Split to Hvar…..pronounced HWAR!!,

We had left a lot of the indoor stuff to see on our last day as we knew there was a possibility of rain.
We woke up to cloudy skies and at least three large cruise ships docked…..

One seriously large one with around 3000 passengers...

The possibility of rain turned to definite around 11am with thunderstorms and extremely heavy rain. Finding shelter was not easy as the downpour didn't allow one too much time to search for cover……. and everyone from the cruise ships was also all trying to stay under cover.  The Cathedral had a baptism going on so no-one was allowed indoors….. until after we were all soaking wet!!

The Cathedral was the old Mausoleum built in Diocletian's time, 305AD…. and he was buried there. However as he was very against Christians ……he must have been turning in his grave when it became a Catholic church!!  He was eventually moved and his sarcophagus smashed!
One of its main features is the brickwork in the dome..

and the doors, which used to be covered in gold, and as they were installed in 1220AD… they predate the baptistry doors of Florence...

The basement to the Palace was huge……

 and it seemed to be a wedding photo venue…..

an

The bride did have to hitch up her dress….

It had been closed after the rain so that they could pump out the water!

We did try one other restaurant in Split which was #2 on Trip Advisor …..the Konoba Matejuska

and it was also recommended where we were staying.  However we were not impressed!  We chose a fish, a sea bass, but when it came it was overcooked on one side and undercooked on the other side.  The waiter did filet it so he could see that it looked a little waxy! But he chose to ignore that!

Our  Jadrolinja ferry  to Hvar was quite comfortable and left on time.

 However when we went to check into our booked hotel, the Hvar Palace, in Hvar, all was not well!

We had booked a 'superior room with terrace and sea view'…….. based on photos showing a bed with a window overlooking a terrace.

What we saw when we opened the door was a narrow window leading to a tiny balcony with 2 very small chairs and a table.  The large sitting area had a small window with closed shutters ……, about 3 meters up and the bedroom did not seem to have any window!
If you look closely at the above photo , taken from in front of the hotel, you will see a tiny balcony to the left of the clock on the top floor and two closed shutters to its left. That was the room!
We were told we had been upgraded to a family room, which was larger and better !!! than the one booked and there were no other rooms available. At reception was another person with the same booking.com print out as us!  She was being given a small room with no balcony, nor a sea view!  Eventually they arranged to move us ( because we were not choosing to accept or remove ourselves from the reception area) to another hotel owned by the same group, the Riva Yacht Harbour Hotel……

We rather liked the yacht on the doorstep!

The other person being offered a room without a balcony was immediately offered the room we refused!

The room in the Riva hotel was great compared to the other…..but unfortunately no sea view!

We can certainly recommend our lunch time restaurant, Giaxa. Excellent food!

…and we may return to dine indoors one evening…...

However for our first evening we decided to try a very untouristy restaurant, the Lungo Mare…in a residential area……
it was great! For food……local wines and grappa!!

 The owner was quite happy to no longer be blowing his coals for the BBQ…….

  a hairdryer works better……..