Leaving Dubrovnik for Split

We loved everything about our little apartment in Dubrovnik except this. This was an old faucet sort of thing that was on the fringe when we arrived. When Brigham was showering it broke. Conveniently the landlord had already purchased the piece and then he insisted we pay for it. We lost roulette. ugg.

I tried to pulling myself out of the reviews I was writing in my head to go to this nearby Arboretum. It is supposedly one of the oldest ones in the world. There's a 500 yr old Oriental Plane Tree that was planted by the original owners of the Arboretum. 

The Arboretum sits above the ocean and looks down on some of the most charming homes and marina. 

This little kitchen garden was an aromatic adventure. It's Elise's turn to learn to identify the sights and smells of herbs.

There are so many ancient surprises sitting around that nobody is there to explain but they sure seem significant.

This window illuminates a small stone out building with some amazing history inside. 

A grain Mill.

Not postive about this one but maybe a wine press?

An Olive Press!

This charming lily pond and fountain is the end of an aquaduct!

Cedar of Lebanon

So driving to Split involved a short border crossing into Bosnia-Herzegovina. Matt was particularly excited about this idea and has been planning to stop for lunch there for weeks if not months. Well, the truth was, it wasn't really a convenient idea. We had picnic ingredients but this wasn't really the place of picnics. Still, he was insistent. He circled back to find a way down to this "playground" or what might've been a playground back in the communist days of Yugoslavia. We hiked down and we picnicked.

Unfortunately-the Croatian parking issues cross boarders and even though we saw no signs or indications that it was a paid parking spot, our 30 minute picnic cost us a ticket. This also lead to a bit of a domestic dispute, not because I was pointing fingers or I told you so's, but because I wanted to follow the instructions and pay right away so it was a $14 ticket rather than a $50 ticket and he wanted to wait and see what happened. Thankfully I got my way and we don't have to have that looming over our heads. 

I did see this rather entertaining Washroom sign. I think I need to start collecting them. I've seen some pretty humorous signs in Oman as well.

Our apartment in Split, from the outside looks complete communist housing tower. There was lots of graffiti and we were on the maybe 10th floor or so. SO MANY STAIRS-of course no elevator. But even though the walls were Barney Purple, it was a lovely place with a gorgeous view and beautiful linens. The bed was horrendous in the master bedroom and the girls room had no AC but we enjoyed out stay there.

It was also conveniently located near Diocletian's Palace which was the coolest mix of old and new. When we got there it was late and some of the main attractions were already closed to allow for an Opera to be performed. How I wish I could've seen it. It seems that there are very small performances all over Croatia during the summer festivals. 

Everywhere we turned there was something fascinating that we knew nothing about and it was mixed into millions of shops and restaurants. There were bazillions of people and we had no idea what we were doing having done almost no historical research. I found a free online walking tour and we saw what we could but also knew we needed to come back before we left. 

We had a waaaay overpriced dinner and walked home in time to see a lovely sunset from our balcony. We had a tough time getting to sleep even though the goal was to get to sleep early for an early morning.