A Roman Emperor Retired

Almost 1800 years separate my time on this earth with that of a man named Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian.  Obviously, trying to provide any insight into his character would be highly speculative on my part.  However, if I were pressed to use one word to describe this once powerful ruler of Ancient Rome, based on the little I have read of his life, I would go with "optimistic".

Here's my reasoning.

Prior to Diocletian becoming a Roman Emperor, other Roman Emperors had been dying all around him.  Literally.  And, not from old age.
For starters, Emperor Carus died, some historians think under the most dubious circumstances, while Diocletian was the commander of the Emperor's bodyguard.
The next Emperor was Carus' son, Numerian, who, seemingly unwisely, kept Diocletian on as his top bodyguard and was murdered not long into his reign.
Although some suspicion for this death turned to Diocletian, it was ultimately Numerian's father-in-law who shouldered the blame and tried to seize power. But this father-in-law didn't get far in his aspirations, as Diocletian murdered him in front of his troops.
This led to Diocletian himself becoming emperor in 284 CE and he promptly went to battle against his co-emperor, Carinus, Numerian's brother.  Diocletian seized full power when Carinus was murdered by his own troops.
So, clearly knowing full well the dismal survival rate of the position he had acquired, Emperor Diocletian quickly got busy planning for his retirement.  Specifically, Emperor Diocletian, or The Optimistic One as I'll call him, ordered the building of a 30,000 square metre retirement complex near his hometown on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea.

Maybe he felt he had hired himself a more capable bodyguard?


In any case, it was built and today this palace is the cultural centre of Split, Croatia.

What Diocletian's Palace is believed to have looked like all those years ago.

An aerial shot of the modern city of Split.

Split, Croatia was one of our stops on our cruise last November and, for me, one of the most memorable.  We decided to do a self-guided walking tour of the city as there are historical markers throughout the town in Croatian and English.

Diocletian's palace took ten years to complete and he did, in fact, survive on the job long enough to retire and to enjoy it for ten years until he died of old age!

Not long after Diocletian's time, the palace was deserted for several centuries.  This changed in the 7th century when the Roman Colony abandoned the nearby city of Salona, and the Avars and the Slavs arrived to conquer the city and its people. Consequently, the inhabitants of Salona fled to find safety behind the palace's walls.

In the centuries that followed, Split was conquered numerous times with each group adapting the space and the buildings within the walls to their needs.  For example, it was conquered by the Venetians in 1430, and later became part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The city was also ruled by Napoleonic France for a period and then occupied by the Italians and Germans during the Second World War.

Barry and Grace enjoying the weather and the atmosphere while walking along the seafront promenade.

In Diocletian's time, this southern palace wall was on the water.  It was designed to allow boats to sail right into the palace's basement.

Diocletian's Temple of Jupiter is claimed to be one of the best preserved Roman temples in the world and I feel lucky that I got to visit it.  The vaulted ceiling inside is a beautiful piece of work.

In the Middle Ages, the temple was converted to the baptistery of St. John.

The man at the desk collecting the small fee to enter wanted to know where we were from, as he was quite entertained to see us wandering around in shorts and short sleeves in the middle of their winter season.  In fact, we received several comments about our wardrobe that day.  Telling them we were Canadian seemed to make everything clear!

The back of the Temple of Jupiter.

Here is "Pusti Me Proc" street, a mere 52 cm wide, that brought us around to the front of the temple.
The street's name in English?  "Let Me Pass" Street.  

Grace on the steps leading up to the temple.  On the left is one of two 3500-year-old Egyptian sphinxes found in the city.  Unfortunately, this one has lost his head.

Some of the details on the door into the temple.

How many people have glanced up at this vaulted ceiling over the centuries?

These drawings were found on the historical marker providing an idea of what the temple looked like in Roman times.

This is one view of Narochi Trg, or The People's Square, in Split.

At one point, we wandered outside the palace walls and then re-entered by the Golden Gate, where Diocletian entered his retirement home for the first time on June 1st, 305.

Standing at the Golden Gate.

