Day 5 - the train journey home

At 5.45 am there was an announcement on board encouraging us to get up and prepare to disembark. We got showered and dressed. Our breakfast was delivered to our room and we had to pay extra for yogurt and and service - not what we asked for. We packed up (no coats to leave behind this time) and went down to the main deck. The boat carried cars and foot passengers and we went ashore down several sets of stairs.

In Ancona we didn't want to pay for another pricey taxi so we got a coffee and then found a bus to the station, quite a walk away from the ferry terminal. Unfortunately the shuttle bus didn't start running until the afternoon.  At the station we waited outside for the 9.22 train to Milano. It was 5 minutes late but arrived in Milano on time at 13.25. On the long journey I read an Alexander McCall Smith book on Kindle but it finished 72 percent of the way through! So I started on Richard's book A Short History of England and got as far as Henry II.

In Milan we knew our way around and headed for the downstairs bar, where we had a beer and a hot mortadella pomodoro sandwich (without any tomato) which was surprisingly good. We also used the clean loos for one euro each, and I bought a Homes and Gardens magazine in the newsagent's. Our train to Zurich left at 14.25 and we had good seats.

The train called at Monza, Chiasso, Lugana, Bellinzona and Arth Goldau. We arrived in Zug on time and caught our connection to Thalwil arriving back at 18.24. Richard popped into Migros for essentials and we took the bus home. Everything was fine, apart from a few drooping house plants - the balcony plants had been well watered in the rain.

We enjoyed our trip to Split via Ancona and the Adriatic crossing, but I probably wouldn't do the same long journey again.

Day 4 Leaving Split by ferry to Ancona

Our last day and we had to leave the apartment by 11.00. We had a nice breakfast of muesli, banana, yogurt, orange juice and coffee. We packed up all our things - funny they always take up more space. We left the apartment at 10.30 and put the key in the mailbox outside. It was a very convenient place to stay, apart from the two flights of stairs. We were opposite a park and a few steps away from the Palace and old city.

Inside the Temple of Jupiter - some nice carvings

First we went to leave our case in one of the luggage deposit places by the port. I wanted to visit the Archaeological Museum and we took a taxi, but it turned out to be closed (in spite of the website saying open). So we had to return to the old city. Expensive. Beware of taxis ripping you off in Croatia.

We walked to the Temple of Jupiter and paid to go inside. It was a very small place with some carvings inside. Then we strolled around the busy streets and came back to the No Stress bar where we had a beer and then lunch - I had a chicken club sandwich. The waiters at this bar are a bit grumpy in spite of the name. We sat there for quite a while watching everyone walk past - every age group and many nationalities.

The Aurelia took us back to Ancona overnight

We walked round the Palace cellars as it came on to rain. I bought some fruity soap for Laura. We decided to go along to the boat terminal and we collected our luggage and tickets for the return ferry journey. We leave at 20.15 on the Aurelia, a SNAV ferry. It was already in port.

We sat outside under cover and had a glass of lemonade. We heard the Croatia game from the crowd reactions - they scored against Turkey. At 18.00 we queued up to board the Aurelia, with just one passport check this time. It had an all-Italian crew. At reception on the boat they were very unfriendly, and we didn't get any help to find our cabin, up lots of stairs. We couldn't get the door to open as it was damaged and the steward was sullen. The cabin was nice but small, and we had a big window with a view.

Sunset on leaving Split

We were welcomed for dinner in the restaurant, and I ordered risotto with porcini mushrooms; Richard had pasta with swordfish. We had some nice Roero Arneis white wine too. I also had a slice of berry fruit tart for dessert. We were able to pay by credit card before leaving port. I was also asked to write in the guest book about the food.

In our cabin we found there was no TV signal and there was no soap in the bathroom. I had a shower and we had an early night but I had a very disturbing dream.  I set my phone alarm for 6am.

Day 3 in Split

Our boat to Brac was full with day-trippers

On our last full day we decided to take an island boat trip. The nearest place was on the island of Brac. We walked down to the ferry terminal and bought return tickets on the 11.15 ferry to Supetar, a village on the coast of Brac. We took our sunhats and sun cream.

