365 Days of Solitude: Time to Split, and Head Back to Italy

Just so you all know, I've been working extra hard on thinking up a way to use "Split" jokingly in the title. Since it's been over a month since I've posted something you can be assured that this was my best effort. Now that is over and done with.....

Well, three days in Split turned out to be nearly two weeks! I was the only guest at the hostel, but got to be good friends with two guys taking care of the place for the owner (Josko, who also was awesome). The two guys, Kyle and Jason, were bumming around Europe like yours truly. It was a great time - we rocked the house at night with a ukulele, djembe, and harmonica that they had purchased for their travels. By day, we were out and about exploring Split and the surrounding islands.

Other notable accomplishments while in Croatia:

1) Game of Thrones (Season 2) - check

2) Breaking Bad (Seasons 3 & 4) - check and check

3) Not waking up before 11 AM for 8 days - check x 8

As you can see it was a physically demanding schedule, but someone had to keep up with it! I don't usually spend too much time watching TV shows since I could be out seeing the places that I am in, but if there's two other people who are into the same shows and at the exact same points in both I think it's a sign of some sort that you should watch as many as possible. As for the motivation to sleep in (a much more positive way of saying the lack of motivation to wake up) I don't have any particular explanation, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Croatia really reminded me of Italy, although everyone was at a loss as to why Jason, Kyle, and I were traveling there in the dead of winter. We did our best to explain but they all seemed to give us the same "it's okay that you're wrong, but you're still wrong" expression and told us to come back in the summer. My response was that I wouldn't have any problem with that! And with temperatures in the 50's and 60's I didn't really see a reason why not to be there then! After coming from two weeks of on and off snow/rain in Bosnia I was more than happy to see the sun and be walking around town in a t-shirt.Sadly, two weeks came to a close all too soon. My consolation was that I was leaving two friends to go meet up with another one in Venice - Gabriela!

(To bring you up to date, Gabriela is now back home in the US and I'm in my new haunt in Dublin. It was a great time! And I think the only time she really wanted to hurt me was when I was driving us out of Rome - but more on that later. Not that my blogging schedule of late should impart any confidence in my ability to update this in a timely manner, but I promise that it won't be a month before pictures of the last two weeks show up!)

Split by day.

Cacti here too!

Storm rolling in, time to head back.

Not everyday you see the ocean, palm trees, and snow in the mountains (from Trogir).

Municipale building.

Nice little Croatian cottage.

Anyone home? Sadley, no one wanted to let me into the Trogir castle.

Ahhh, finally to the leeward side of the shore.

One crazy, one normal road sign.

Not quite the same as the Italian olive orchards.

Down at the pier for sunset.

Broken wall in Supetar.

Green for "Go!....enjoy the beach".

Miniature mountains on the far side of Split.

Beach temperatures and still there's snow, from the top of Marjan hill.

Walkway in Bol.

I could handle more January's like this one!

Sea urchin chillin' on the rocks in Bol.

Can't see the sea for the trees.

Piranhas in the coffee.

This is Ralph's (the resident turtle) portrait - it adorns the entryway wall....one of the many perks of being the mascot for the Split Guesthouse & Hostel.