A Tiny Treasure
Known as
Trogir...
Known as
Trogir...
The island of Trogir.
The palm-lined promenade.
Looking out from Trogir.
June 26, 2006
Jen: “So…what did you want to do tomorrow?”
Michelle: “I read about this island called Trogir. It doesn’t really look like much but we can go there if you want.”
Jen: “Sure. Why not? Let’s check it out.”
So this is how we would end up going to Trogir. This island was a bit different than the traditional islands that I am used to. We would
access it by a forty-minute bus ride from Split. The bus would drop us off at a little bridge. After walking across this bridge, we would
be on the ‘island’ of Trogir. Even though I considered it more of an extension of the mainland, it is actually an island.
The one thing I couldn’t believe was that we actually had to put thought into whether or not we wanted to come here. Are we crazy?
Within the first few minutes, we knew this was going to be a promising day.
While my sister had read that this island was an UNESCO World Heritage site, that was all we really knew. I don’t want to diss
UNESCO but these days it doesn’t make much of a difference to me if their initials are next to something or not. This actually didn’t
start on this trip – it started when I was in Japan in January and I just could not get myself to go into another temple in Kyoto. I tried
but had to pass on at least two or three. And for me, I know that there is nothing wrong with this. I try not to do things as ‘checklist
items’ – I would much rather see fewer things and enjoy them. This sentiment would follow me on this trip. I passed on several
UNESCO sites (mainly ruins) in Syria because I simply wanted to just hang out in Beirut. I don’t regret that decision for a minute.
Wait. I’m getting off-track. I’m supposed to be talking about Trogir. Okay, okay. My point here was that having the UNESCO seal of
approval isn’t necessarily going to get me to go to a place. It just isn’t that important to me. I’m sure I’m in the minority though. I
actually know I am. I have come across many people in the past month or so (definitely more so in Europe than in the Middle East)
that are just trying to plow through sites to say that they have been. We, instead, came to Trogir in hopes that this ‘open-air
museum’ would make for a pleasurable day.
It was small and charming and beautiful. There were Venetian-styled accents on many of the buildings. There were absolutely
gorgeous yachts docked right in front of the promenade. There were narrow, cobblestone streets that you can get lost in. Palm trees
lined the walkways. One of these palm trees even provided me the necessary shade so that I could take a nap on the grass. Life
definitely wasn’t bad.
While Trogir has the UNESCO backing, it also has the ‘Jen Seal of Approval’. After all…isn’t that what is important???
Jen: “So…what did you want to do tomorrow?”
Michelle: “I read about this island called Trogir. It doesn’t really look like much but we can go there if you want.”
Jen: “Sure. Why not? Let’s check it out.”
So this is how we would end up going to Trogir. This island was a bit different than the traditional islands that I am used to. We would
access it by a forty-minute bus ride from Split. The bus would drop us off at a little bridge. After walking across this bridge, we would
be on the ‘island’ of Trogir. Even though I considered it more of an extension of the mainland, it is actually an island.
The one thing I couldn’t believe was that we actually had to put thought into whether or not we wanted to come here. Are we crazy?
Within the first few minutes, we knew this was going to be a promising day.
While my sister had read that this island was an UNESCO World Heritage site, that was all we really knew. I don’t want to diss
UNESCO but these days it doesn’t make much of a difference to me if their initials are next to something or not. This actually didn’t
start on this trip – it started when I was in Japan in January and I just could not get myself to go into another temple in Kyoto. I tried
but had to pass on at least two or three. And for me, I know that there is nothing wrong with this. I try not to do things as ‘checklist
items’ – I would much rather see fewer things and enjoy them. This sentiment would follow me on this trip. I passed on several
UNESCO sites (mainly ruins) in Syria because I simply wanted to just hang out in Beirut. I don’t regret that decision for a minute.
Wait. I’m getting off-track. I’m supposed to be talking about Trogir. Okay, okay. My point here was that having the UNESCO seal of
approval isn’t necessarily going to get me to go to a place. It just isn’t that important to me. I’m sure I’m in the minority though. I
actually know I am. I have come across many people in the past month or so (definitely more so in Europe than in the Middle East)
that are just trying to plow through sites to say that they have been. We, instead, came to Trogir in hopes that this ‘open-air
museum’ would make for a pleasurable day.
It was small and charming and beautiful. There were Venetian-styled accents on many of the buildings. There were absolutely
gorgeous yachts docked right in front of the promenade. There were narrow, cobblestone streets that you can get lost in. Palm trees
lined the walkways. One of these palm trees even provided me the necessary shade so that I could take a nap on the grass. Life
definitely wasn’t bad.
While Trogir has the UNESCO backing, it also has the ‘Jen Seal of Approval’. After all…isn’t that what is important???