{"id":2545,"date":"2019-09-07T19:36:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-07T11:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/?p=2545"},"modified":"2019-09-07T19:37:01","modified_gmt":"2019-09-07T11:37:01","slug":"rome-split-trogir-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/rome-split-trogir-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Rome-Split-Trogir 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The great adventure begins, a bucket list item to be ticked\noff. The next four weeks consists of two weeks sailing in beautiful Croatia\nfollowed by ten days in a small Italian village as a base for exploring\nTuscany. Two other couples are joining us for the sailing and Mario and Helen\nwill go on to Italy with us. Alex and Lucy will return to Germany, where they\nare currently visiting a new grandchild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We caught up with Mario and Helen at Perth airport check-in\nand did the usual parade through security, immigration etc before settling in\nto wait for boarding our Qatar Airways flight to Doha. The flight left at\n10:50pm and landed in Doha at 5:15am. Because the plane was basically chasing\nthe sun, it was 11 hours of night time starting in the middle of the night. It\nis weird to be served a dinner meal at midnight. It was the usual watch a\nmovie, try to sleep, go to the loo, watch a movie, …. routine but the flight\nwas pretty good overall. The plane was a giant two deck A380 and we were\nimpressed with the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the three hours in Doha consisted of walking along\nendless corridors of duty free shops and paying an amazing $A8 for a coffee.\nThere was not much to see outside apart from what appeared to be appalling\nsmog. By 8am, the outside temperature was around 30 degrees with 41 forecast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We boarded the next leg of the journey onto a smaller A330\nwhich promised a tad more legroom but not much more. The standard was much\nlower with terrible TV screens and cramped foot room. It was another 5 hours to\nRome and by the time we exited the airport to find the shuttle bus to the\nAirport Mecure, we had had enough. We had just missed one shuttle and heavy\ntraffic delayed the next so we had quite a wait before we were on our way to\nthe little town of Fiumicino, bordering the edge of the airport to book into\nthe Mecure Leonardo da Vinci for the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After collapsing for an hour or so, we met up again and\nheaded out to explore the little fishing town, sitting on the banks of an arm\nof the River Tiber. It is more on the industrial side than the tourist but\nthere was a very cute line of restaurants and bars that caught our attention.\nWith all the time shifts and erratic meals, none of us had any idea of what\nbiological time we were in but it certainly felt like beer o\u2019clock so we\nsettled in to an Irish pub and sampled a range of the extensive on-tap\nofferings. We followed up with some delicious food.   By 8:15 we were all in bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day was to be easy, with a 1 hour flight to Split\nin Croatia leaving at the civilized time of 11:25 am. We gave ourselves plenty\nof time, leaving the hotel at 8:20 to allow for the possible traffic snarls we\nmade excellent time and found the Vueling Air counter to check in. Much to our\nhorror, we had not booked ANY luggage. I say \u201cWe\u201d but in reality it was down to\nChristine but we don\u2019t need to dwell on that point. Being a low cost airline,\nluggage is not included. To book in luggage at checkin was going to cost us\n$A60 each. The nice girl at the counter suggested that we go away and purchase\nluggage check-in online, where it would only cost us $A20 a head. We sat while\nChristine played with the phone then presented again. \u201cI can\u2019t find any record\nof your payment,\u201d said the girl. We retired for a second go. Christine\u2019s creds\nwere taking a beating at this stage. On third presentation, our luggage was\nchecked in and it was off to find a boarding gate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wandered the corridors, bought some duty free booze, made\nseveral wrong turns before finally finding gate E01 and getting on a bus to the\nplane. The flight was crazy short, up and over the calf of Italy and across the\nnarrow Adriatic Sea to land in Split. Immigration was efficient and the luggage\nwas quickly retrieved. Not so for everyone. A long line of people waiting at a\nsmall window was half the passengers on an Easyjet flight whose luggage had\ngone somewhere other than Split. A great start to their holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once again, we located the Airport Shuttle Bus rank for the\n20km trip into Split. A very comfortable bus arrived and we all bundled in. It\nrattled along the coast road for about 8km before coming to an almost complete\nhalt in the heaviest traffic I have ever seen in Croatia. We crawled along for\nnearly another hour, travelling at less than walking pace. The drop off point\nwas a little over a kilometre from our accommodation so we loaded the backpacks\nand dragged the wheelie bags across the flagstones in front of the ancient\nRoman place. Everywhere there where people relaxing and drinking, while we were\ntired, footsore and ready for a break. The apartment proved a little tricky to\nfind, tucked in amongst a cluster of old stone structures at the end of a\nseries of narrow laneways but we finally met Damir and were settled in to our\nAirBnB apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apartment was functional, neat and clean. The big appeal\nwas location, location with a bit more location thrown in. It was a short step\naround the corner to an endless variety of eateries and a little supermarket.