Welcome to our holiday blog



Welcome to our holiday blog

This blog records the daily activities on our holiday from mid- May to mid-June 2011. The main purpose of the holiday is to visit Nicky, John and Amelia in London.

We will also be going to places we have never seen before including Beijing (China), New Forest (UK), Barcelona (Spain), Croatia and Dubai (UAE).



Sunday 5 June 2011

Day 24 - Sunday 5th June

Later this morning we are due to go from Split to the nearby island of Hvar and so after breakfast I went for a walk to take a last look at the town of Split. It was another beautiful warm sunny day. Being Sunday morning, it wasn't as crowded as the previous days.

Our guide, Katja, met us in the foyer at 11am to accompany us to the catamaran. It was only a five-minute walk and so we had no problems rolling our bags through the cobblestone streets ourselves rather than getting a cart. Katja gave us our tickets on the wharf and said goodbye.

When we'd been told that we'd travel to Hvar on a catamaran, I'd envisaged a small boat and I'd been worried about getting our suitcases aboard. In fact, it was a large ship that probably carried about two or three hundred passengers. There was a ramp to get on board - no need to lower our bags onto the boat as I'd expected.

The first staff members we met when we boarded the vessel were cheerful and smiling but other crew members were surly and rude. Most of them looked like retired heavyweight wrestlers or prison guards and so I didn't argue. The boat left on time at 11:30am and the trip took just over an hour. It was a very pleasant relaxing journey past a few islands and various yachts.

Hvar is one of the islands on the Dalmatian Coast. Apparently it is one of the biggest islands on the coast. It is more than 100km long and about 20km wide at its widest point. They say it has more sunny days than any other island.

There are a few small towns on the island. We were staying at a town that is also called Hvar. It's built in a very pretty bay which is home to dozens of boats of all sizes - from basic yachts to multi-million dollar cruisers and motor yachts.

Along the shore, there is a paved promenade about 5m to 10m wide. From the promenade and up the hill, there are quaint small buildings. Almost all of them are made with blond-coloured stone. They are generally two or three stories high. There are some bigger buildings such as churches and hotels but they are all built in harmony with the stonework theme of the town.

On the wharf we were met by a porter from our hotel. He had a small motorised cart for our bags. This is the standard way to transport goods around the town because the lanes are quite narrow. By the time we walked around the marina to the hotel, the porter had already put our bags in the hotel foyer.

Originally we had been booked into another larger hotel (Amfora) in the next bay around the point. Our agent had changed us to the Adriana a couple of days ago because of a problem with the rooms at the Amfora. One of the reasons we originally chose Amfora rather than Adriana was that we'd heard that the Adriana rooms were small. On the other hand, an advantage of Adriana was that it was close to the centre of the town.

Alan, our agent, had managed to organise a spa suite at the Adriana. It consists of a large bedroom with a king-size bed, a lounge area and a large modern bathroom that contains a spa bath that is big enough for two people. The room was on the third floor overlooking the marina and facing the village on the other side - a very pretty view.

The suite has two televisions - one in the bedroom and one in the lounge area. Our porter pointed out that this would avoid arguments if I wanted to watch sport while she wanted to watch a soap opera. The bedroom and lounge area had separate air conditioning controls. We were delighted with this luxurious suite.

Soon after we arrived in our suite, Alan rang. We spent a long time telling him how happy we have been with all his arrangements including the hotels, transfers, tours, guides, dinners, etc. and how impressed we have been with his organisational skills and his ability to find good people.

After settling in, we set off to explore the hotel. We went first to the massage centre where one of the staff gave us a guided tour of what they offer. Next we went to look at the pool on the fourth floor. They told us it contains heated sea water. On the same level as the pool, there is a sunny terrace area with the large square sun umbrellas that are so common in the Mediterranean.

The view from this terrace was even better than in our room. In front of us, we could see the marina and the town, to the right we could see out to sea and to the left we could see up to the mountains above the town including the ancient fort on the first hill above the town. A great place to take photos.

We sat at one of the tables admiring the view and ordered a beer, a salad and a club sandwich - the best club sandwich that I have ever had.

This is heaven!

After lunch we went for a short stroll through along the marina and plazas of the town. Suzy went back to the hotel while I climbed the stairs and walkways to the fortress at the top of the hill. It was worth the effort because the views were spectacular. It was like getting a helicopter view of the town.

By the time I got back to the hotel, Suzy had already returned from a swim in the hotel pool and was filling up the spa bath in our room. It was very relaxing despite the fact that we couldn't work out how to get the water jets to work

The hotel has good WiFi throughout the hotel. It is much better than the reception we had yesterday at Split but it is still slow. I spent ages trying to upload photos to my photo site and eventually decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. I decided to wait until I had a decent internet connection even if I had to wait until I got back to Sydney.

In the evening, we went for a pre-dinner drink at one of the cafes, Riva, on the wharf next to the marina. Riva is owned by the same company that owns Adriana, Amorfa and other outlets and so we were able to pay by presenting our electronic hotel room card. I'm enjoying the local Croatian draught beers.

For dinner, we'd asked the hotel to book us a table for 8pm at a restaurant called Macondo which is located in a narrow cobblestone lane part-way up the hill towards the fortress. The tables are in the laneway and so there is only a small space for pedestrians to get past. They only accept cash and so Suzy had to go back to the hotel room to get her wallet so that we had enough cash between us to pay the bill.

The food was very good and the house wine was great. We got chatting to a Canadian couple at the table next to us. Before we knew it, it was after 11 o'clock. A very civilised end to a fabulous day.

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