Sunning It Up In Split

I love Croatia. It's wonderfully ancient in parts, the people are kindly and the weather is hot. As we flew into Split, I saw deep azure sea and crystal blue shorelines. I was so glad to be back!

Split is a city by the Adriatic and sun soaked mountains. Diocletian's Palace of the Romans is here and it's the gateway to the islands of Hvar. Around the palace are white stone buildings and pavements. I felt like we had stepped back in time when we arrived. The place is so old but so beautiful. 

Our flat is tucked away from the historical square and bell tower. We stayed above two lively bars which were open day and night.

The little barber shop outside our flat. I like how there are stools outside for catching a breeze and people watching. 

The footpaths are buffed from centuries of foot traffic. So shiny and smooth, I would walk barefoot on them.

The world's most complete remains of a Roman palace. Would the Romans have guessed their palace would be a tourist hotspot?

Bacvice beach is 15 mins walk from our flat. The water is shallow and warm for us to spontaneously swim in our clothes at night. At least after a few drinks! My friends went back to the beach in the day but there was a bit of portside pollution. (I had spent most that day sleeping with the air con.)

The next day I went to another beach 15 minutes bus ride away from the center. (Take the number 15 bus and get off when you see a beach side car park.) I tried googling for the name of this beach but there's no name on the map.

Music was pumping from the beach bars like in Ibiza and there are free sun loungers and umbrellas. Drinks are cheap and nothing beats sipping an ice cold Ožujsko while sunbathing. The water is so clear, I watched little fishies swimming around me.

The pebbles on the beach are uncomfortable. So grateful for the sun lounger! It was wildly painful walking out of the water.

Basking in hot skies and a cool breeze. Paradise!

I discovered the Croatian food of burek. It's a filo pastry filled with cheese or meat with caramelised onions. So tasty and flakey. I had one almost everyday from St Burek, a shop that sells the two kinds of burek and some small pastries. A serve of burek is 12 HRK, which is less than 1.40 GBP. Combined with a 15 HRK salad from a pizzeria it was a cheap but good meal! 

Of course Croatia is not without its amazing fresh seafood.

The promenade of Split. Tourists sit under the palm trees and watch the ferries. From here I took a long walk out to the nature reserve at the western peninsula of Split. 

It's hilly but the views of the city are worth it. I walked back to town, through a labyrinth of stone houses. I got to see how the Croatians live away from the tourists. I peeked over their walls to see gardens, restaurants and a bakery hidden amongst the houses. 

I did'nt have the chance to go to any of the islands as I ran out of time. Sadly I returned to London but vowed that it will not be too long before I'm back in Croatia.