\nDiocletian\u2019s Palace was only a few hundred metres away and the World Famous\nesplanade in front of the palace was within easy reach. We did to eateries in\nthe one afternoon, with beer and local tapas at one followed beer wine and\npizza at another. It was a marvellous end to a crazy day where we spent most of\na day working hard for a little over an hour\u2019s flight time. Still, we had\narrived in Croatia safely and without major incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Split<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our first day in Split was spent in a exploration of\nDiocletian\u2019s Palace. Built in the 4th<\/sup> Century, the palace of the\nRoman Emperor Diocletian occupies over half of the old town area. Visible signs\nof the original palace vary from near complete sections with Roman mosaic\nfloors to walls and buildings rebuilt many times over the centuries,\nincorporating Roman columns and arches. The effect is stunning, with new vistas\nat every turn and an abundance of incredibly cute little nooks and hide-aways.\nEvery little plaza is filled with cafes and the alleyways are lined with stone\nwalled shops showing off the colourful crafts of the region. Just walking\naround inside the palace area is a continual delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowds are rather heavy though, far heavier than we have\nexperienced before, with several cruise ships being in port. One is simply\nenormous, dominating the harbour, and looks more like a giant sheep carrier\nthan a cruise ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Helen and Mario went walking and returned several hours\nlater thrilled with their excursion to the Park Suma Marjan, a large sprawling\nnature park with a high lookout over Split. Helen is doing very well with all the\nwalking following some recent health issues but waited at the bottom of the\nfinal 330 step climb while Mario pushed on to bring back some wonderful photos\nof the two main bays that surround the city. They enjoyed a wine or two taking\nin the views. Meanwhile, we did a spot of shopping, organised some SIM cards\nfor our internet aboard the yacht and found a cool spot to sample more of the excellent\nlocal Karlovako beer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a very Mediterranean meal of olives, cheeses and\nsalami, Mario and Helen went back out to take in the beauty of the palace at\nnight. The rock walls create gorgeous colours and shadows creating a fairy-tale\nlike effect.  We relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 3 in Croatia had us travelling north to Trogir, from\nwhere we would pick up our yacht. The coastal ferry to Trogir was due to run at\n1pm so we spent a couple of hours sitting at a cafe on the Split Esplanade\ndrinking a coffee, eating lunch and generally watching the wonderful world pass\nby. It was such a hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ferry trip was amazing, providing beautiful views of the\nharbour, the headland and the villages along the coast of the island of Ciovo\nand on to the gorgeous little town of Trogir. Trogir dates from the 3rd Century\nBC and has at various times been Greek, Roman, Croat, Austrian and Venetian.\nThe Venetian influence is most noticeable. The old town is situated on a small\nisland between the mainland and the larger island of Ciovo. Almost the entire\nisland is covered in white stone buildings separated by a maze of twisting\nwinding cobbled alleyways. The only vehicle roads are around the edge of the\nisland, leaving everything else for foot traffic. If the palace at Split is a\n10\/10, Trogir old town is an 11\/10. It is breathtaking and fully deserves its\nWorld Heritage status.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We made our way over the two bridges to the mainland and\ncompleted the short walk to our accommodation, to be greeted by Stefan, our\nhost. He showed us around a neat three bedroom apartment on the second floor\nwith all mod cons and plenty of facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a three bedroom apartment because Alex and Lucy were\ndue to fly down from Germany to join us for the sailing but sadly, we had received\nnews that Alex\u2019s medical condition was showing some contra indications and they\nhad been advised not to travel to Croatia but to stay in Germany. It was very\nsad for us but no doubt doubly sad for them. Still, health comes first. From\nhere on, many of our toasts will be to Alex and Lucy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had deliberately staved off the temptation to look up the\nfootball score as the Eagles played Essendon in an Elimination Final so we\ncould set up in the apartment and watch a replay using Kayo on the Internet. We\nmust have announced our arrival to the rest of the residents with our screaming\n(especially Mario\u2019s) as the eagles demolished a hapless Bombers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night, we ventured back into the old town to be\nabsolutely charmed by the effects of the soft lighting in the narrow stone\nlined walkways. We settled at a charming restaurant and had wood fired pizza\nand seafood pasta. All the chairs and tables were carved out of olive wood and\neach piece was unique.  There were places\nthat looked like a scene straight out of a Harry Potter movie. Afterwards, we\nwandered down to the castle fortress at the end of the island and admired all\nthe huge expensive boats moored along the harbour. As we approached an ice\ncreamery, a waiter saw our West Coast shirts and cheered us, saying he too had\nwatched the match. Good to see the AFL spreading its wings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next day we explored more of the old town. Mario and Helen went back to the fortress and climbed (Helen continues to amaze) to the top for views down onto the town. We spent some time in the local market and when I approached a woman for help finding something she answered in perfect English with a trace of an Aussie accent. Turns out she was from Melbourne originally. Small world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our time in Trogir was brief but we will probably pass back\nthrough after a week\u2019s sailing. It is one of our favourite places anywhere, its\ncharm and easy life is so seductive. I could live here a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s off sailing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The great adventure begins, a bucket list item to be ticked off. The next four weeks consists of two weeks sailing in beautiful Croatia followed by ten days in a small Italian village as a base for