Just outside the Golden Gate is a nearly eight-metre statue of Gregory of Nin, created by the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović.  Gregory was a Croatian bishop from the 10th century who fought against the church for the right to use the Croatian language, not latin, in church services for the masses

The statue of Gregory of Nin.

The girls are hiding his big toe that has been made shiny by many people rubbing it for good luck.

We wandered out, this time, through the Silver Gate and over to the town market area.

The Silver Gate was the east to west entrance into the palace.

The market area in Split located east of the ancient palace.

Our next entry point back into the palace was through the basement halls.  They were interesting to walk through as they have remained virtually unchanged since Roman times and reflect what the living spaces of the palace above would have looked like.  It was this substructure that allowed the palace to be built directly over the sea and for boats to sail right into the palace.  In Medieval times, it is thought that this area contained presses for grapes and olives.

In addition, this space was home to some famous television dragons.  Split was a filming location for Games of Thrones, and it was in these basement halls that Daenery's dragons were kept.

The basement halls of the palace.

Walking north through the basement, we came up into the Peristyle, or the palace's impressive central square, with its original columns and arches and Split's second 3500-year-old sphinx.

Here, we enjoyed some coffee and a light lunch while sitting outside on the steps of the Lvxor Café. Our server, after having a chuckle that we were from Justin Bieber land, gave us a little history of the square.  Even with his strong accent, I understood that not only the sphinx was from Egypt, but so were the darker columns we saw, as Diocletian had a real interest in Ancient Egypt and wanted all he could get that was old and Egyptian for his retirement home.  He also explained that before becoming a popular tourist destination, this square had been very dirty and used as a fish market.

A drawing reconstructing the central part of the palace in Roman times, with the Peristyle in the centre.  Diocletian's mausoleum is on the left and the pillars of the Temple of Jupiter can be seen on the far right.

The girls enjoying the Peristyle from the steps of the Lvxor Café, with an ancient column as a backrest.

Diocletian's mausoleum is now the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, with its bell tower built on in front.  As a steadfast persecutor of early Christians,  I imagine Diocletian would have been most perturbed if he had known what would become of his burial chamber and his beloved Temple of Jupiter.

Lily climbing up the Cathedral bell tower.  It was very high and very open!

Pausing the climb to look down at Barry who chose to stay on the café steps in the square.

The climb gave us great views out over the city.

Here is the southern end of the Peristyle that led to the residential areas of the palace in Roman times.

Our last stop was to walk through the southern end of the main square and into the Vestibule that originally served as the entrance into the residential areas.  I wasn't expecting to walk through to a circular space and it was spectacular, even without the statues in the niches and the mosaics that once would have adorned it.  Interesting to note that just over a half century ago, this space contained the gardens and chickens of nearby residents!

View looking up form inside the Vestibule.

Enjoying this round space all to ourselves.

I would definitely return to Croatia.

Below is our final view of the city before we sailed off.

"QG"

"QG" or quartier général is a term that derives from its original military meaning of headquarters. During conversation class this week, I asked our teacher if there was an expression in french that equates to "favourite hang-out" or "favourite restaurant".  She replied that "QG" is the expression of the moment.  I have never had a favourite restaurant in my life.  I have eaten at many restaurants and there are many that I have enjoyed, but I have never had a restaurant that has made me feel both at home and well fed.  That is until I ate at Le P'tit Cageot.  Click here to hear how I feel when I go to Le P'Tit Cageot. This is a cute and cosy restaurant just 30 metres from our house.

It is a relatively new restaurant that has opened in Antibes in the last year.  It is owned and operated by a lovely young couple, with Roxane taking care of the front of the house and her husband Arnaud preparing the meals.  A cageot is a crate that is usually filled with vegetables freshly purchased from a local market.  Arnaud uses seasonal produce to create beautifully constructed meals that are extremely pleasing to the palate.  We have eaten at Le P'tit Cageot four times and we usually go for the 17 euro lunch time formula that includes a Plat du jour, un café gourmand (coffee with a selection of pastries) and une verre de vin. With the current exchange rate that is roughly 25 dollars, which for the Côte d'Azur, is considered a great deal.  For Valentine's day, Ginger and I decided to try something different and we left the girls at home and headed out for an evening celebration.  Arnaud did not disappoint as we were treated to a spectacular four-course meal.

