After a wonderful time in Venice, we took the train around the top of the Adriatic to Trieste Italy on our way to the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Trieste is a pretty town which was in the final day of a 10 day regatta - the largest in the world - Over 2,000 boats and 30,000 people at sea. Needless to say, the town was totally crazy. Street fairs and music everywhere. Oh and did I mention the wind!
In Trieste, we boarded a bus for Rijeka, Croatia, just over the border, where we would pick up a car to drive down the coast to Split. We were cautioned about the wind along the coast, and they weren’t kidding. Crazy skies and you could see the spray driven up over the water. It was a beautiful, deserted drive! So many islands off the coast as we traveled. Apparently there are some 1,300 islands along the Dalmatian shores. Turns out that the spots the dalmatian dog reminded someone of the coast, hence the name. Who knew!
Our hotel in the old town was actually a part of the old palace. Diocletian, roman ruler in the late 200s wanted to build a retirement residence. Only slightly misleading because it resembles more of a fortress than a spa. The palace is one of the best preserved ancient complexes of its kind and is a UNESCO site. Archeologists have identified a temple to Jupiter, one of the Egyptian sphinx, a mausoleum, the cathedral, large central meeting space, cisterns, basement storage for goods, a barrack and imperial apartments. It was easy to imagine life at court here.
After a couple of days, a ferry took us to the islands of Hvar and Korcula. Both had beautiful harbors and good restaurants. The season was winding down here as some of the restaurants were beginning to close for the season. We still managed to find a few tasty ones to satisfy our cravings. Korcula’s particular claim to fame was as the birthplace of Marco Polo. We learned a little about the explorer’s life and had a fabulous dinner in a restaurant located next to his cottage where he grew up. In all, we relaxed in the sunshine, walked a lot and ate too much. From Split we drove once again to Dubrovnik to spend the night before flying to Istanbul. Off on the next adventure!
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