BEAMET: Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik

Ok so when I left you on the blog we were in Split. I have to say I really liked Split. My favourite place was obviously Diocletian's Palace, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Inside this palace which was established by the Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century AD is a web of shops, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, plus the mausoleum (which is now the Cathedral of St Doimus). No matter what time of day or night there is always something going on there. When we were there the first night Split was having some sort of musical festival and they were performing Verdi's Nabucco in the palace area, but unfortunately I found out about it too late and couldn't get tickets. The acoustics were pretty good though so we did hear a bit. The next day we wandered about the town for a bit in the morning, until our ferry at 11.00am to Hvar Island. This was a fast catamaran so Agnieszka was disappointed she couldn't sit outside and "get sun tan" which is one of her main aims for this trip (to be "chocolate brown"). I didn't mind, because the catamaran was air conditioned, which was a blessing as it has been unbearably hot. We arrived at Hvar town and had a bit of a wander, it was very beautiful. Then we decided to go for a swim in the Adriatic (for more on this read my earlier blog "Wings, stings and little bitey things"). After my experience with the medusa I ended up on the main square having a gelati to calm my nerves. You know how it is. We had to get a bus from Hvar town to the other side of the island, to the ferry port at Stari Grad in order to catch the ferry back to Split. This was a huge thing, Agnieszka was pleased because it wasn't a catamaran so she could sit out on the deck. The next day we got the bus to Dubrovnik, this took some 4 1/2 hours and was quite scenic, although the guy was a bit of a mad man and one bloke was therefore sick. I hadn't realised that the Croatian coastline is interrupted by 2 kms of Bosnia - Hercegovina, which meant that we had another passport check, just as well I didn't need a visa for Bosnia. At the bus station in Dubrovnik we were immediately accosted by people offering us accommodation, and we managed to find a very nice guesthouse overlooking the bay. We then wandered down to the Old Town, and did a walk of the walls (which cost 50kuna but was well worth it). I think Dubrovnik is very beautiful, and I particularly enjoyed the view from the walls over the houses with their terracotta tiles and also over the harbour. Had nice seafood for dinner after the walk. Today we've just been wandering about Dubrovnik, we went to the Pharmacy Museum which was ok, apparently its the oldest pharmacy in the world. Then Agnieszka headed off for the beach whilst Agata and I wandered about the town. Tonight we're on the bus to Kotor, Montenegro - country number 4 on this epic journey...