How To Find A Great Restaurant, Provided You Stay Alive On The Way There

There are a lot of good to great restaurants all over the world.  Some of the great are literal holes in the wall (for example, our Southeast Asia trip earlier this year, where we had fantastic meals for between $1.50 and $5.00).

But there are also a lot of mediocre to bad restaurants out there as well.

One way I like to give us an edge on picking a good restaurant is to go the Michelin Guide, and look for the less expensive restaurants that are either Bib Gourmand or simply "Selected" restaurants.  They aren't Michelin Star restaurants (which are fun to go to for a special occasion, but are both expensive and time-consuming), but are much more affordable and casual.

So our first night in Split, Zinfandel's Food and Wine Bar made the Michelin list, as did our second night's restaurant, Dvor.  Two Splitters (reminder: my nickname for the people of Split) said Dvor is the best restaurant in town -- both our DayTrip driver who took us from Dubrovnik to Split, and our Uber driver dropping us at Split.

Our Uber driver was quite a character.  And by "character" I meant we spent the ride alternatively being entertained and hoping we would get to Dvor alive.  He is a gregarious fellow who is a giant man.  And a talkative one.

(Editor: You already called him "gregarious."  Calling him a talkative man is duplicative.  

Writer: Well, he talked so much he needs both labels.)

The scary Uber Ride of Death part was when he kept reaching back, taking Maddy's cellphone, and typing in various important pieces of information, including where else to eat dinner, his friend's boat, which we should definitely go out on, and the location of the best viewpoint in Split.

And here's the amazing part.  He didn't miss a beat while driving.  Despite the fact that he did not have his undivided attention on the road, we didn't come close to swerving (I did come close to swearing).

Anyhow, Dvor was great, and was right down along the Adriatic (still cloudy, so the sunset was ruined, but, you know, what can you do?).

Us at Dvor.  With the Adriatic.

Maddy and I each had a couple

of oysters.  One note -- most

expensive oysters ever.  But 

we are on vacation!

We had a different Uber driver on the way back, and the ride wasn't anywhere near as thrilling.  And we were fine with that!

Rainy Days ON Mondays Always Get Me Down

It poured on our first full day in Split.  At times, it was a rainfall of Biblical proportions, which is ironic, because Diocletian's Palace is the main reason to go to Split.

(Editor: Why is that ironic?  

Writer: History lesson time -- Diocletian was the last Roman Emperor to persecute Christians -- and he did so with a white hot hatred, torturing them in unspeakable ways.  So the irony is that the rainfall was, at times, of Biblical proportions in the city Diocletian retired to.

Editor: Well, as the great John Madden once said on a random football game in the 1980s, "Irony can be so ironic.")

It was overcast and sprinkling while we were having breakfast on the Riva, which is the very wide pedestrian boulevard along the waterfront.  There are many restaurants along the Riva, all with outdoor seating.  Several Splitters (what, that's not what residents of Split are called) harumphed that only tourists eat along the Riva, so that's where we went to have breakfast.

(Sorry, we are tourists, and it was easy, convenient, and under cover.  It's the only meal we ate on the Riva.  Just don't take away my travel blogger card!)

After breakfast, which was fine, as it served as sustenance for the day, we headed over to Diocletian's Palace.  As we got close, the skies opened up, shifting from light rain to downpour.  

Entering from the Brass Gate (it's not made of brass -- the four gates are named after precious metals) takes people into the basement, where we were dry.  But when we emerged into the Peristyle, which is the heart of the Palace, we got soaked.  We didn't stay long, deciding to bail and head back towards the apartment to relax.

On the way back, we stopped at the Church and Convent of St. Francis, a pleasant little church with some old carvings.  

Then Carol and Maddy went into the small grocery store at the end of our street, whilst I checked out the small butcher shop.  I happily bought some prosciutto. 

We went back to the apartment where we dried off (our small umbrella were of modest value).  We spent a chunk of the day in the apartment, as the rain dampened our enthusiasm for exploring.

(Editor: Do you always have to go for the cheap pun -- "rain dampened"?

Writer: Of course!) 