The boat was full but we got good seats. There seemed to be a party of Croatian Swinging Sixties next to us, and they talked for the whole hour-long journey. We enjoyed the views as we crossed to the nearest island to the Split mainland.

The small port at Supetar was very pretty

The boat came in to port at Supetar and we walked round the small harbour past several gift shops. We found a nice waterside restaurant called Konoba Lukin, and ordered tuna pate to share, served with the oil bread that is popular in the area, and we also got a nice cool beer. My main course was cuttle fish with penne and broad beans, which was served in a stew in a dark sauce and I ate it with a spoon. Richard had octopus and gnocchi stew. Both very tasty. On the music system I listened to an old favourite from 1986, Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House.

After lunch we walked round the rest of the small port and saw the church. We sat by the water and waited for the return ferry. A lovely day out.

A walk round the little town after lunch

In the evening after a rest and shower, we went out for dinner and found a table at Chops-Grill, a smart place in the newer end of town. We had a table next to the chef. We got an amuse bouche of hummus, then I had a Greek salad starter (quite large) and sea bass. We splashed out on another Croatian white wine, a bottle of Zlahtina 2015.

England were playing Russia in the evening but we weren't tempted to go in the football bar showing the game. We saw that the score was 0-0 at half-time, but when we got back, England had gone ahead with a goal by Dier, but Russia equalised. There was a lot of fighting and taunting by the Russian fans who were not kept in a separate part of the stadium. After the football we watched Federer play Thiem in the ATP semifinal, but sadly he lost.

I slept quite well. Our last night in Villa Barbara.

Day 2 in Split

The Roman Katedrala was converted to a church

On Friday we woke up to torrential rain. We were happy to have breakfast in our apartment with crunchy muesli, banana and coffee.  I finished my book, A Tomb in Turkey by Simon Brett. It was very entertaining. We watched Federer win at Stuttgart on Eurosport 2.

We decided to explore the Katedrala and crypt. We walked down through the Iron Gate, sharing an umbrella. The marble paving stones in the palace were slippery underfoot. We paid to go in the octagonal cathedral which was undergoing renovation. It was formerly Diocletian's tomb and was converted into a church later. There wasn't very much to see so we went into the crypt which was even less impressive.

Richard in the crypt

Then we went for a coffee at the No Stress bar but I had a sore throat so we went back to our room and had a long rest. For lunch we ventured out again into the wet streets and found a fish bar, Zlatna Rebica, where we shared squid and chips and had a beer. It was quick and tasty.


The weather brightened and we walked out of the west side of the Palace and down to the Riva or promenade. We visited St. Francis Church, rather plain, and had an ice cream under the palm trees. We enjoyed looking at all the boats.

Back at the apartment I rested again while Richard went to the local shop for more water and some yogurts.

Sunny afternoon on the Riva

We had dinner at Pizzeria Portas just inside the Golden Gate, with some nice red wine.We were lucky to get a good table on the garden terrace.

Day 1 in Split

During the night I continued to read A Tomb in Turkey to get in the holiday mood. My alarm went off at 6am. We had a small shower in our deluxe cabin and then went to breakfast - a buffet. I had my usual muesli, orange juice, boiled egg and coffee plus a chocolate croissant. We disembarked at 7.15 - later I discovered I had left my blue jacket in the wardrobe.

On board the Regina della Pace

We walked through the port to our apartment, Zagrebacka 5. It was tricky to find the house. We called Katja, our hostess, who came to meet us and gave us the keys. In spite of the shabby building, the apartment inside is new and modern, with a living room/kitchen, bedroom and spacious bathroom. But she asked for payment in cash so we went together to a nearby ATM to get out the maximum amount. There are about 6 Kuna to one Swiss Franc. We had a coffee on the corner and learnt a few words of Croatian.

kava   coffee; pivo   beer; vino   wine; racun   bill; molim   please; dobardan   hello; hvala  thank you.

Then we walked through the markets selling clothes and fruit and veg. I bought a sunhat. They had lots of broad beans on sale. I should have got some then. We went through the so-called Golden Gate into Diocletian's Palace, the main feature of Split old town. The place consisted of a maze of streets, with halls, arches, domed ceilings and stone walls built in Roman times. The Roman Emperor had the palace built as a retirement home in about 400 AD.

