Paul’s 60th in Croatia

So I mentioned returning to talk about this “surprise” birthday event. Here’s the first of three installments…

Fact: Curtis and I have trouble keeping secrets and back in June, shortly after we decided on Zadar, Croatia as the surprise meeting place, he slipped on a family call and mentioned “Zadar”. Not missing a beat, Alex covered for him and said, you know, “zaatar”, the spice! Paul seemed confused. I took this a step further and made a big deal of cooking a new recipe with Zaatar a week later (we all get A+ for improv…yes?) This salmon recipe *is* delicious https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/zaatar-s…

I have a separate office at home and did all this trip planning from my desk on my non-work days (again, WAY out of my comfort zone with trip planning–that has always been Paul's area of expertise). One day, while reading the Lonely Planet guidebook to Croatia, I heard Paul coming down the hallway. Not wanting him to see the book, I shoved it under a pillow on the couch/bed next to my desk. Remember this detail… it’s going to come back into this story which I’ll continue later.

Blue sky and sunshine greeted us this morning (finally!) Breakfast today included burek, a traditional cheese pie that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. https://www.chasingthedonkey.com/croatian-burek… We had a plain cheese version, but it can come with spinach, meat, or apples (anything really).

We took another Free Spirit walking tour to kick off our visit and like our guide in Zagreb, this one was also excellent.

I have to admit, it’s very crowded here (even though it’s late September). We can’t imagine it in the heat of the summer. Tourism in Split took off in the late 1980s but was boosted more recently by its UNESCO status and popularity as a cruise ship port of call.

There’s a strong Venetian influence here in the architecture which is not surprising, as Split was under Venetian rule for nearly four centuries, from 1420 until 1797.

Diocletian’s Palace (and ruins) take up most of the old town and is the main draw. There are people and businesses still living in the palace grounds.

This city actually began as the site for a quiet, seaside, retirement villa for the Roman Emperor Diocletian when he became ill (there are nearby sulfur springs).
He clearly had no idea his little vacation home would one day be overrun by selfie-snapping tourists!Læs mere