Our first dish was a Salade Jardinière Legumes.  As you can see from the photo, Arnaud takes pride in the presentation of his dishes.  This was an appealing light salad that consisted of avocado with a lime sauce, surrounded by raw vegetables.  It was the perfect start to our meal.

Next came the Gravlax de Saumon.  Earlier in the day, I had popped into the restaurant to chat with Roxane to ensure that our table was reserved and to appease my curiosity regarding the menu for the evening.  She asked me if we ate everything and I, of course, said "Oui Oui."  I have been known to reply in the double affirmative when I am completely confused as to the what the question is.  This was one of those times.  Now to be completely honest, raw meat and raw fish are not really my truc (thing).  That being said, I absolutely loved this dish of raw salmon that had been marinated in a light sauce.  It was a very well selected continuation of the meal.

Our main course was Magret de Canard.  Roxane asked me how I wanted it cooked and I said that I would like it well done.  She let me know that I didn't actually want it well done, so I said that I would leave it up to Arnaud to determine how it should be prepared.  I am thankful that she knows me well enough to feel that she can tell me when I am making a wrong decision as the preparation was sublime.  

Our meal was capped with a Fondant Chocolat.  This delicious chocolate brownie was topped with a thin layer of a sugar cookie with small dabs of passion fruit infused whipped cream swirled on the surface.  It was decadently delicious.

A rich and delightful noisette coffee was the perfect end to our evening.  This was a bit out of character for Ginger and me as we don't usually go out on Valentine's day.  I feel that we do a great job of expressing our love for each other every day, but I have to admit that sharing such a wonderful meal in such an intimate setting with my partner whom I adore made for a night that I will cherish forever.

Budapest

For Budapest, as well, I will let the photos do the talking.

We stayed in a great area on the "Pest" side, very near this Great Market Hall

The Hungarian Parliament Buildings.  A cold, but gorgeous, day.

Great photo, Lily!

A view across the road from the Parliament Buildings with one of Budapest's handy-dandy trams.

Just a short walk down from the Parliament Buildings is perhaps the most touching memorial I have ever seen.  It serves to commemorate the victims from a tragic time in this city's history.  In the years 1944-1945, a common way for Jews to be killed was for them to be lined up along the Danube River.  They were then ordered to take off their shoes, which were used or sold by their murderers, before being shot.  Their bodies would fall into the river.  The memorial consists of sixty pairs of men's, women's and children's 1940's-styled, rusted shoes made out of iron.

Grace on the banks of the "Pest" side of the Danube, with "Buda" in the background.

Barry and I on the Chain Bridge, which was the first permanent connection between Pest and Buda, that was opened in 1885.  It was badly damaged due to German bombing and therefore had to be rebuilt in 1949.

A better view of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge

A nighttime photo with the Chain Bridge on the left.

Lily and her French friend, Sofia, had the best seat in the house looking out on the Danube when we stopped to warm up and have some lunch.

After lunch, we climbed up Buda Castle Hill.

A pretty corner of the immense royal complex:  the Buda Castle.

Grace and Lily walking along the sunny of side Buda Castle.

The beautiful 700-year-old Matthias Church, with its Zsolnay ceramic roof tiles, on top of Buda Castle Hill. 

The light was so lovely on this winter day, late in the afternoon.

Right beside the Matthias Church is the 19th century Fisherman's Bastion with its terrace and seven turrets.

Here is a sample of the panoramic view offered from the terrace of the Fisherman's Bastion.

Here you can see one of the turrets as well as the statue of Stephen 1 of Hungary who was king from 1000-1038.

We also strolled past St. Stephen's Basilica named after that first king of Hungary, the very same fellow on the green horse above. It was started in 1851 and took 51 years to build.   

It was wonderful to see the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world.  Unfortunately, we were there on a Saturday, so it was closed as were most of the stores, restaurants and cafes in the neighbourhood,

Another view of the Parliament Buildings as we crossed back over the Danube River, this time by boat.

Last photo I took in Budapest as the sun set.