Pictures From The Rainy First Day

Pictures on cloudy days, well at least the ones I take, never look great.  But here are some from our first full day in Split

Part of Diocletian's Palace

The Peristyle is the square at the

heart of the Palace. At the back

 of this photo is where Diocletian's

living quarters were.

The tower of the Cathedral

of St. Domnius, the former

mausoleum of Diocletian.

The Cathedral is both the

smallest cathedral in the

world and the oldest building

to be a cathedral (it wasn't

built to be a cathedral, so

it's NOT the oldest

cathedral in the world).

The logo of the Split soccer team.

Apparently the owners of this

building near our apartment are

big fans.  Very cool logo you can

see lots of places.  They are currently

in fourth place in whatever league

Hajduk is in, with two wins and

two draws.  And that's your 

morning sports update.

I picked up some tasty

prosciutto and this photo

at the tiny butcher shop down

the street from our VRBO.

The Church and Convent of St. Francis,

just off the Trg Republike Square, 

which is a rectangle.  I include the

name of the square simply to point

out that the first word consistent of

three consonants and no vowels. 

The cloister of the Church and Convent.

It's right near Trg Republike Square,

which is famous for concerts and the

fact that the first word has no vowels.

(Editor: You already mentioned that.

Writer: I know.  It's just mnd blwng.)

Welcome To Splitsville

(Editor: That is an ominous headline.  Does Carol know or is this how you are telling her, by announcing it to the world?  

Writer: Hmmm, I guess that is a bit of a misleading headline.  Actually, it's just to announce that we arrived in Split, Croatia.  Remind me to change the headline.

Editor: So you aren't splitting up?  

Writer: No, we were just Split, Croatia up!)

Both Dubrovnik and Split are cool cities, but Split has the advantage of not being hilly. For a guy who just had a knee replacement surgery 14 weeks earlier, that is a big plus in the book of Split.

Croatia doesn't have the amazing art and architecture of Spain, Italy, and other western European countries, but stone walls of Dubrovnik and Diocletian's Palace in Split are a different sort of stunning.  Especially since both cities are perched on the brilliant blue water of the Adriatic Sea.

After our Daytrip driver dropped us at our apartment, we settled in.  It was a very spacious VRBO, with one major drawback -- the two air conditioners would work for a few minutes and then shutoff.

We then walked around the neighborhood, looking for the nearby bakery.  Turns out it was also a Gelateria, so I enjoyed some Gelato whilst Maddy and Carol had some baked goods.

From there it was an exploratory walk along the waterfront, where we stumbled upon Jadron Beach Club -- it featured two large pools, and a "beach" of concrete with benches under shade, lounge chairs, and spacious areas for swimming in the Adriatic.

And, it had a beach bar.  So we grabbed a table on the corner along the water and relaxed after our day of going to Ston and Mostar.  

We wandered into the heart of Split for our dinner at Zinfandel Food and Wine bar, which was far more trendy than Carol and I are used to, but is a typical place for Maddy to hang out.  The food and wine were both excellent.  I enjoyed the Zinfandel Brodeo, which was a dish with monk fish, Hama (another type of fish), shrimp, mussels, octopus, wine, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and polenta.

A beer and an Aperol Spritz

at our Jadron beach bar.

(Don't worry, Maddy had

an Aperol Spritz too -- not

pictures!)

Sun trying to break through

the clouds.  It sort of

succeeded, but not for long.

Even on a cloudy day, drinks with

wonderful women by the sea is a treat.

A Few Hours, Another Country

Unofficially, Carol and I have now each been to 46 countries -- not always the same ones, but mostly the same ones.

(Editor: "Unofficially"  What is this, some sort of official secret document/count.  Writer: Well, no, I have to go back and count, and at 6am in the morning, that count won't be happening.)

Anyhow, when I searched the internet for a car and driver to take us to Split from Dubrovnik, I came across Team Daytrip.  They offer private transfers in 130 plus countries, including sightseeing stops.

So when I checked out the site, they offered multiple options for stops along the way, each at an affordable cost in addition to driving us from point A to point B with a minimum of hassle for us.  

