Monday, May 29th, Hvar, Croatia

Greetings!

We keep waiting for the trip to stop presenting us with exciting, fascinating places.  Today, we started the day with a walking tour of ancient Split.  We visited Roman Emperor Diocletian's palace, built from 295-305 AD, and used as his retirement home.  Now constituting about half the town of Split, the Palace is a large rectangular fortress, with four towers, three floors, and a vaulted basement.  Recently, most of the structure, and its surrounding area, has been filled wth shops and houses.

As our guide, Vessa, directed us though the narrow streets of Split, we stopped in on churches, temples, open squares, and small shops.  Like many other sites we've visited, the architecture reflects the many powers which ruled these cities.  In general, however, the Roman and Venetian influences dominate, and this part of the world seems to have retained the best of the Italian contributions to art, architecture, commerce, and quality of life.

In the early afternoon, we boarded a ferry (with our tour bus on board) and traveled to the Island of Hvar.  Re-boarding our bus upon landing, we drove across the island to the city of the same name.  What a great sailing resort town.  We had dinner at a restaurant just down the promenade, and will be guided through the town tomorrow morning.  In the afternoon, the sea below our rooms, and the pools, cabanas, and massages tables await.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Monday, May 29th, Hvar, Croatia.