The journey and the Split

Diligently doing his duty, Uncle Addam met us at the airport in Zadar, rental car ready. After a few snafus with the forward facing baby seat, how to get into reverse in the Picasso, and oh yeah, how the heck to navigate anywhere with no GPS and no street signs, we finally made it back to Old Town for a little food and exploration.

We were allowed to park our fanny's on the walls of ancient Roman ruins to snack on pizza and watch passersby. Before heading out to Krka National Park, we went to the shore to listen to the famous sea organ. The sound is really hard to describe, like an organ, yes, but also like a giant woodwind, harmonic, quite beautiful. I sat down next to my five year old niece, Seraphin, who was very quiet for a while. She came out of a little trance and said, "Sorry, I was listening to the music... It makes me think good thoughts."

We drove about an hour on a winding, deserted highway surrounded by mountains and sea, different shades of brilliant green, to Skradin. The park guide directed us to the ferry, which glided us alongside swans and one brave human swimmer, to the travertine and waterfalls. After some climbing and some toe dipping (only the five year old was brave enough), we took the ferry back to Picasso the rented car, to make our way to our final city of the day, Split.

The lack of GPS became an issue again, and there was a frustrating 20 minutes or so of what felt like circling a drain. Wait, that's a metaphor for death, I just meant we were driving in circles. I was tasked with the mission of walking to the apartment so we could preserve our hard won parking spot, but when I again got lost, our host was happy to meet us at our car and walk us just inside the Golden Gate (of Diocletian's palace) to our happy home for the next two days.

Tired from the day's journey (which started very early in Frankfurt, Germany), we hastily dumped our bags and headed out through the maze like alleyways in search of dinner. Not five minutes walk away at Mazzgoon, we treated ourselves to lamb, shrimp, pasta and a bottle of local wine. A slight wait bought us free truffles at the end of meal:) Sleep came quickly, and we woke up ready to explore the palace and the town.