Croatia Trip

At the end of July we went with our friends Mark and Lauren to Croatia (light green in the map) - one day/night in the town of Split and three nights on the island of Hvar.

Croatia was definitely one of those places that before we moved to London was totally off our vacation radar.  It's just not a place that I've really heard Americans talk about visiting.  And even as we were planning our trip and telling a few people where we were going, there were a few reactions of along the lines of Croatia?  What's going on there?  And wasn't it recently war-torn? But Croatia is a huge European holiday destination, and we'd heard so many wonderful things about it from people in London that it made our must-visit list.  So we went! 

Croatia is located right across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, and the waters are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  I took a ton of pictures and a bunch of them are here, which makes for a long post! 

The morning we left London, the four of us got up at 3:15 a.m. and the car picked us up at 4:00 for the airport.  Ugh, early.  But by 9:30 a.m. we were in Croatia!  The first day we spent wandering around the old town of Split.  Split is somewhere between 1,700 and 1,900 years old, and its influences include Greek, Roman, Slavic, Hungarian, Venetian, Austrian, and French and I'm probably missing a few.  Because of this varied background, the city looks both familiar and different from anything else I've ever seen.

Stephen, Lauren & Mark in Split:

Me in front of a mural of Caesar on a building:

Fun fact about Croatia (or as Mark would call it, Great News!  :) - the necktie was originated in Croatia! It evolved from a type of scarf that Croatian soldiers wore in the early 17th century.  About 1650, the French king Louis XIV caught sight of them and decided he liked these jaunty little ties and started wearing them himself.  The rest is fashion history.  

Croatian currency is called the "kuna":  

Mural map of the local area and sea:

Dallas!  

This is a statue of Gregory of Nin, a medieval Croatian bishop who strongly opposed the Pope and introduced the Croatian language into religious services in 926.  Until then, religious services had been held in Latin, which most of the population didn't understand.  His introducing the Croatian language was important for the culture and the language itself, and it also made religion stronger in the Croatian kingdom.  Pretty important guy.  But doesn't he look like a wizard casting a spell here?

Legend has it that touching his big toe brings you good luck, and his toe is rubbed to a shiny gold sheen from all the good-luck touching.  We all touched his toe, and the rain that had been around all day cleared up in the afternoon!  Thanks, Gregory of Nin!

Cobblestone street in Split:

Bell tower:

Us right outside of the bell tower:

Mark and Lauren outside of the bell tower:

Sunset over the harbor right outside our hotel:

The next day, we got on a ferry boat that took us to the island of Hvar.  This ride was my least favorite part of the whole trip.  I never get motion sick, but apparently this day was my day for it.  I spent most of the ride in my seat with my eyes closed trying to keep it together.  There was nowhere on the boat to ride outside in the fresh breeze, so I had to stay inside with the crowd.  Not so fun.

Looking back at Split as we pulled away (I'm illegally on the back of the boat, I was promptly sent back in):

First night on the island - the harbor at night (complete with big yachts - we saw this one which rents out for a mere €420,000/$605,000 per week):  

Seriously, the yachts and sailboats there were impressive, great boating destination if you are looking for a place to take your yacht.  Oh, and call me if you go.  I'll take you to the best spots.  

After dinner:

The next day we rented a boat for the day and toured all the little islands around Hvar. This was an unbelievably awesome day. We thought we were renting a tiny little fishing boat with one of those motors in the back that you guide by hand, but instead what we got was a fabulous boat with a padded sunbathing bed in the front and a canopy over the main part.  

Lauren on the front of the boat:

16th century Venetian fortress in Hvar:

Gorgeous waters:

I think it was in the above location where the falling/hurt ribs incident occurred.  We all had purchased those rubbers shoes you wear in the water because in the area around our hotel there were sea urchins with their spiny backs waiting to poke bare feet.  We jumped in the water above and I'd put the shoes on just to be careful.  These shoes, even though meant for the water, are very slick on the bottom.  No traction!  I was pulling myself out of the water using the back ladder and completely busted it, landing on the top point of the ladder directly on my right side ribs.  It's been several weeks now and it STILL HURTS.  Oh well.  Maybe I should have a tag for all the blogs where I have some kind of fall?  Megan's falls from around the world!  

The captain and co-captain:

Our fantastic lunch locale; we just pulled up to a place on an island we saw from the boat and it was incredible:

The view from our lunch table:

Those two figures walking between the light pole and the covered patio are Mark and Stephen:

For lunch we had some of the best fish I've ever had in my life.  It was cooked on a giant open flame and was fresh from the water.  Outstanding.  Here is the before picture:

Here is the after picture - we ate every bite we could possible eat:

Action photos - jumping off the boat :)

It was such a beautiful day on the boat - perfectly warm and not hot, sunny with barely a cloud in the sky.  Those kinds of days aren't always around, and it's even better to enjoy it on a boat cruising around the beautiful Adriatic Sea with friends.  

Heading back into Hvar:

The last day we spent by the water at our hotel.  We rented these sunbathing beds out on a pier over the water with easy access for diving in:

All fantastic days by the sea should include champagne:

More action shots, this time by the girls:

Our last night there we had dinner at a restaurant by the harbor.  The restaurant we were originally going to had a long wait, and Lauren had seen a staircase nearby that looked like it led up to another restaurant so we headed there.  We walked up the staircase to the rooftop of a building and on top there were trees and pergolas decorated with twinkle lights and candles.  We were right on the water with a perfect view of this amazing yacht that was parked right there. Quite the spot!  The food was incredible and I think we were there for three hours.  After dinner we moved over to their lounge area for one more drink... we sat under one of the trees, the air was cool and breezy, the sea was all around, all the stars were visible, and in the distance you could see a gigantic spotlight on one of the little islands shooting straight up into the night sky.  It was perfect, I could have stayed there forever.  

Our Croatia trip was so much fun that Mark and Lauren said hey, why don't you meet up with us in France, too?  And we said, yes, why don't we!  So we flew back to London for a few days and booked a last-minute flight to Paris where we could meet them and drive to the Loire Valley.  Stay tuned!