Ham and cheese, please.

On the recommendation of nearly everyone I have spoken to about Croatia, I was planning to take a day trip to Hvar, one of the islands around here.

But I got discouraged. The girl who worked at the hostel said it would be dead. The guy at the tourist information place negged the idea as a day trip. The trip was long for one day, the ferry schedule random, the weather supposed to be beat, so I decided not to go.

The guy in the tourist information place recommended two day trips for me: a city of natural beauty or a city of culture. I told myself that if it was nice out, I would do the natural beauty, if it rained, culture. I was praying for sun. I woke up to rain.

The two girls in my room got up early to head to Hvar (they weren't plagued by all the concerns I had). I decided to go on a trip to Trogir, city of culture. Prior to heading out, I stopped in Split's farmer's market, which was a farmer's market like I have never seen. Rows and rows of tables were set up, filled with every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable. The people who worked behind the tables were the ultimate sellers, talking up their product as customers walked by and yelling at other sellers, seemingly at the same time. I walked up and down the aisles, slowly and in awe, watching everyone scramble to pick out their food, and then having the sellers weigh them in these big old-fashioned scales and haggle a price. As I walked deeper into the market, I saw there were stores lined up selling all kinds of meat. Whole pigs and headless cows were hung on silver hooks from the ceiling, blood dripping on the floor. The butchers had large knives and chopped red meat when they weren't helping customers. Old women wearing babushkas sat near barrels filled with cabbage, which they filled into plastic bags. Old men with few teeth sat at tables covered with old bottles of Fanta filled with olive oil. There was honey and nuts and figs and sausages. Ladies walked around with their hands in their pockets, saying "cigarettes" below their breaths. I tried to take pictures of this colorful scene, but the people were giving me looks for lingering and not buying anything and I was afraid they might hurt me. It was a pretty rough crowd. I bought a banana.

Split's food market.

Old-fashioned scale.

Barrels of cabbage.

Meat, anyone?

I took the local bus to Trogir, which stopped every two seconds. It took forever to get there. According to my Lonely Planet guide, "there's a lot to see." I went to the famous cathedral and climbed up yet another clock tower. This one was particularly scary because the last few flights of stairs were like ladders that if you looked through, you saw all the way down to the bottom. Before entering, there was a sign that said "You're climbing on the bell tower on your own responsibility" which I took to mean "If you plummet to your death, it is your own responsibility." My legs were shaking when I got to the top.

Afterwards, I walked around town and after a short while, I felt like I had seen everything. Was this possible? I looked at my book again. "Many sights can be seen on a 15-minute walk around the island." How is this considered a lot to see? I swear, sometimes Lonely Planet is my best friend, sometimes I hate it.

I was hungry and looked for a place to eat. I have been having this problem in Croatia with restaurants. They are always empty and uninviting. At lunch time, the people are sitting in the cafes, places that serve coffee and nothing else. When do these people eat? I finally found a stand that looked to be selling some normal ham and cheese sandwiches. I picked out one and the woman put it on the grill.

"Would you like mayonnaise?" she asked me.

"Yes."

"Onions?"

"No."

"Cabbage?"

"No."

"Pickles?"

"No."

"Lettuce?"

"No."

"Tomatoes?"

"Well, alright."

"Eggs?" she said lifting up a half of a boiled egg.

"No."

"Ketchup?"

"No."

"Hot sauce?"

"No."

She shrugged her shoulders at me, looking at me like I was crazy, and handed me the ham, cheese, tomato and mayo sandwich. I ate it while waiting for the bus back, two stray dogs watched me the entire time. I gave them both some ham. It was grey and drizzly and cold.

I should have went to Hvar.

Me and the bell tower of Cathedral of St Lovro in Trogir.



It's a long way down.



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