Split, population 178,000 seems to have an equal number of tourists. A slight exaggeration, however, it seems that way.
Although the
‘Old Town’ is not what we experienced in Dubrovnik and Korčula, it was worth a
visit. The harbour and the marina(s)
here are spectacular, and it must be a boating mecca with the number of yachts,
motor yachts and catamarans we see moored here.
The one
thing that continues to be very obvious to us is that the Croatians are tall
and have to be second to the Dutch for the tallest race in Europe.
While Pat
and Des took it easy this morning, Eloise and Kathy took in the St. Dominius Catholique Cathedral. It was difficult to view
because of the many tours but they managed to work their way around the crowds
to take reasonable photos of the interior.
The layout is quite different to most churches with the altar in the centre. They then went below to view the crypt of St.
Lucia, now converted to a chapel. It
comprises several arches which remain empty.
There is one lonely arch which holds a small statue of St. Lucia. They then moved to the Baptistery, known as the
Temple of Jupiter, dedicated to the ancient roman god Jupiter. This is a small enclosure with a statue of
Jupiter and a baptismal font.
Cathedral Pictures
Crypt Pictures
Baptistery Pictures
We then all
proceeded out of the Diocletian Palace and located a marketplace filled with
stalls selling clothing, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, etc. It was very extensive and busy. We found it was then time to have lunch so we
chose a restaurant with a view of the harbour.
After lunch
we parted company with Pat and Kathy as D & E headed to the Mestrovic
Gallery which was Mestrovic’s private residence converted to a museum
displaying his many sculptures in bronze, marble and wood. Some are displayed within the museum while
others are outside in the extensive garden.
To arrive at this gallery we walked the length of the harbour and marina
plus about another kilometer, about an hour.
It was quite the workout in 27°C heat but worth it.
Mestrovic Gallery Pictures
We returned
to Old Town and met up with Kathy in time to enjoy a cool beer, in the shade, overlooking the harbour.
Scenes around Split
Old Town marble pavement 
Diocletian Palace ruins 
Along the Riva Promenade 
Flowers, shrubs and greenery everywhere 
Harbour and marina 
Bronze plaques honouring Croatian Olympian medalists from all Olympic Games embedded in the sidewalk along the harbour walk.
This was a fitting end to our Split visit
which we thoroughly enjoyed. It’s appropriately a case of “Split Ends!”
