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As our time in Split draws to a close, it has been nothing short of fantastic. Our accommodation, La Porta Luxury Rooms, was right at the North gate to the old city and looked out over the open air fruit & veg market and the harbour with the nearby islands on the horizon. What a way to start and finish the day. We have eaten local Dalmatian fare, black risotto with cuttlefish and broad beans served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. Once I got over eating a jet black mass of indistinguishable things swimming in a black soup, it was delicious. Jean opted for baby squid stuffed with feta with a side of marinated vegetables, which was quite vibrant compared to my dish. Our host recommended a Dalmatian sandwich shop that only uses local fresh ingredients. Fish pate, prosciutto, red tomato paste, cheeses, etc, words cannot describe the taste and the " sandwich" was a piece of fresh baked flat bread about 2 cm thick and 15cms square. It was a meal in itself. To wash all this down we have taken to a local beer that is flavoured with grapefruit. It is very light and refreshing at any time of day. They also do orange, lemon, blueberry but we stayed with our favourite.
Yesterday we took the local ferry to Trogia, a small port on an island about 1 hour away. Again it was hot so being out on the water was a very welcomed relief. Having climbed the tower of the remnants of a 12th century Venetian harbour fort it was time to wander the streets of this old city. It seems that the 4 principle business operations in these places are ATMs, barber shops, restaurants and yes, women's clothing. Jean was in her element buying a linen dress, beating down the owner of one store from 500kn to 150kn ( approx 4kn =$A1). It only took her about 30 mins and one walk out of the shop to seal the deal. Fortunately the shop owner took pity on me and invited me in to sit under the air conditioning. Then later in the day, the same process was repeated over the purchase of a top, except that it didn't need a walk out in the middle of the negotiations.
Then today, we walked around the fruit market and she decided to buy some fresh figs. We only wanted 4 as they were quite large. The price when first seen was 6kn /kg then they went to 8kn. After saying we only wanted 4, the lady on the stall added an extra one before she weighed them and another 2 more after that, but they are big and sweet so we are not complaining.
As for dramas, we have only had one heart stopping moment today when Jean rang to confirm our accommodation in Dubrovnik. First, our phones did not seem to be able to connect so she asked the host to make the call, which he did and after a somewhat lengthy conversation told us that the accommodation had no record of our booking. More discussions, email exchanges and finally late this afternoon we were told that it is all ok. Only time will tell but we have learnt that the best way to respond is to be like the locals and accept whatever comes our way. On the plus side, the mix up with the bus out of Zagreb to Plitvice took one email to the booking agent asking for a refund and 30 mins later we had an apologetic reply confirming a full refund back to the credit card.
Today, Jean thought it was time to exercise my damaged hamstrings as if being in a room with 6 or is it 7 flights of stairs and no lift is not enough. So we set off to a view point on a hill overlooking Split. The info says it is only 800 steps, by which they mean stairs, as the long uphill sections of pathway apparently don't rate a mention. Anyway we did it, took a couple of photos and came back down. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to getting our two ever increasingly heavy suitcases down to street level in the morning.
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