue, guys in gladiator costumes for photo ops. That feels a bit Disney, but it can’t compete with what is really around us, including things “stolen” (gifted?) from Egypt – granite columns and statues. 

The Cathedral of St. Domnius – built by Diocletian to complement his palace – is pretty amazing and still an active church today – 600 years later. All that in mind, we know this trip will have many, many churches to see, so we stay only briefly.

Down a few more alleys, around some corners, the Croatian heat trying it’s hardest to slow us down, and we are in the People’s Square. It is perhaps here that ancient and modern sit side-by-side in the most visible way – the buildings that surround the square are as old as a 1,000 years and as new as 75…

We walk back along the harbor, past the multiple giant ferries and board the ship as the day fades. We have some time before departing, admiring the harbor and views to the hills. It is quite the picturesque city – you can’t help but appreciate its history and humble grandeur.

As we sit seaside, a group of locals take to the cliffs above the crystal clear Adriatic waters. Are they really going to jump from there?! And they do…