Palace-City on the Adriatic

As much as we were amazed by Dubrovnik, we had to get out of there as quickly as possible. It was just too much. Too many people crammed into a small area starts to feel like a box. A shiny, lovely box from which you can jump off into a perfect blue sea… but still a box. So we took the next bus up the Dalmatian coast.

The Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace on the sea about 1700 years ago. Apparently at the time it was so beautiful that Diocletian actually voluntarily retired. He preferred to enjoy his gardens as a civilian so much that he rejected a later invitation to return to Rome to rule. Over time and the flux of empires, the palace was abandoned and then repurposed into a city. The city’s name has changed along the way, but today it goes by Split.

As you might expect a palace-turned-city to be, Split’s courtyards and alleys are just as picturesque and romantic and as you can imagine.

We loved the breakfast at this cafe so much, we went back several times.

It was easy to linger.

The view was worth the few extra kunas. Or, in this case, tunas. (Check out the two kuna piece on the left.)

Split’s Riva promenade was bumping every night, just like in Dubrovnik, but since it was outside the city walls, we didn’t get the same hemmed-in feeling.

Still, we were feeling the need to press on… maybe find an island somewhere?