We are able to sleep in a little bit this morning as we are up at 8:00a (2a at home) for a delicious breakfast in the hotel of croissants, cold cuts and coffee. At 10:00am, we meet up with our local guide, Anri, for a 4-hour walking tour of the city of Split.

We first visit the Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian’s Palace is an ancient palace built for the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, that today forms about half the old town of Split, Croatia.

We were lead through the ground level of the palace by Anri, as he pointed out the many spaces built by the romans and even showed us where they filmed a lot of Game of Thrones – the city of Mereene. We also got to see the exact place where Danerys kept her dragons.

We enjoy traditional Klapa acapella music in the vestibule of the palace.

After our fabulous tour, we have the rest of the day to explore the city so a small group of us head to Konoba Marul for lunch. We order two boards – one of a meat and fries selection and one of seafood and vegetables. We were starving so it was a hearty and delicious local meal.

After lunch we walk around the corner to the Game of Thrones store to check out the funny memorabilia and snap a picture of their replica Iron Throne. Afterwards, a few people wanted some ice cream so we made a few quick pit stops for everyone to get their gelato fill.

The group then made our way 20-minutes East to a beautiful and secluded beach. The walk was down the bustling promenade full of tourists from a nearby cruise ship. Once at the beach, it was an absolutely breathtaking view of the turquoise blue water with waves slowly crashing against the rocky shore. We spent a few lazy moments lying in the sun, soaking in the setting before making our way back into town.

We make our first stop at Maduro Gin and Cocktail Bar for our first drink of the evening. We enjoy blueberry Somerby cider and some beer right off the pier. The weather has been slightly windy but in the high 60s with beautiful sunshine all day which made it a perfect day to stroll and relax alongside the waterfront.

Our second stop was Cafe Bar Romana right on the main promenade where we enjoyed a delicious local beer, wine, and some even sampled a shot of a local plum whiskey. We meet up with two more members of the group and make our way out in search of dinner.

We arrive at Konoba Hvaranin for dinner – a darling little cozy restaurant with Croatian books lining the walls. A woman does all the cooking as we watch the one waiter and owner of the restaurant scurry about fussing over small details and watching us as we eat our food. We enjoy an incredible dinner of goulash, gnocchi and seafood along with two bottles of wine for the table along with plenty of laughs.

After dinner, we walk around the corner to Sanctuary Bar for our final drinks. It was a wicked cool bar, filled with locals all watching the football (soccer) game on the TV.

After, three of us head back to the hotel in preparation for another day in Split. Our day of aquatic adventure tomorrow has been canceled due to strong winds and the boats not being able to make it safety out to the islands where the blue caves are, so stay tuned for an impromptu day in Split