I like going to small towns and villages on trips, even if we only spend a few hours in the village.  So I went ahead and bought stops in Ston, Croatia, and then added Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The main reason to go to Mostar was to see the iconic Mostar bridge, the Stari Most.  

It's a stunning 16th century bridge that connects the two parts of Mostar, which is bisected by the river Neretva.  One side of the city is Muslim and the other is Christian.

The bridge was shelled by the Croatians during the war and collapsed in 1993.  It was reconstructed with pieces in the river, or from limestone mined from the same quarry as the original bridges.  

Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the bridge in 1557 (I guarantee you, no matter who wins in November, our next president will not have the nickname "the Magnificent").  Built in just nine years, it was a technological marvel for its time, and a design marvel for our time.

The bridge is beautiful, nearly a half-circle, standing well above the water.  I have seen it described as "humpback" (which doesn't do it justice) and "keystone" (which is better but still not clear).  

We wandered down a narrow pedestrian street, Coppersmiths' Street, which should be renamed JunkShoppe Street.  It's charming, especially the buildings, but most of the stuff for sale is schlock.  

We got to the bridge.  It's like crossing the Charles Bridge in Prague or the Rialto Bridge in Venice; jam-packed with people.  It's also studded with little footholds, which either serve as footholds or are used to trip unsuspecting tourists.  

From the bridge you can see several mosques, and multiple minarets.  Apparently, for a fee you can climb one of the minarets, which affords a great view of the bridge, but we did not have time.

After making our way across, we headed for lunch.

Our Daytrip driver, Tarjana, recommended two places for lunch, and as Restaurant Labirint hung above the river with views of the bridge, we picked that one.  The food was good, but the bridge is definitely the highlight.

With just two hours in Mostar, we had to make the most of our time, so after lunch we immediately crossed back over the bridge.  Maddy and I climbed down the stairs to the "beach."

Carol was reluctant to go down, as going up and down stairs caused too much pain from the injuries caused by my crashing the ATV that first day in Dubrovnik.  So instead she wandered along a path, crossing the crooked bridge and enjoying other parts of Mostar.

Much of the entertainment at the bridge is by members of the local Divers Club, a group of young men who collect donations at the top of the bridge to jump the 75 feet into the icy cold river.  

They pretend they are about to jump, and then get down, asking for more money.  Once they collect 30-35 Euro, they jump.  

Just across from the beach is a lower diving platform that wannabe Divers Club members can train, and get up their courage to do the 75 foot jump.  

Maddy and I got to see one full jump off the bridge, and several jumps off the practice platform.  During lunch, Carol saw several jumpers take off.  It's fun to watch.

After a gelato, we headed back to meet our driver and head out of Bosnia-Herzegovina, unlikely ever to return again.

Photographic Evidence That We Been In Bosnia and Herzegovina

So we only spent two hours in Mostar, and probably another 90 minutes traversing from the Croatian border to Mostar, and then in a different direction back to Croatia.  We just in an airport (we weren't in an airport at all!) and we had a meal, so Bosnia and Herzegovina now counts as another country visited.

We are not all about the number of countries visited.  After all, we keep going back to Spain, Italy, England, and France.  But we might as well keep track.  This trip, both Croatia and Bosnia/Herz. are new to us. 

Colorful tea sets for

sale by the bridge.

The street leading from the

Christian side to the famed

Mostar bridge, Stari Most.

A minaret peaks out of city roofs.

Bridge selfie with minaret.

Someone just earned

his 35 Euros.

The lower platform locals

train on before moving up

the 75 foot drop from the

Stari Most bridge.

Another diver getting ready.

They fake jump for a while

in order to collect more

money from tourists.

A view of the audience on an August day.

Carol on the bridge.

She didn't jump off.

A shot of the river from the bridge.

The little bridge.

Like A Rolling Ston

Pictures from our visit to the village of Ston. . .focusing mostly on the Ston walls.  Something went wrong in my set up of this post, so if you want to see the photos, just click on the "Read more" orange link under the first photo.  Sorry -- I think I know what I did wrong, but am not sure I can undo it!

