July 9, 2018 – Split, Croatia

We had a 7:20am flight to Split today, from Venice, so morning came quickly.  Our hotel arranged to have a water taxi pick us up and take us to the airport.  Taking a boat to an airport was very cool.  Seeing the city at sunrise, including an empty St. Mark’s square, was equally cool.  We arrived at the Venice Airport with no issues and plenty of time to spare and somehow managed to get “priority” status on our EasyJet flight, direct from Venice to Split.

Once we arrived in Split, it was a quick, 30 minute taxi to the city center.  It took us another 30 minutes to figure out where our hotel was.  On the Hotels.com site, the “hotel” appeared to be like any other:  rooms, reception, dining, etc.  In reality it was just a studio room that was affiliated with a larger hotel.  Once we figured that out (and physically found the room/hotel, which was located in the middle of the old fort), we did a quick clothing change in the main hotel’s restroom and headed out to meet the same friends who we had spent time with on the Amalfi Coast, the Macraes and the Longs.  The four of them had been in Croatia since we left them, with stops in Dubrovnik and Hvar, so there was lots to catch up on.  In the coming weeks, we will post a “Week in Croatia” article, combining the best sights, hotels, restaurants and tips from our two trips and our friends trip.

We met up with the group and rendezvoused with a driver that we’d previous arranged, to take us to Bibich Winery/Restaurant (about 90 minutes outside of Split).  Bibich is not only one of the best wineries in Croatia, but is also home to one of the best restaurants.  The chefs have done cross-training at some of the best restaurants in the world, including Per Se in New York City.  We’d been to this winery/restaurant three years ago, based on a “Parts Unknown” episode from Anthony Bourdain.  It was one of the great meals of our lives, so we were anxious to share the experience with our friends.  The meal was again, exceptional.  A few repeats (which we loved) and several new dishes.  We will post an “Epic Meals” article in the coming weeks to cover the specifics.

After lunch, we headed back to Split to rest up a bit and then meet up again for dinner.  This was the final night for our friends, in Europe, so it was a little bittersweet to say good-bye.  Each couple has one more night in Europe (one in Barcelona and one in London), whereas we are here for five more nights.  On to Korcula in the morning!