Split, Croatia!

Hello! Since my last post, we’ve spent 3 nights in the gorgeous city that is Split, Croatia! It was a very beautiful spot that sort of reminded me of Nice… But maybe even a little better! It’s a beautiful oceanside town with palm trees and shops and restaurants lining the main street. It was clean, easy to get around, and felt very safe. We were happy little clams.  Our hostel was a little bit different than we expected when we showed up to find that we were 3 of, maybe, 6 girls staying there. It was a man cave, for sure, as they all hung around laughing at stupid YouTube videos while casually drinking beers. And if they weren’t watching said stupid videos, they were listening to stupid songs and singing along obnoxiously. Maybe if we were boys we would have fit in better or at least enjoyed being there more, but since we do not share the same levels of testosterone, it was kind of awkward, and we chose to stay in the comfort of our room when we weren’t out and about adventuring.  We were staying in a 4 person room and, since there’s only 3 of us, we anxiously awaited our roomie to present himself (of course, we could accurately assume it was going to be a guy) so we’d know what we had to deal with for the next 2 nights. We got quite lucky when a cute, peppy gay Australian guy showed up. Phew! He was neat and friendly and liked all the same music as we did, so the small amount of times that we were actually in the room at the same time as him went just fine. He, too, stated that he much preferred our company to that of the other boys staying there, so it was a win win situation!  On our first day, we took a day trip to Krka National Park, the home of some incredible waterfalls. We got to swim in them, which was really fun and refreshing, and then spent the rest of the day just walking around the park and eating. It wasn’t too eventful, but it was definitely a nice spot to visit!

That night, we were hesitant to get back to our boys-only hostel, so we went for dinner at a wok restaurant and had some delicious smoothies! It felt good to put something somewhat healthy into my poorly nourished vessel. I have a newfound appreciation for healthy living after this trip… I would do anything to have fresh fruit and vegetables easily accessible everyday, and without having to pay the big bucks for it. That’s another thing I’ll never take for granted when I get back: having a fridge full of food at my disposal that I don’t have to pay for out of my own wallet! Yup, I’m never moving out, mom and dad!  The next day was Grace’s 19th birthday, so her darling mother paid for us to stay in a nice hotel for the night! We all were so happy to get out of our testosterone-run hostel and into a more luxurious, private, girls only suite. That morning, we went for breakfast and lunch, all in one sitting at a restaurant called Figa. It was so cute with little benches and cushions to sit on and the best lattes in the world! We sat down at around 11 am and had some brunch, which didn’t quite fill us up, plus we had 3 hours to kill before we could check into our hotel, so we ordered lunch just an hour later. I wondered if people ever do that?? Is it really weird to sit down in a restaurant for breakfast, and to stay chatting until your stomach is ready to welcome the next meal?? Well, it was a first for me, and we felt pretty silly about it at the time. Anyway, after our breakfast/lunch, it was time to head to our new home for the evening! We relaxed, read a lot, (I finished my book which was sad. Finishing a book is sad and hard to move on from) and then we all got ready and went for Gracie’s birthday dinner!  Of course, we drank champagne in celebration of her 19 years Gracing this earth with her presence (capital G because…you get it! Puns are fun!) and we had 3 different kinds of cake for dessert. It was a nice, low key birthday but it was lovely nonetheless and Grace was happy about it, so that’s all that matters! The next day, our last day in Croatia, we walked around and soaked up the beauty that Split had to offer. I was sad to be leaving, but ready to hit up Budapest. I was not, however, ready for the 15 HOUR overnight train that would take us there. That is way too long to be on a train… Luckily we had a 3 person sleeper car, so it was just us in our own little pod. It was still unpleasant though, especially when my already terrible sleep was rudely interrupted at 5 am by the sound of a grumpy passport control officer banging on the door. It was hard enough to fall asleep in the first place with what felt like a lump of cotton balls as a pillow and a rock hard “bed”. Quotations on the “bed” because I would hardly call it that. More like 2 stiff cushions with a very prominent space between them making it impossible to get comfortable. Anyway, enough complaining! I apologize. We survived the night and arrived safely in Budapest, so I guess that’s all that really matters.  That’s all I’ll say for now, as I’m saving Budapest’s adventures for the next post!  Until then, my friends.  Tal