Split: Part II

So this is INCREDIBLY belated. But then again a lot of the things I do seem that way. Life just seems to take longer for me. I wonder... Does that mean I'll get more time? Haha! Only God knows that. But if there's one observation of my almost 30 years of life I've completed it's that my timeline is rarely ever His. I'm always in a rush when He just wants me to rest. 

I've had this post saved in my Drafts folder for about 4 months now, and well it didn't seem right to just erase all that hard work I put in to. I know it might seem a little disjointed to jump back 4 months to my Croatian diary, but, well I've only written one post between Split Part I and Split Part II so it shouldn't be such a cosmic leap. Right?

Well without further adieu... the Croatian Honeymoon Adventure continues in Split Part II... Enjoy!

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Day 2. Or 3? I suppose it doesn't really matter when you're on vacation right?

Well at any rate we miraculously woke up early. And by early I mean 8am... Well it was early enough to get a proper breakfast. But after wandering aimlessly around the old town in search of a good breakfast we quickly came to the realization that Croatians (Europeans?) don't really do breakfast the way we Americans do breakfast. If we really wanted to be like the locals we'd take up chain smoking and just sit at a cafe on the Riva sipping cappucinos (I did acquire that habit), maybe picking at some flakey pastry. 

So yeah. Very little in that description of a common croatian breakfast suited my dietary restrictions let alone our lifestyle. 

Walking back toward the Old Town down one of their main streets we glanced to our right and happened upon this: probably the coolest fish market I've ever seen. Sorry Pikes Place Market... you've got nothing on this! Generally raw fish in the morning couldn't be less appetizing or more stomach-curdling, but these were the freshest fish I'd ever seen. The covered market smelled more of salt-water and sea air than fish juice. There were so many different colors and kinds of fish... and they'd all been snatched from the sea just hours before by the fisherman who we saw sitting on the docks in the afternoons with their boats. I think what was even crazier about this particular fish market is that it's been held in the same location for centuries... Yes. Centuries. Like back in Roman times. Pretty crazy to witness a tradition that hasn't changed a whole lot except for maybe currency and clothes. I'm pretty sure Kunas and Chinos weren't around in Roman times... 

But the rumbling of our stomachs reminded us that we needed to eat food, not just look at it. So our search continued...

We finally chose ambiance over menu and headed for one of the many under-an-awning cafes that lined most of the streets and squares within the old town. Nervously, I ordered two eggs and sausage from the very limited menu. The last time I ate eggs, my stomach didn't fare too well. As we sat around our cafe table covered in a burgundy tablecloth we perused our map of the city. It was our last full day in Split and we'd yet to determine our itinerary. But in truth the day did have one central focus: Ryan's night shot. And by "night shot" I mean an evening photograph. We poured over our map of Split scouting out potential locations that might have that panoramic postcard vista. And then we went in search of it. But not before taking a "selfie" along the palace. I stole the camera away for a couple detail shots - my area of interest. Landscapes are definitely Ryan's thing - he's the big picture taker and thinker of our duo.

Once we exited the palace we walked along the Riva, which spans for quite a distance. As you can see below, the view from this point was quite beautiful, but not exactly what Ry was looking for. I don't know... I thought it was great but we kept walking. At the end of the Riva was a marina of sorts, full of moored sailboats, and perched just above it sat a quiet little park belonging to some sort of church or monastery. It didn't so much overlook Split, but rather west toward the grand Adriatic and all her beautiful islands.  The sprinklers where going under the pine tree canopy and you could smell the gratitude of the plants for the shade and hydration. A man sat there on a bench that overlooked the sea, his lunch pail at his side, eating a sandwich. "How'd you like to come here for lunch everyday?" I  said to Ryan. He smiled and we just kept walking, still searching for our perfect place.

