Split—round 2

This is my second time visiting Split and it hasn't disappointed me yet!

We started our day with a walking tour of the Old Town, primarily Diocletian's Palace. We entered through the Golden Gate or North Gate where there is large copper statue of Grgur Ninski, a praised bishop who translated the Bible into Croatian. We got to rubbed his shinny big toe for good luck, which I desperately need as I turn into the final stretch of my capstone.

On our wondering journey through the narrow streets of the palace our guide gave us a brief history of Split and the significance of the city's place in history.

Diocletian was the last Paegon Roman Emperor and he was preceded by Constantine who was the first Christian Emperor. Diocletian was the only emperor from the area of Croatia and he abdicated from the throne when was suppose, unlike all before him. Before he left he built his retirement palace in Split, however this was not the metropolitan area it is today until several hundred years later when the Ottomans were trying to invade and a small village near by fled to the palace to seek refuge. The villagers remained, but they destroyed all ruminates of Diocletian because under his rule many Christians were killed.

We walked through the Persi Square, toured the historic underground, saw several shooting locations of Game of Thrones and climbed the near by hill to complete a fanatic day learning about the rich and complex history of the city and learning about Croatian life.

When walking through the ancient city you walk on white stone walkways lined with white stone buildings. All of this white is limestone from the adjacent island of Brac.

The second half of our day was a free day, which for me meant shopping. I caught up on gifts I needed to get some people and of course I got some things for myself. Split nestled in along the Adriatic Sea and as such it is important to swim in the crisp cold crystal clear water! So to end our day I jump off a cliff, took a swim and drank some beers...not a bad way to end a day...not bad at all.

Total mileage: 5.9