exploring Tuscany. Two other couples are joining us for the sailing and Mario and Helen will go on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[202,4],"tags":[219,220,367],"class_list":["post-2545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-holidays","tag-croatia","tag-split","tag-trogir","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8sUAc-F3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2359,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/trogir-croatia-june-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":0},"title":"Trogir, Croatia, June 2017","author":"terry","date":"June 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Trogir\u00a0 9-14 June We caught a bus from Zadar to Trogir, an interesting experience. We booked an \u201cAutotransport Sibenik\u201d bus, one of several available but with the most convenient time. Fortunately, we were early so we were fairly early getting our bags stowed and finding a seat. We had to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pano-Trogir-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C327&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pano-Trogir-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C327&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pano-Trogir-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C327&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pano-Trogir-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C327&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2561,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/sailing-croatia-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":1},"title":"Sailing Croatia 2019","author":"terry","date":"September 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The much awaited day of boarding our two week charter yacht arrived. We were not due to board until 4pm so we had plenty of time for last minute supplies and a general relax. Fortunately, our Air BnB hosts in Trogir were happy for us to stay as late as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190919_170058.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190919_170058.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190919_170058.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190919_170058.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190919_170058.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2596,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/tuscany-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":2},"title":"Tuscany 2019","author":"terry","date":"September 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"We had to disembark our charter yacht in Trogir by 9am and had time to kill, with a flight out of Croatia to Rome leaving at 3:50pm. Toni at the charter office allowed us to store our luggage so at least we were free to wander around Trogir, find a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190926_155311.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190926_155311.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190926_155311.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190926_155311.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190926_155311.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2370,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/supertar-brac-croatia-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":3},"title":"Supertar, Brac, Croatia 2017","author":"terry","date":"June 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Supertar, Brac 14-21 June 2017 Our trip from Trogir to the island of Brac involved two ferry trips, the little Baru Line boat from Trogir to Split then a big car ferry over to Supertar, on the island of Brac. Each trip took about 50 minutes and we only had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Supertar-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C231&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Supertar-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C231&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Supertar-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C231&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Supertar-resized.jpg?fit=1000%2C231&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1167,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/croatia-2012\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":4},"title":"Croatia 2012","author":"terry","date":"July 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 A YouTube video of our time in Croatia can be seen here. 16th July Ancona to Split Today we left Italy to cross the Adriatic Sea by ferry to Split, in Croatia. A taxi proved to be the best way of getting to the ferry terminal, although that in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Dubrovnik4.jpg?fit=450%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2343,"url":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/zadar-croatia-june-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":2545,"position":5},"title":"Zadar, Croatia, June 2017","author":"terry","date":"June 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Zadar\u00a0 4-9 June 2017 We woke on board the ferry after a good night\u2019s sleep and had a breakfast while the ship docked. Unfortunately for us, the docking point has changed from its old location in the old town, which would have made for an easy walk to our accommodation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Europe"","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/category\/holidays\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Zadar-Header.jpg?fit=1000%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Zadar-Header.jpg?fit=1000%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Zadar-Header.jpg?fit=1000%2C448&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Zadar-Header.jpg?fit=1000%2C448&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190904_120416.jpg?fit=4032%2C2268&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2545"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2559,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions\/2559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hinchy.org\/travels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}