Thursday, November 24, 2011

Catch the 10:45 bus to Split

November 22 & 23

Our young hostess at the Vila Marija sent us off his morning with a small bottle of her grandmother's homemade grappa made from green walnuts. We will enjoy that tonight in Split.

We found the Palace Suites in Split with no problem. We upgraded to a room on the third floor with a view of the Narodni Trg plaza, and walked to the Croatian National Theater to purchase tickets for an operetta on Thursday, Nov 24, Thanksgiving Day. It's not too likely we'll find turkey on any tables, so we're treating ourselves to an evening of live entertainment.

Our host at the Palace Suites, Dajana, suggested a nearby "locals" place for dinner called Fife. Sandy had a wonderful local dish called pašticada, marinated beef cooked slowly with red wine and served with homemade gnocchi. Dick had a grilled fish platter with houndfish. Paradižot (swimming islands) for desert. It was just a small local place and enjoyed some people watching.

A movie scene was being shot at a plaza on our way back to our room and we stood around and watched. Seemed like lots of people involved, but not much happening.

11/23:
It's overcast this morning after raining all night. Sandy opened the windows onto the square to watch people passing through and the cafes setting up tables and chairs for the day's business. We are hoping for a bit of sun, but lots of museums if it starts to rain.

The Split City Museum provides a "dry" hour for us to learn more about the history of the town and of the Dalmatian region and of Croatia. This area was fought over and governed by many empires...Venetian, Hungarian, Austrian, Slavs, French...covering many centuries.

Still raining lightly. Next museum...Ethnographic. It traces the styles...clothing, furniture, war paraphernalia...of Dalmatians from the hinterlands to the coast over a period of centuries. The clothing is traditional folk apparel with lots of decoration he and color.

Still raining...Cellars of the Palace, not actually a museum, but indoors, beneath the original palace. It was constructed to support the weight of the palace interior walls which were heavy stone. So, it reflects the actual layout of the rooms above, many of which have been destroyed as the palace was altered over centuries.

Dinner time, again. In our wanderings earlier, we spied a cute place called Sperum. Good ambience, good food, good value, and a friendly waiter, Vice (Vee-Shay), who is an ardent Hajduk soccer team fan.

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