Time to Split (Sunday, October 9, 2011)

Sleeping in is the greatest. Yes, it has a different meaning when there are 3 kids sleeping in one room, but 8:45 is very nice. We took it easy—a strong wind outside, breakfast, homework, and laundry inside.

Eventually we ate some lunch too and ventured out into gale-force winds to explore Split. Last night I mentioned that from what I could tell in the dark, Split wasn’t so appealing. I take it all back.

Before making the leap to the city center, we drove down to the beach, which is pebbles instead of sand. All three kids took off their socks and shoes and rolled up their jeans to wade in the blue-green water. The beach yielded an interesting mix of found items--a dried-up starfish, the front half of a plastic rhinocerous, and the plastic part of a hyperdermic needle (where was the metal part? where??) In spite of this array of debris (and it wasn't all like that!), it truly is a beautiful sight looking out over the water to the clay-tiled roofs on the island opposite us.

The highlight of downtown Split is Diocletian’s retirement home; he was a Roman emperor in the late 3^rd/early 4^th century who built a palace in Split to get away from it all. Portions of that Romanesque structure still exist, including parts of the walls around it. In the 7^th century, the Christians booted out all the pagan schlock and a cathedral rose up from Diocletian’s mausoleum. Much of that is still around as well. And other things have been added over the years, and lots of nice shops have moved in.

Such a beautiful mix of old and new. We hiked up the bell tower of the old cathedral, which cemented my place in the irrational-mom-fear book for life. I don’t mind heights, normally, and probably would have been fine with this one on my own. But the wind was howling, the big open archways up and down the tower were blocked by the thinnest of metal railings, and because I’d stopped to take some pictures, my children were about 2 floors ahead of me. I have never felt such panic, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt any older. Certainly it aged me another 5 years. But, given that I knew deep in the recesses of my mind that they were safe, it was so worth it—incredible view!

When the kids get sick of our aimless wandering, the key to a successful outing is, of course, dessert. And so we did. While most of us stuck to the familiar and recognizable, Natalie jumped into the local dessert with gusto and, as you can see, was very happy with the result.

Narrow (and I mean narrow) streets, interesting architecture and a huge collection of to-die-for balconies make this the perfect place to wander. And then if you wander far enough, you pop out on the promenade, a waterfront worth of the Riviera. Lined with palm trees and cafes that look out over the water and yachts, the promenade is a great place to find a bench and watch the world go by. On the way back to the car we passed through the old town again, stopping to rub the big toe of the enormous Gregory of Nin statue for good luck, as all visitors do. Between Gregory's big toe and Abe Lincolns' nose this summer, we should have all the good luck (I mean, providence) we could ask for.

Each time we return to our car here, whether it’s parked out front of the apartment or in some public parking lot downtown, we hold our breath and do a quick, silent inspection. The cars here are lined with scrapes and scratches as narrow one-way roads and parking built for communist-era compact cars don’t leave much room for error. So far, so good. This may be the first time our rental car has made it to the prayer request list.

We picked up groceries and made dinner in tonight, and it was with a sense of welcome that the kids got to bed early tonight with their books.