Vela Luka - Split (boat)

We wake up at 5 am in an amazingly mild weather. The bad surprise is that we need to pay twice what the lonely planet states...the crossing is nice, Marjanne rests on my lap while I observe the sun rise on the hills behind Vela Luka.

After 3h of boat (slower than the catamaran and more expensive, but we had to take the ferry because of our bikes), we arrive directly in the centre of Split.

The town is quite busy, the weather perfect, and the people very trendy. At the "Turistik Biro", the (quite antipathetic) guy offers us a room for 270 kunas (commission included). We meet the landlord, very friendly. The flat is brilliant: central, high ceilings, large. Split is magnificient, even though the Croatian Boat Show takes all the dock south of the old centre. In the old centre, the streets are a bit like Dubrovnik but flatter, and I believe this is more of a town to live in.

In the centre, nearly all the shops are...fashion. We even discovered a Victoria's Secret (there is none in London) but they were short, after their first three days, of Marjanne size. On the coast, appearance is very important for Croatian people! The girls are probably prettier than most guys.

We have a nice meal...fish at last!....at the Fiffe, with locals. The fish soup and grilled fish were delicious, and we climbed up a small hill West of town, called Mount Marjan.

On the way down, a mythoman speaks to us about his wife who is a model and his foreseeing skills....he should have foreseen we would cut short to his monologue! He made us laugh though, finishing by asking us if we wanted to take part into the Roman orgy he was organising!

We continued strolling through the streets and sunbathed on the main beach (which I would not have said was the main one!). Some people were even playing in the sea. We eat loads of Burek, pastries stuffed with cheese or apples or meat, go to a restaurant which seemed nice. There, a guy comes in the restaurant, and before even he says a word I say to Marjanne that he is French!

We end up chatting and going to a bar together, he is a very nice bloke who is setting up his own business in Split. Apparently there are quite a few French people in Split, as well as Australian skippers who make a fortune.