"Everybody Must Get Ston'd"

As Cliff Claven would say, it's a little known fact

that Bob Dylan's song, "Everybody Must Get Stoned" was first written as "Everybody Must Get Ston'd" about visiting the small Croatian town of Ston.

Ston is famous for three things:

1.    Oysters

2.    Salt

3.    Having the second longest wall in the world.

No, it's not as long as the Great Wall of China, but the Pretty Good Wall of Ston™ actually IS the second longest wall in the world.  

(Editor: You didn't actually trademark the "Pretty Good Wall of Ston" phrase, did you?  Writer: Not yet, but I'm thinking of doing so.  I think it could catch on.  Hipsters would be wearing PGWS™ sweatshirts and hats.  

It would be part of the stone wall circuit -- just like people hike Colorado 14ers or the tallest mountain on each continent, people would hike the Pretty Good Wall of Ston as a training for hiking the entire Great Wall of China.  After all, doing the PGWS would be 0.000258% of the Great Wall, so it would be like running nearly 36 feet to prepare a marathon!

(Editor: You are making that up!  Writer: Actually, no.  Sadly, I did the math just to entertain my readers.  There are 138,435 feet in a marathon.  Multiplied by 0.000258, that equals 35.716 feet.  Editor: Well, your new marathon training program will definitely sweep the nation.  Well, until they try to run a marathon after following your program!)

I had hired a car and driver to take the three of us from Dubrovnik to Split.  I added two stops (at a cost) to our itinerary, including the walled city of Ston.  We had an hour in Ston, so we immediately set out to walk the unique city wall.  I had wanted to see some historic small towns without renting a car to do so.

Ston was an Illyrian settlement until the Romans established a colony there in 167 BC.  Demolished in an earthquake in 1252, the new city was built during turbulent times.  The stone walls and fortress, built to protect both Ston and Mali Ston (meaning "Little Ston") was started in 1334.  Built in approximately 18 months, the fortifications were unique to Europe at the time.  The walls have been damaged over the years, most recently in the 1991-95 Croatian War of Independence.  

Besides protecting the city, the walls protected the saltworks and shellfish farm that were making significant money for the Dubrovnik Republic.  The saltworks alone were earning nearly $3,000,000 per year for the Republic.

Most of the walls have been restored.  Maddy did the whole smaller circuit.  Meanwhile, Carol and I, enfeebled by injury (Carol) and surgery (me), did far less, but got the gist of the wall.  

Climbing Croatian walls is hot work because of the temperature, and it's hard work because there is seemingly no flat land in that part of Croatia.

It is 3.4 miles long, which is only 13,168 miles shorter than the Great Wall.  Built in 15th Century, the wall featured 40 towers (20 of which still stand),  

 

This Is The Best Trip I've Ever Been On

It's hard to have a bad day on the water, unless you are on the Edmund Fitzgerald or on Superyacht off the coast of Italy.  Then, of course, it's easy to have a superbad day on the water.

Marija Papek, the women who hosts the "Eat with Locals Dubrovnik" dinner that we had a wonderful time at, also offers a day or half day excursion on a boat to the Elaphites Island right near Croatia.

At first I dithered on whether to book the 28 foot sporty motorboat named the Cap Camarat.  But everything I read and heard about Croatia is that you have to spend some time on the islands -- staying land-locked isn't really an option.

Eventually I decided to book the boat -- figuring private was more fun than some crowded boat of 20 people looking to get drunk and sing ABBA songs at the top of their lungs.  Croatia is a popular place to do that, as legend has it that the Italy-based movie, Momma Mia, was actually shot on Croatia, although Wikipedia says it WAS filmed on some Greek islands.

I'm not here to adjudicate where it was filmed, but I am here to say, no matter where it was filmed, Mamma Mia is fun.

(By the way, there's nothing wrong with singing ABBA songs at the top of your lungs, drunk or sober.  I just didn't want to be with a group of strangers doing it.)

So I booked a half day (from 2-6pm) through Marija.  We met the boat and our captain, Ciro, at Marina Frapa, hopped on the boat, and immediately felt comfortably both on the boat and with Ciro.

