Reflections on Accommodations from Split

Traveling observation: I think one's idea of a place can be colored by the accommodations at which one stays. For example, when I look back on my time in San Jose, Costa Rica, I think of it as a dirty, dangerous place - and I stayed in a dingy, windowless room behind about 3 locked doors in an area of town known for its muggings. In stark contrast stands Granada, Nicaragua, at which I "splurged" on a gorgeous 5-star hotel in a classic old building right on the square for about $60 a night. My idea of Granada, of course, is lovely and idyllic.

I don't consider myself too much of a princess when it comes to accommodations. Clearly, Lloyd and I chose early on to stay in rooms in private residences in Croatia and Slovenia rather than in expensive, sterile hotels. There is an element of the unknown with this approach, and we've committed to making ourselves comfortable with that. Also, we only reserved sobe for our first and last weeks' stays, making a true adventure of the middle two weeks of our trip. Our first three sobe have been splendid, with gracious hosts and clean, inviting rooms.

Yesterday's chances didn't quite swing in our favor. We booked a room in Split two nights before our arrival, but our host failed to write to us with his/her address and phone number so we could find the place. No matter, we thought - we would certainly find it on arrival since we had the street name. In our experiences so far, the sobe are clearly marked on each street.

Upon disembarking from our bus, we were a bit unimpressed with Split already. We've been in these darling small towns that present an immediate charm upon arrival - charming by sight, smell and by acquaintance with others. Split, on the other hand, is a big city with cold industrial buildings, uninviting smells and indifferent, almost unfriendly big-city attitudes. So we hastily found a map, wandered over to the street on which we were staying, and were greeted with large, imposing graffiti on the side of a stone wall: WHITE POWER NO NIGGERS.

Wow. Who would ever live on a street that allowed this kind of graffiti to remain there for any length of time? It had clearly been there for days, maybe months. Hell, I almost bought a gallon of paint and cleaned it up myself. So we were immediately freaked out about the street. Then we couldn't find our soba after 3 hot trips back and forth with our packs, during which the locals seemed to eye us with suspicion. I was relieved when Lloyd finally said, "You know what, let's bail on this place. Let's find something else." So we headed back to the bus station and went into one of those tourist agencies that helps visitors book rooms. Two phone calls later, and we had our place - and our host would pick us up in 5 minutes. Things were looking up.

So we thought. I'll be darned if we didn't end up on the same damn street 8 minutes later. Our room was dark and musty, and the bed came with only a sheet. The pillowcases and towels were threadbare. The shower had been hastily cleaned and contained a few hairy remnants of the former tenant. I definitely found my inner princess here. So we immediately booked another room for the following night in a very nice but expensive soba recommended in our guidebook, and then we relaxed a bit. After the world's speediest showers back on Hell street, we headed out to see the the good parts of Split. We felt there must be some good parts.

Diocletian's Palace and the church within its walls - said to be the oldest church in all of Christendom - were breathtaking. We sat inside the church for a very long time contemplating the ornate glory of its interior and listening to two devout women recite the Rosary. We climbed its 200-foot belltower (after much fussing on my part and sweet coaxing on Lloyd's) and saw panoramic views of Split. Then we ate a fine dinner in a hidden, family-owned pizzeria and finished our evening by walking the Riva, the fancy waterfront promenade that is lined with palm trees and cafes. After all of this exploring, I think we're glad we came - but Split still isn't our favorite place. It's expensive, loud and crowded, and we're in honeymoon mode, I guess. We did pick up a replacement camera quite easily (and expensively) here, so we're happy about that.

We've dedicated today to plotting out the most ambiguous portion of our trip. From here we head to the island of Korcula to spend three nights, and we're both quite eager to get back to a quieter place where we are surrounded by shoreline and can jump right into the clear blue-green Adriatic and blissfully bob around in the water. Split has several crowded beaches and none with that pristine feel we found in Dubrovnik and northward up the the coast. After Korcula and a day trip to the island of Hvar, we plan to head into the industrial city of Rijecca to rent a car and to spend a few days exploring the Istrian peninsula and Plitvice National Park. We will stay in Rovinj in Istria for a few days, I think, though Lloyd has just met a pair of friendly tourists who recommended against that town on the grounds that it's too touristy. Adventure! After that, we chill in Ljubljana, Slovenia for our final week.

Off to enjoy more of Split and to check into our new accommodations. And maybe we should pick up that gallon of paint. I am a bit haunted.