In the cellars of Diocletian's Palace

We paid to go inside the cellars which were renovated in 1956. There were many rooms with descriptions in each one as to its original function. We saw an old oil press, a grinding stone, lots of rounded ceilings and many original features. The gift shop had lots of nice things and I bought some silver and white earrings.

Then we walked up to the Peristyle, a crossroads point in the Roman town where some men were dressed as gladiators for photographs. The queue for the Katedrala was very long so we went for a beer instead and listened to a guitarist. Then we explored the narrow streets and ended up in Uje Oil Bar where we ordered lunch. It took ages to arrive. We had bruschetta with egg, shrimps and samphire (Richard took my shrimps) and I had grilled tuna steak with pak choi and a bottle of Croatian Sauvignon Blanc. It was delicious but quite pricey.

The main square where we had another drink

Then we went back to the apartment for a rest. We signed into Wifi and I posted a few pictures on Facebook. Later we went out again to explore the main town square which was more modern. We had a drink there; I had local chardonnay and Richard tried the dark beer. We had dinner at Kod Joze, a local restaurant where the manager suggested the mixed meats. We splashed out on the Dingac 2010 red wine. It was very tasty but I couldn't finish my huge meal.

Back to the apartment to watch the athletics, the Bislet Games on Croatian TV.

Setting off

We were up at 7 to finish last-minute packing (beach towel? flip-flops?) and have a usual breakfast. We had the usual conversation about my only wanting half a banana on my muesli. We saw on the news that the EU referendum government website crashed after last night's debate between Cameron and Farage.

I made some sandwiches and we packed a drink for the journey to Milan. We checked all the balcony plants and Richard took out the compost. I checked my emails - nothing new. I will just look at Facebook and messages on my phone.

The weather in Split is forecast to be sunny but we are taking an umbrella just in case. We need to catch the 9.07 bus to get the 9.38 S24 train to Zug. Looking forward to visiting three countries in five days. And taking lots of photos.

On the train to Milano through the Gotthard tunnel

On our way!
The journey by train went  quite smoothly apart from a couple of delays on the Italian trains. I had time in Zug to buy a Good Housekeeping magazine for the journey, and I also read A Tomb in Turkey by Simon Brett on my Kindle. We went through the old Gotthard tunnel, which will be replaced by the new shorter one from Erstfeld in the new year. Nice to see the scenery including the church that the track loops round three times. The weather was sunnier south of the Alps.

We had sandwiches on the train and then a beer at Milano Centrale, a large palatial station with lots of steps and WiFi access. The next connection was to Bologna; we travelled at 298 kph according to the train information. There we found our connecting train to Lecce via Rimini and Ancona, but it was running 28 minutes late.

Our ferry was a Blue Line boat - very nice

In Ancona we took an expensive taxi to the ferry port and found the ticket office where we collected our pre-booked tickets. Ferry lines SNAV and Blue Line appear to share boats, and we went on a Blue Line ferry this time, called Regina della Pace. Our passports were checked about four times and the luggage was scanned. The boat staff were mainly Asian, Chinese and Filipino, and were very helpful.Our cabin was below the main deck on deck 5, and was well equipped.

We had dinner in the main restaurant, including some Croatian Degarta Posip white wine. I had cheeses, sea bass and panna cotta with berries. We had to pay cash, which was a theme during the whole holiday. The cabin was quite noisy due to piped music until 22.00 and I was disturbed by the vibration of the engines underneath us. I woke twice during the night, so par for the course.

The day before

We are getting organised for our trip tomorrow to Split in Croatia. We don't speak Croatian and only have a few kuna but we hope for the best! We will have to carry our single case so we'd better travel light. We have a place to stay and a guidebook. So let's go!

The train journey involves changes at Zug, Milan and Bologna and then we arrive in Ancona. We have to get from the station to the ferry port and board by 18.15. I hope we will be able to get dinner on board.

In Split we will be staying at an apartment, Villa Barbara in Zagrebacka 5. We will arrive in Split on Thursday morning. The weather forecast is for very warm weather. I hope for no rain.

I am not taking my tablet on the trip so I will have to make notes in my diary for later.