On our way to Split, the second largest city in Croatia, we stopped for the morning in the little town of Ston (pronounced stone) not to be confused with Mali Ston, the next town over. Ston, near the sea coast but still up in the hills, is famous for its salt flats, but the most amazing feature, built 1500 years ago, is a defensive wall which wanders up and over the hillsides for several miles. It looks just like pictures of the Great Wall of China in miniature. In fact, our guide said that a person on one tour asked him (seriously) if it connected to China's Great Wall. A wall from the Adriatic to China? Now that would be "great".
It was also in Ston that I truly first appreciated the Croatian practice of enjoying leisurely cups of coffee. The coffee there is very good but the idea of a "to go" cup is practically unheard of. In Ston we had time to actually sit still for a half an hour or so on a typical restaurant terrace, shaded by a grape vine "roof" and simply enjoy the view, the cool breeze and the small heard of cats roaming around. As I sat there I could feel myself relaxing. It was probably good that my friend Sandy wasn't on this trip. She would have wanted to adopt the cats and bring them home.
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