Polish Ham: Groundhog Day.

Ancient walls of Diocletian's Palace.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Today was even better.

The moment I walked outside, I took off my puffer. Two minutes later, I took off my sweater. Walking around in just jeans and a t-shirt, I felt hot. The sun shined so brightly I squinted, but I could see that the sky was blue, the town was littered with tourists and everything was okay.

I walked around at random first, seeking out breakfast and the beach which wasn't as pretty as I thought it would. Finally, I got my hands on a guidebook, which gave me some direction and so I did a little walking tour of Diocletian Palace, which is like a mini-city within the city of Split. It is so neat because this palace was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian as his place of retirement. The remains of the palace still exist today, however, it is not a museum--rather, the town is built within it. So there are all these stores and apartments and cafes built into this ancient architecture. For example, there is this big formal entry way into the palace with columns and arches and there is a café right there where you can sit on the actual ancient steps around the square and have a cup of coffee while admiring the view. How cool is that?

After I did the tour, I wandered around looking for something to eat and found my way back to Fife's--the place I ate yesterday. I decided to order a very traditional dish, called pasticada, which I wasn't really sure what it was. I ordered it with white wine. The waiter sniffed.

"Pasticada with white wine?" he growled. "If you wish."

"Is red better?" I asked. He nodded vehemently.

"Okay, the red."

This meal was veal with so much brown broth, it might as well been soup. It came with little dumplings that you dipped in the sauce. The waiters came to check on me often to see if I liked it and to show me this snake-like fish in a bottle that they were giving this fisherman. When I didn't finish the meal, they were disappointed. It was good, but too much.

I was sleepy after that big meal, so I lied down on a park bench staring up at the palm tree against the blue sky and thought my life felt pretty great right now. I walked around the city and shopped, but it wasn't so much fun because everything was so nice and I don't have the money to spend. I did buy myself a bracelet. And some ice cream. I noticed the same guys as yesterday sitting on crates fishing by the shoreline. I saw the same group of old men sitting on the bench, drinking beer and heckling people who walked by. And I could understand their repetition. I merely wanted today to be a repeat of yesterday.

And so I decided to go and see the sunset again. I walked up the same path and sat in the same spot, and watched the sun go down. Since the sky was perfectly clear, it was a sunset that was more golden than pink. I stayed until the very end. No rushing anywhere this time.

I clapped when it was over, so happy to have experienced this beauty. Can I do this day again? Encore! Encore! Again! Again!