Chugging slowly out of the bay, we passed by the picturesque Franjo Tudman  Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge that connects the main road from Dubrovnik to the north/west of Croatia.

The bridge is 1,700 feet long and take vehicles near the port of Gruz, framed by mountains in the background.  

Part of the Franjo Tudman Bridge.

The bridge was finished in May 2002.

After we got past the last spit of land from peninsula, Captain Ciro sped up the boat, and we were cruising to the Elaphites.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, the boat was quite comfortable, and the water was calm and clear.

First, Ciro took us into one cave for a quick look around.  Then, continuing on, we bypassed one very busy cave that had around eight-to-ten boats hanging around outside of it and ended up at a beautiful rocky cove by ourselves.

Carol, still banged up from my losing control of our ATV, passed on getting in the water.  Maddy jumped in, I slid in (still cautious with the newly-replaced knee), and we swam for a bit in the perfectly clear water.

Ciro threw us snorkel gear, so we checked out the fishes swimming around the cove, slid near massive boulders, and just generally reveled in having an island cove on the Dalmatian coast to ourselves.

For your trivia lesson of the day, Dalmatian dogs are named after the Dalmatian Coast, which is the Croatian coast.  It's called the Dalmatian Coast because of a Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, who lived in the area in classical antiquity.

There are 79 islands and around 500 islets on the Dalmatian coast region, which is how they came up with the idea for "101 Dalmatians."  

(Editor: Now you are just making stuff up.  Writer: The dogs/Dalmatian coast part is true. . .the 101 compared to 79 and 500 is, quite possibly, fiction.)

The first island we went to is Kolocep, and then we went to Lopud.

After swimming in our private rocky cove with bright blue water and fish, we went around to the other side of the island where the small town of Kolocep is.  We walked over to the resort, then doubled back and had a drink at a bar on the water.  

Carol and Maddy's Aperol

Spritzs.  My beer was not

deemed worthy of being

in the picture.  My stomach

deemed the beer worthy

however, so don't feel bad

for me or my beer.

Our next stop was the bay of Sunj on Lopud Island.  The place definitely had a "Whitefish Bay on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI" vibe to it, also known as a WBJVDBVI vibe.  I half expected to hear Soggy Dollar Radio on loudspeakers, but we can't all be lucky.

There were tons of boats of all kinds, and tons of people of all levels on the "S to I" scale ("Sobriety to Inebriation").  Totally different feel from our private cove on Kolocep, but marvelous in its own way.  

Maddy and I swam/walked in close to the beach, but never got out of the water.  After a while people watching, and, even more entertaining, watching boats vie to get close to the swimming area without actually crashing, we headed back to Carol and Captain Ciro to head home for the day.

It wasn't until then that we each cracked a beer on the boat.  All in all, it was a wonderful day on the Adriatic.  It was peak relaxation.

Here's the link for the boat in Dubrovnik.

Photos From The Boat Cruise

It happens, and it happened again.  The blog program, WordPress, has put the photos in newest to oldest rather than in chronological order.  Frankly, I don't have time to move them all around, so here's the story in pictures, told back-asswards as they say.

I'm not irritated. . .just sad.  But it's still worth checking out this photos.

Our boat for the afternoon.

Small islets near the end of the peninsula.

Maddy basking in the glow of being on a

cool boat on Adriatic Sea, doing cool

stuff for the afternoon.

At the beach bar on Kolocep Island.

People snorkeling at the

busy Kolocep beach.

A look at a resort on Kolocep.

Maddy swimming in our private cove.

More of our private cove.

Incredibly beautiful place

to spend some time.

Someone diving off a random

cliff on Kolocep Island.  For

some reason, I didn't try it.

A look at the Dalmatian Coast.

Carol enjoying a smooth ride.

Another view of the bridge.

Houses at the end of the peninsula.

A promotional photo of

the  boat we went out on.

Riffs on Croatia

After an absence from several trip blogs, the riffs are back!  This post is not for the faint of heart, as I veer from topic to topic without any rhyme or reason.  Enjoy this rando observations on various Croatian idiosyncracies.

