Bibinje, Croatia(May 17-19) and Split, Croatia (May 19-20):

So we arrived in Bibinje, (pronounced "BIB-in-ye")Croatia last Tuesday.    We left Venice on Tuesday morning and took a train to Trieste, Italy.  We then took a bus from there to Rijeka, Croatia, and then a bus from there to Zadar, Croatia.  Actually, while we were in Trieste train station, before we got on the bus, we ran into three friends from my grade (Sonja, Olivia, Surya).  We were all baffled and very excited to see each other.  We went for gelato-the best I've had so far- and caught each other up on travel stories.  Then due to time and bus schedules, we had to part ways.  The bus ride into Croatia was great.  The bus was comfortable and the scenery was incredible.  We drove along the edge of the Adraitic Sea and through the rocky, rolling hills which were covered in bright green trees and shrubs.  The sun set behind us, amidst feathery clouds, and cast its golden light on the water's surface.  We arrived in Bibinje around 10:00pm and checked into the room which we were renting.  It was a beautiful two-bedroom suite and with a red/black/white colour scheme it looked very classy and was very comfortable.  

The next day, we had to switch rooms, and then spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the patio which looked out to the marina.  We thought that we'd head to the National Park nearby  for the afternoon.  However, after taking a bus halfway there to a town nearby, we realized it was much further than we had anticipated. Since we wouldn't have had enough time to get there and back with enough time to see much of park, we decided to stay in the town.  So instead, we sat by the clear, turquoise water chatting and laughing as we shared a Coke and a Croatian chocolate bar.  We then headed back to  Bibinje for a wonderful pasta dinner which we cooked for ourselves.  

We had to check out of our room in the morning,  and then we spent the afternoon sitting on a white, rocky beach.  The sun was very hot, but the cool breeze from the sparking Adriatic was refreshing.  After that, we caught  a bus to the next place on our itinerary: Split. As we stepped off the bus, we were swarmed by people offering accommodation. After fighting our way through the crowd of people we went to find our hostel.

The next morning, we went to see Diocletian's Palace.  Diocletian was a Roman emperor who retired to this palace in the  fourth century AD.  We entered the beautiful retirement home through the Golden Gate and wandered the stone streets for the morning.  We took in views from the bell tower and then ate an incredibly delicious chocolate cake in the open courtyard (which was the entrance to Diocletian's living quarters).  Actually, while we were eating our cake "Diocletian" came out and addressed the crowd while his "Roman soldiers" stood guard.  After that we went and saw a stone mosaic floor and then filled up our water bottles from a fountain whose water still flows from the ancient Roman aqueducts.  It was cold and refreshing!    We then went back to the hostel, got our bags and caught a Catamaran to Hvar Town.