Monday
Today was wet, cold, rainy, and SUPER windy! We knew the weather would be moving in at some point today, so we planned for a down day at the apartment. I pulled all the laundry in Sunday evening before bed, just in case!
I walked to the local green market where I bought cantaloupe and green beans, and then walked to the Tommy on the hunt for tortillas. They didn’t have any, so I grabbed a few other items and hurried home. I got back just as the rain drops were starting to fall.
The storm that rolled through was really really windy! Since we are on the 10th floor, the wind was whistling around our building, throwing rain every which way, and rattling our doors. It was nuts!
We stayed home all day — caught up on school, ate taco meat without tortillas for lunch, did some screen time, and just recovered a bit from the last few days. Nothing super exciting, but part of real life. 😉
Tuesday
Once the storm moved through yesterday, the skies cleared and today dawned crisp and cool! Today’s high was only 55* and sunny, so it was perfect weather for being outside. After an early lunch, we walked down to Old Town and then climbed up Marjan Hill. The wind was still breezy, but the clear skies made hiking very comfortable. It took us about an hour to work our way up the hill.
The kids found a little playground mid-way up where we stopped. Kamy and Caden ran around, made up games, and had some freedom while Keller and I read on a bench.
From there we finished the hike to the top of the hill. What a view! The rain cleared out the air and we could see for miles and miles! It was really windy up on top of the viewing platform and the poor flag was whipping around like crazy.
We walked back to the apartment and stopped for some pastries at a bakery on the way. We found a motorcycle a loooong way from “home” as well!
Wednesday
Today we set out to eat at a restaurant known for it’s local, Dalmatian cuisine, Konoba Varos. We ordered Dalmatian ham, cream of shrimp soup, black cuttlefish risotto, veal, and a mixed meat grill. The risotto was very VERY black. Honestly, we weren’t that impressed. Alas!
We got ice cream from Bili San again — the kids chose the Tutti Frutti flavor and Keller and I both had the Cookie Cream flavor. It was pretty good!
From there we walked across town and down to the cruise ship terminal! There were three large cruise ships in port. The kids have been clamoring to go on a cruise ever since they saw a cruise ship in Amsterdam last April, so they were hoping to get close to the ship. Caden was lobbying to go ON the ship, but that wasn’t an option. 😉
We hiked back up the hill and back home. After some down time, Kamy Caden and I walked to a local playground. A few other kids were playing there, and luckily there was another little boy who spoke English.
After the playground we walked over to the Joker mall to try to find a bread knife, some basic groceries, and a coloring book for Caden. We struck out on the coloring book search, but we did find sticker books for both kids. I bought a bread knife too! Hooray!
We had leftover smorgasbord for dinner and called it a night.
Thursday
Today we arranged for a sea kayaking excursion! We are planning to go rafting next week, but we wanted to ease into a longer day trip and make sure it would hold the kids’ attention. We met our driver in Old Town and he took us and another family of two (from Australia) down to Podstrana. There we met our guide for the day. We set off in kayaks — one kid and one adult in each kayak. The water was very smooth and it made paddling easy. Both kids took their cameras which kept them occupied during the trip.
Both kids took turns trying to paddle, but Kamy really got the hang on it! It is hard work though — it looks like no big deal, but pulling yourself through the water with the paddle was more tiring than she thought it would be. =) Kamy got a lot better at steering by the end of the trip too.
After kayaking up the river a bit, we worked along the Adriatic coast line to a large boulder sitting in the water. We were given the opportunity to climb the boulder and then jump into the water!
Keller was the brave one first! He jumped off the top of the rock — a good 15′ high! I was hard for me to watch. 😉 Caden went next, from a little lower down … about 10′ up! He wore his life jacket which popped him right back up and his snorkeling mask to keep water out of his nose and eyes. He did great! Caden even did it TWICE!
