We had planned to use Split only for landing in and taking off from Croatia. Then we discovered more about its historical side, and that several Game of Thrones scenes had been shot around there, and we had to surely give it a day.
The famous Diocletian palace at the center of Split, was built by the 4th Century Roman emperor Diocletian for his retirement days. Turns out that is where Khaleesi has been setting her court and housing her dragons in modern times. The architects back then, in their wisdom, made this structure massive and almost a mini-city in itself.
One of the girls at the ticket-checking counter to the underground vaults had been on duty during the Season 4 shooting. I asked her, “What did you see?”
She pointed behind her and said in a low voice, “This is where Khaleesi was meeting her dragons”. She said it with a reverence as if half-expecting Khaleesi to overhear her from around the corner.
Oh, I forgot to mention, we like watching Game of Thrones. And we had been waiting for the right time to start Season 5. Here it was: We’d watch Season 5 in Meereen (shot in Split mostly). Because how cool is that!
Ok, enough GoT. Coming back to Split, it’s a vibrant mix of old and new, sunny spots and shadowy alleys.
The palace compound is a dreamy city.
I was amazed to learn that you can stay within the palace compound at a reasonable rate, and so we did 🙂
A combination of history and natural beauty of the sea makes Split an ideal spot for photography. I used to be a horrible photographer, and have been getting better with practice. My husband, on the other hand, is a natural. Just the right focus, timing and eye for beauty (no surprise :)), producing pictures like these:
Photo Credit: Dear husband
Photo Credit: Dear husband
WordPress tells me that this is my 25th post, and it’s a good moment to recount my husband’s contribution to my blog. Besides being the patient (and honest) first reader of all my posts, he’s also encouraged me to use more pictures. Many of the better ones are clicked by him. Those captions have been crediting ‘dear husband’, but couple of days back I changed them all to include his name. I thought he might like it. “Why did you do that?” he asked me, “Say dear husband. I like that better, it’s more personal”.
I hate travel blogs but yours is an exception because of the way you narrate your experiences with childlike excitement (and also the photography!)
Congrats on the 25th post 🙂
Thanks Sushmita, that’s sweet of you 🙂 I just realized I have been publishing a lot of travel posts lately, yes! Glad to know you enjoy them.