On these demanding bike tours, a rest day is like heaven. Make the location interesting and beautiful like Split, and it’s an excellent heaven. We started the day with a large breakfast at the hotel, then walked downtown later and checked out the famous Diocletian’s Palace. We had been through it a bit the night before going to dinner but took more time and saw more, but even in the second half of September, it’s super crowded. To the point where going to the more famous parts is basically impossible or too painful to contemplate. Maybe before 8am? Later I heard it was super crowded at 9am too.
We walked past Gregory of Nin’s statue and through the Golden Gate back into the Palace. We ran into Donna and Elizabeth and decided to eat lunch together. I had a nice pizza and it was nice chatting. Donna is heading home to Canberra, Australia tomorrow. Bike Dreams trips are flexible – you can do the whole thing or just part. After lunch, Bob headed off to meet some relatives who happened to be in town and I looked around the Palace some more.
I walked back to the hotel and had a chat with Katie, then went swimming at the public swimming area next door – right in the Adriatic. The water was pretty warm, with choppy waves. It’s very salty so you can float really easily. The swimming area is great with showers and comfy shaded deck chairs – I relaxed for quite a while.
I went back in and it was almost dinner time. Niek and I walked back to the Corto Maltese Freestyle Restaurant where we had a reservation this time.
Bob was there eating with his family too. The food was amazing, very fancy and tasty. I had “Ballad of the Salted Sea”. The dish names and notes on the menu were funny. We had a great local Zinfandel, then went back to Luca’s for another triple gelato extravaganza, all new flavors from last night.
All in all it was a great rest day and we’re looking forward to a fun and easy half day of riding tomorrow.
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