I have never seen as many tall men as there are in Croatia.  I’m 6'1"-ish, and men tower over me here.  And they are big, wide men, not just 6'1", but commonly 6'4" to 6'6".

The NFL needs to send scouts to Croatia to find strapping young men who could play offensive line, for instance.  Or, if they have basketball skills, tight end.  I’m telling you, as bad as the New York football Giants offensive line has been, I could have picked out four Croatian men to play better than the Giants O-line last year (with the exception of Andrew Thomas, who has more talent and ability than the rest of O-line combined!

(Editor: This isn’t Street and Smith’s.  Get back to off-beat observations about Croatia.  Writer: Just trying to help fix my team’s biggest problem.)

There are more random cats in Croatia than I’ve ever seen anywhere.  I don’t know for certain that the cats are strays, although since they do the stray cat strut, they may well be.  The cats do look well fed and groomed, although that could just be cat ladies taking care of them. 

Maddy was fascinated by all the cats.  I’m allergic, so I give them a respectful distance, but they seem pretty well-behaved and not desperate street cats.

I did not expect much out of Croatian food, but it turned out to be much tastier than I expected.  There were only two dinners out of the eight that I was underwhelmed by, and one of those was a well-regarded Bosnian restaurant in Dubrovnik.  Yes, we ate at some nice restaurants, but we also ate at holes in the wall and were quite happy with the meals.

Traveler tip: If you want to eat well without breaking the bank, don’t go to Michelin Star restaurants.  Instead, find Michelin Guide restaurants.  These restaurants are a cut below Michelin Star, but the price is much lower, the quality is just as good, and dining is not a 30 course, four hour experience (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

The Adriatic Sea is great to swim in.  Given the stunning blue water, there being over 1,000 islands, and the highlight of mountains near the shore, the beauty of the Dalmatian Coast is hard to beat.  It’s a bit like California, except there’s a lot fewer people and a much higher smoking rate among Croats.  

Be forewarned, however, that most of the beaches are pebbly or even rocky, and very few are sandy beaches.  So bring water shoes and be prepared to rent chaise lounges.  And, recognize that near Dubrovnik and Split the beaches can be quite crowded, by both foreigners and Croats.

(Editor: Is it “Croatians” and not “Croats.”  Writer: It appears either works, and “Croats” sound like they could be a make of sandals.  As in “Let me just strap on my Croats and we’ll go to the beach bar.”  Editor: I bet the Ottomans wish they could have stepped on some Croats but it didn’t work out for them.  Writer: This riffs post sure has taken a weird turn.  Editor: When even YOU think it’s weird, it’s definitely weird!).

On the Dalmatian Coast, it seems everyone speaks English.  We only went inland to Plitivice Lakes which, being a UNESCO World Heritage site, may draw people to work there who also speak English (could be a requirement).  I’m sure there are inland Croats who don't speak the English language.

Speaking of the Croatia language, I have not learned how to pronounce Croatian words, or learned simple words in Croatian for common phrases like "good morning," "thank you," or "I need some Croatian wine."

One of our neighbors, Lara, spent ten years growing up in Croatian and speak the language fluently.  I asked her for help, and she said, "Oh, Croatian is easy, because every letter in a word is pronounced."  

Except she didn't say how it is pronounced.  And, as I've mentioned before, there are words that don't include vowels, or words that string together four straight consonants before there is a vowel.  

In fact, I'm beginning to question whether Lara's first name is really her first name, because two of the four letters are vowels!  (That's 50% of the letters being vowels, for those readers who don't like to do math).

I would not be surprised if her name isn't Laraxjnmstmopnrqu, or something close to that.  I would not be surprised if Lara (if that's even her real name!) has not told her husband Jeff that her name is really Laraxjnmstmopnrqu.

I'm going to call her by her real name (Laraxjnmstmopnrqu) the next time I see her, although I probably won't pronounce it correctly.

By the way, Croatian wine is really good, especially from a value for money standpoint.  I just wish I could pronounce the wines.