Day 9: Shootout in Split

We let the kids sleep in this morning.   I wrote them a note and got some cash out for them, but I couldn’t slip anything under their door so we had to half wake them and give them breakfast instructions (“you’re on your own.... enjoy!”).

Beth and I headed out, grabbed some pastries and coffee and juice and ate on one of the benches on the Riva.   Even though it was around 9:30, we still opted for shade.  This place is proving to be scorchingly hot.

I convinced Beth to split up - she headed for an hour of shopping while I went to do a little Rick Steve’s walk of the old palace.   The palace is an old walled city within the old city of Split.   The palace has an interesting history and I loved checking out the catacomb like foundations of the palace (it reminded me of the Roman aquifers below Istanbul), the winding weaving alleyways in all four corners of the palace, and the central square area that opened up into a big gathering space.   Interspersed throughout the palace were restaurants, coffee shops, art shops and many cheesy tourist shops, mostly concentrated near the Riva gate entrance.

I met Beth at 1030 and she took me to a shop where she’d put a hold on a top.... she took me to the shop... she just took a circuitous route back to the... she couldn’t find the shop.  No name, no frame of reference.... going, going.... gone.  I felt like I’d just found a 100% off sale!

We picked up the kids and split up again - Abby and I explored the palace again and then the cool open air green market next to the palace, while the clowns went in search of Beth’s shirt shop!

An hour later and Abby and I had a successful walk that ended in grabbing some fresh watermelon from the market while the girls came back with arms full of bags and Beth wearing funky new shoes.

Lunch was decent, but back to the touristy places:  more because of hangry-avoidance than anything.   

We decided to rent bikes again but this time we rode out to the Marjan park area to the West of the city.   This park area is supposedly bigger than Central Park.   When we eventually got off the section of the road that still permitted cars, the ride through the park was beautiful.... a shaded, tree-lined road with many glimpses down to the beautiful Adriatic Sea.

We had spotted what looked like a nice though crowded beach on the way in to the park, so we eventually turned around and rode back to the ramp leading down to Kasjuni beach.   The beach was packed with all shapes and sizes and was quite the people watching expo.   One third twenty something man packs, one third couples or small groups of friends and one third Botox.

The water was really refreshing.   Our body temperatures must have been pretty high as if felt like ice getting in, but was warm enough to stay in comfortably.  It was 3:30 so we decided to head back to the Riva and meet up with the whole group who was watching the England Sweden game at an outdoor restaurant.  

The game was fun - England won pretty easily though no win seems that easy in the World Cup.  More amusing was hanging out with Jordan and Sam, our cute little nieces.  The two Taylor families are on a drastically different schedule than us, but they seemed to be doing really well.

The big game was set to start at 8pm - Croatia versus everyone’s enemy (it seems, these days, anyway) Russia!   We said our goodbyes to the Taylors (there were no babysitting volunteers tonight!) and checked out a couple of places at the end of the boardwalk and grabbed a primo table for six right near a big screen TV at a place that seemed to have a lot of customers who were eating.

The game was still an hour away, but Paul and Blair decided to try and upgrade to another restaurant.  Our four were more than happy with our seats, so we settled in. 
  

Robin and I bought playing cards and we played President while waiting.

The game was unbelievably exciting.   Russia Scores!   Croatia Equalizes!  By half time, a significant crowd had gathered around the restaurant ~ probably five hundred people.   It was awesome.  Game tied in regulation, we got to two 15 minute extra periods.   Croatia scores!!!! It’s over.... right?  Argh, handball and Russia gets a free kick just outside the 18 and manages to tie the game with just a couple of minutes left in extra time.

Shootout?   Crazy.   Crazy!   But it all came down to #7 with the final shot of the initial five shot shootout.... and...he scores!   The place erupted.  Nuts.  Instantly there were flares everywhere.. cruise ship horns blaring and people singing (the national anthem??).

We took the kids up north of the palace where they had set up an outdoor TV and it was crazier!   Everyone was going bananas.   I heard a bus beeping and a huge crowd so we went over to the bus.   The driver was blaring his horn and dancing in his seat, and soon a jovial crowd of a few hundred people surrounded the bus and almost seemed to dance with the bus.  What an atmosphere.

As we walked home through the busy, celebrating roads and alleyways, we couldn’t help but think what Dubrovnik would be like next Wednesday when they play England for the right to play for the Wold Cup Title next weekend!!!