Split, via Krka National Park

After a debaucherous 3-night stay in Pag that included multiple 'manly' drinks at a nightclub that featured a fantastically lit wading pool and top-notch dj, we packed up early and got back on the road. The brand-new highway down to Split was empty, so we were able to make good time.

We stopped off at Krka National Park, since one guy in our group loves Waterfalls. He wasnt disappointed. If you like Waterfalls, this is the place to come in Croatia. Apparently, many, many tourists love frolicking in crystal-clear emerald pools at the bottom of some postcard-perfect waterfalls, as the place was packed. Shoulder-to-shoulder packed, with large, pale german tourists vicously elbowing the smaller, darker Italians out of the way in order to get that perfect picture to show Helga and the other neighbors back home. Luckily, Im pretty tall and I wont hesitate to express my irritation at being elbowed, so I was able to also get a good picture.

We rolled into Split in the late afternoon and enjoyed the views of the sea. Split is a sprawling, industrial city that has a small, beautifully preserved Roman town center. It used to be the vacation palace for several Roman Emperors, and the majestic ruins have been well-maintained over the years. In fact, it is a living, breathing roman monument, as 3000 people live inside the palace. Overall, it is one of the best Roman Ruins outside Rome that I have ever seen and the cute shops and laundry lines strung between apartments only enhanced the atmostphere.

I was once again put in charge of finding an apartment, so my friends parked and I ran around the town, trying to find the tourist agency (since we couldnt find any little old ladies with signs advertising vacancy). The woman at the tourist agency was very helpful (and stunningly beautiful) and found us an apartment within three calls. I then spent the next 20 minutes wandering the random, winding alleys, trying to find our car. Eventually, I did, and it took 4 wrong turns down some very narrow streets before we found our apartment. The owner only spoke broken German, but I managed to learn that we should go to the local restaurant.

And so, we feasted. The food was delicious. I had the biggest, best tasting Grilled Calamari of my trip. Disturbingly, they had left the inksack inside, but I soon discovered that it is a delicacy and quite tasty. All this washed down by the best Croatian wine I had yet tasted. How I love finding good food while travelling!