We flew into Split, the largest city on the Adriatic coast, from where our boat would depart the next day. We spent the day (a full day, as, suckers for punishment yet again, we opted for the budget Easyjet 6am flight) wandering round the Old Town of Split (the rest of it is pretty industrial and not much to see) with its impressive Roman ruins, tangled marble streets and pretty promenade.
Night time view of Split from one side of the promenade.
The entrance to the Roman emperor Diocletian's Palace, dating from the 3rd century. Within the ancient walls there is a cathedral surrounded by shops and cafes. Below, inside the palace.
Our home for the next week, the middle boat (Eos). Our trip was only its fifth outing so it was nice and new.
The promenade in Split, lined with harbour-side cafes and below, the marble streets.
A quiet piazza facing the sea.
Where all the locals come to swim after work, Bacvice beach.
A spot of fishing.
Sunset in Split.The next morning we boarded Eos, very excited about the week ahead.
One of the most beautiful islands we went to was Mljet, which is a Croatian national park. It was completely unspoilt and much quieter than most of the others. Above is our view while having dinner at a harbourside restaurant.
Boats in the water surrounding Mljet.
One of the salt water lakes on Mljet.
John going in for a snorkel.
More of the lake.
We hired a scooter (surprise, surprise!) to explore the island.
View from higher up in the hills, Mljet, and below, approaching from the boat.
We also went to Korcula island, (possible) birthplace of Marco Polo. The above is believed to be his house but there's a bit of controversy about that.
Korcula town is a walled town of round defensive towers and red-roofed houses, with lots of quaint narrow streets like the one above.
The party island of Hvar, and also the sunniest apparently.
We went out for dinner in Hvar with some of the others from our boat (mostly Aussie couples). Earlier in the day the couple on the right got engaged up on the fortress overlooking the island. Awwww.
So of course there was some celebrating to be done and lots of cocktails to drink...
This may have had something to do with MC's terrible hangover the next day!! MC also discovered upon chatting that the Aussie guy above John in the photo spent 8 months living in Ash Vegas playing rugby for Mid Canterbury in 2002. Weird!
The view of Hvar from the fortress on the hill.
John and the Croatian flag on top of the fortress.
More views of Hvar.
More quaintness in Hvar.
Next stop: Dubrovnik, the "pearl of the Adriatic". It really was beautiful too, enclosed in huge powerful stone walls, with the town centre containing white marble streets and squares with churches, monasteries, palaces and finely carved stone fountains. Beyond the walls are rocky beaches and the crystal-blue Adriatic.
The views from the city walls walk were awesome.
Town centre.
Outside the walls, before we started our sweltering city wall walk.
The huge Onofrio fountain, from 1438.
Red-roofed houses. Dubrovnik was shelled by the Yugoslav army in 1991 and almost completely destroyed but has been rebuilt and looks pretty amazing.
One of the fortresses at the corner of the city walls.And below are some photos of fun on the boat!
The island of Brac, with its pebbly jutting beach. We jumped off the boat and swam to the shore to enjoy the pebbled beach.
So that was Croatia, we had a brilliant time and definitely recommend it!
Back in London and the the summer has been pretty good, even getting up to 30 deg a few days. Tonight we are off to see Meatloaf in concert which John is quite excited about, and then tomorrow we are going to the Emirates stadium to watch two pre-season friendlies (Hamburg v Juventus and Arsenal v Real Madrid). MC is going to Swansea next weekend with Krystal to visit Carla (pharmacy schoolmate), but apart from that we have no more trips planned, so will be enjoying the UK summer a bit more. We are playing social touch with NZ mates which is fun and so far haven't lost a game!
Love to everyone at home,
MC and John