On my Use-It map a little star indicated a certain place that seemed promising. Well when the map describes it as "an adequate place to film an anti-depressant commercial," you sort of hope it'll be worthy of a photograph. The tricky part was locating the hidden stairways that led to it - seemed a lot like a treasure hunt - map and all with X that marks the spot. It was getting crazy hot too. Truthfully I had no idea how hot since everything is in Celsius. Miraculously, my meanderings the night before had paid off. I remembered seeing a stairway tucked away around a corner that had a sign saying "Marjan" just as you round the bend of the Riva. The Marjan, where this lookout was located, is a giant forested park that spans the entire hilltop, hovering above the city.
We hiked what seemed like a stairway to heaven. Those steps just never ended. It was crazy. Sweaty and tired, I seriously hoped this was all worth it. And it was. Not only was the view quite spectacular, but the Croatians, they really have this thing figured out. Right at the lookout point was a little covered sitting area with sofas and coffee tables that, for the most part, all faced the vista. They'd even terraced the levels of the patio to allow for maximum viewing potential.
This was it. We'd return for drinks at dusk and night shots galore!

But before descending this mountain we decided to see a bit of the park. Well we didn't really get that far... We stumbled upon a tiny little water fountain just a bit further up the hill... why was it all up hill?!!! and Ryan had to cool off. He's was over it and ready for more than a rinse. It was time to test out these Adriatic waters for real!

After returning to our apartment to cool down a bit and change into our swimsuits we grabbed a quick lunch at Brasserie on Seven - a fabulous spot on the Riva. We liked it so much we returned for breakfast the next day. And then we began yet another trek to the beach - the walking just doesn't stop with us! Bacvice is one of the most popular and one of the few sandy beaches in Split. The actual beach was super crowded but the concrete slab that lined the perimeter, I'm sure for rentable lawn/lounge chairs in the high season was just fine with us.

A bunch of boys were flinging themselves into the sea from some boulders that were pilled near the edge of the wall. Nature's best diving platform. 

There was this old man sitting behind me eating a sandwich, and to be quite honest I was kind of obsessed with his style. He had this incredible tattoo of a seagull on his chest and had on some awesome Aviators and a Gilligan hat. You know... Gilligan's Island. Man. He was killing it. And so were my feet for that matter. I'd had my first pedicure in quite possibly a decade and my little toes had never looked better. In fact they almost looked quite normal. Whoa! 

Needless to say we both felt rejuvenated by the very salty, very refreshing and very aqua-colored Adriatic waters. It was probably the best way we could have spent the late afternoon. 

After returning for a quick shower and change we were back at it. No rest for the weary! And besides... the light was gorgeous! As we walked down the cobblestone streets I prayed a quick prayer asking the Lord to reserve for us two perfect seats back up at the postcard lookout - our destination. And then then I grabbed the camera out of Ryan's hands so I could take a few photos.

Exploring the maze of streets we found another stairway - a slightly more direct route - that led us to the lookout and miraculously there were two perfect seats just waiting for us! Thank You Lord! I sat down with my book as Ry set up his camera for the shot... okay shots. Dozens of them. But the beauty of long exposures is there's time to chill in between. We both celebrated the evening with two very yummy bellinis. Vistas and drinks... like I said the Croatians have this thing figured out! And craziest of all... that glorious moon that rose in the evening sky. Yep. It was the Honeymoon. I kid you not. Appropriate? Um, yeah!

I gave Ry till 8:45pm. My fuel tank was reaching 25% and was rapidly diminishing. Luckily one of the restaurants that came well recommended on both the Use-It map and Trip Advisor was just a few dozen meters away from the foot of the stairs. Fife was a hot spot even at 9pm. There wasn't anything fancy about the food and the menu had a decent offering. The selling point for this spot was definitely the price. It was probably one of the cheapest meals we ate our entire trip. And the food was really quite fresh and portions very generous. I have to say eating an entire fish... skin and all... dang it's good. Especially when you know they plucked it from the sea, that you can see from your seat, earlier that day. Yum. 

Also I might add that that evening we had a particularly humorous encounter with some very sweet, very inebriated college girls seated at the the table next to ours... It's more or less communal dining at Fife so be prepared.

And since it was our last night in this beautiful city we just had to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds (and gelato) one final time. A guy was singing and playing the guitar in the sunken square outside the Palace. And what was he singing? Of course late 80's/early 90's American ballads. Think Bryan Adams. It was amazing. The perfect end to the first part of our Honeymoon Adventure.