Keller talked Kamy into jumping with him, so the two of them went at the same time. Kamy jumped from the 10′ mark and Keller jumped from the 15′. I was so proud of Kamy for doing it!
Not to be left out (or out done) and because the kids wanted me to, I also jumped from the 10′ ledge. The water was chilly, but not too bad since you got wet all at once. There was no “easing into the water” when you jump in like that! LOL
After jumping, we got back in the kayaks and paddled a bit further up the coast to a quiet beach. We sat on the rocks and visited with our guide while the kids messed around in the water and snorkeled a bit.
We kayaked back to our starting point, pulled out, and were driven back to Split. We grabbed lunch at Kantina Paulina and brought it back home. We cleaned up in the shower and had some downtime and rest. We also went down to the nearby playground for a few hours. We luckily ran across another English speaking family, so the kids enjoyed some time with Marko. Most kids around their age do not speak English, so they have a hard time connecting with other kids on the playground.
Friday
Today was a bit of a down day for us. We’ve really stayed in Split longer than we needed to, but since we’ve already booked our apartment here for another week, we’re spreading out our time. I made a grocery store run in the morning after the kids finished their school work. We went out to a local restaurant called Your Corner which had good reviews. Once again, we were disappointed in the food. The prices were more affordable, but it felt very much like a diner. The food was competent but didn’t feel like anything special.
The kids were interested in going to the beach again today, so after lunch the kids and I walked down to Bacvice Beach again. They wanted a chance to play in the sand again and it seemed like a good opportunity to get wet again.
The weather was sunny but a little chilly, so I was content to sit in the shade and watch their antics. Kamy and Caden started by playing in the waist-deep water on the west side of the beach. There were very few people in the water there, so in the photo it looks like the kids have the entire sea to themselves! It wasn’t quite that deserted, but they certainly had plenty of space.
We then moved to the sandy section of the beach. Kamy built a sand tower while Caden snorkeled in the water and dug in the sand. Caden also took a break from the water to warm up by playing on the little playground just up the hill. It is basic, but had a small swing set, climbing thing, and seesaw.
Ultimately we spent about 3 hours at the beach before the sun started to go down and it was time to catch an Uber back to our apartment. Showers for everyone, leftovers for dinner, and several rounds of Peston and 13 rounded out the day.
Saturday
Today we had tickets to see the Hajduk soccer game! I was really hoping that we could go to the game, especially since it was against their main rival, the Zagreb Dinamo! Croatian soccer fans are (in)famous and it was expected to be an exciting environment. The kids and I watched the Soccer World Cup over the summer and I was rooting for the underdog Croatian team to win. They fell in the finals, but as a team they were very proud of what they accomplished.
We ate lunch at home and then walked to the stadium. There was a steady stream of people walking down the road. Parking at the stadium is nearly non-existent, so there were cars on the shoulder, in any available parking space, and even IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Yes, there was a long line of cars parked down the middle of the street. Who needs a parking lot?! It was nuts!
Kamy wasn’t feeling well, so she only lasted until almost half time. I took her back home and put her to bed for the rest of the afternoon. Keller and Caden stuck it out for the rest of the game. The soccer game itself wasn’t that interesting and ended in a 0-0 tie. But the fans were interesting!
The soccer fan club, called Torcida, is the ultimate rowdy fan club and gives a lot of fuel to the stereotypical perception of Eastern European soccer fans. There were massive flags, constant chanting and singing, firecrackers, and FLARES. Yes, in the middle of the game they started throwing things and lighting flares. The soccer game continued for a while, but eventually the smoke was thick enough they paused the game for a while. There were riot police separating the different cheering sections. There was a tall fence separating the family section where we were sitting from the rest of the stands, and Torcida had their own fenced off section too. Soccer is a passion here, that is for sure! We never felt unsafe, but Keller was curious what the mood would be at the end of the game. Ultimately it wasn’t a big deal — Keller and Caden exited out the family section and walked to pick up dinner to eat back at home.
