Thursday 4 September : BRISTOL to TROGIR - Waiting for a hitch

Of course, we awake before the alarm goes off and enjoy a leisurely cup of tea before leaving home at 5.45am! Anxious following the warning we were given about potential crowds and heightened security due to the NATO summit in Cardiff we allow plenty of time. Infact the journey is seamless and we arrive at Bristol Airport with hours to spare. I resist the temptation to give my name as Mrs Obama when we call ahead for our Parking reservation. Bikes packed with obsessive precision by Simon into large cardboard boxes - we load them onto a trolley and navigate our way to the check in. We are almost disappointed not to be met with some resistance or query about how we have packed them. Simon is looking around expectantly for sniffer dogs.  Despite seeing several armed policemen and extra security guards we continue our seamless journey through the departure gates and manage several chapters of reading before boarding. Bristol is pretty fog bound which seems to thwart Ryanair but thankfully not Easyjet. We are only a little delayed and after 2 hours 20 minutes of cramped leg room we arrive at Split. It is raining, but at least warm. So accustomed to trouble when travelling with our bikes we are, once again, somewhat irrationally disappointed when the bikes arrive before any other luggage in pristeen condition in their perfectly packed boxes. We take the massive cardboard boxes outside to re-assemble the bikes and the sun begins to shine. Simon is soon breaking out into a sweat. There is nowhere to leave the boxes, nor to dispose of them discreetly so we leave them under a tree in the car park, near to a dustbin. I hope they are not causing a national security incident. A warm and flat cycle of about 4 miles takes us to Trogir. We pass through the old town and across the water to the Island of Civio and find our room in Apartment Bacika. We swim in the pool (very cold) before a cup of home brewed tea and a stroll into the old town. A sweaty vertiginous trip up the tower of St. Lawrence Cathedral for views and a visit to the supermarket and fruit market for provisions. A beer on the seafront before relaxing on our balcony consulting Trip Advisor for suggestions for supper. We wander the ancient marbled streets of Trogir with its Venetian style architecture and find a small restaurant in a courtyard. We order fresh Brill to share and was it down with some very rustic local Croatian white wine which is verging on the undrinkable! Finish off with fiery Slivovic and we are ready for a good nights sleep.