Koper, Slovenia and Split Croatia

Koper, Slovenia Dober vecer or good evening! Silhouette docked in Koper is a sight to behold! A beautiful modern ship rising out of the Adriatic Sea against the backdrop of the ancient walled city made for a perfect photo op. Upon disembarking a large group of Slovenian travel agents were waiting to embark for a tour of our ship. Slovenia is officially and culturally bi-lingual; Slovene and Italian are the official languages. Koper is clean and non-touristy. We had a do it ourselves day which was perfect as we like to be "unstructured" and unherded. Our self guided Koper Stroll was fun. We saw the ancient 7th century Cathedral of St. Nazarius with it's 5th century bell tower dominating Tito Square. The architecture is primarily Venetian. I discovered an interesting local handicraft shop with a lovely owner/ artist where I purchased a couple of treasures. Atelje Terracotta was the best shop in old town! As we were in town on Saturday, the flea market, fruit & vegetable market, and antique vendors were in full swing. I found a beautiful antique wooden bread board but it must've weighted 5 pounds & was large and bulky so I had to sadly leave it at the antique market for someone else. There was a HoHo bus that took you from Koper to Izola, Piran, and Potoroz and back to Koper. Some of the cruise critic group went to Lake Bled and some went to the Capital, Ljubljana. Our weather has held.. Rain was forecast, but it didn't rain on us! Following cocktails and appetizers for sail away in sky lounge, we had dinner in Blu.. Braised short ribs, lobster salad and coconut sorbet. By the way, those dining in the main dining room, Grand Cuvee are raving about the food too. Today we are in Split, Croatia, so dober dan (good day)! Sunny weather but rough seas made for tender problems... From the time we got our tender ticket until the time we boarded was almost 2 hours. Nonetheless we had another memorable day in gorgeous Split. This area is known as the Croatian Riviera and i can see why. Palm trees, seaside promenade, sidewalk cafes, azure sea along with the ancient walls make for a sort of a storybook feel. Speaking of story books, I searched all over for those 101 Dalmatians but never found even a single one! The focal point of Split is Diocletian's Palace, built in the 4th century. The entire of Old Town is within the palace walls! We found a lovely typical local restaurant for lunch. Croatian specialties are seafood, Dalmatian brodet (fish stewed with rice), pasta and pizza. Croatia is also known for wine...which we enjoyed with our lunch. Back on board Silhouette we stopped by for a spot of afternoon tea and relaxed a bit by the pool...oh yeah the pool band was just playing "Black Magic Woman" really loudly!! In my opinion, not the kind of music I want to hear in beautiful Croatia! Looking forward to tomorrow in Dubrovnik! Love ya, miss ya, Me