Spring in Split / Proljeće u Splitu

Today I'm posting more photographs of the outfit you have had the chance of seeing yesterday (in my style share post with Jennifer). These photographs were taken one very sunny day in Split (and that day was last Tuesday if my memory serves me right). I went to return Yucatan by Andrea de Carlo (wiki link here) to the library. I didn't really get this novel. Have you read it? What do you think about it? Is there something I missed? It kind of reminded me of On the Road and just like with that novel I felt  it lacks a deeper message. The funny thing is that the author said in the preface how this novel is the one that even his greatest fans don't get. Well, I'm not exactly the greatest fan as this is the first novel of his that I had (at least partially) read, but I didn't understand what it was about...and shockingly, I didn't make it all the way to the last page. I've read most of it, but I gave up towards the end. That rarely happens, usually I'm so stubborn about reading every single line and I don't do skimming. Maybe I shouldn't even mention this novel because I didn't read all of it, but if there is anyone that read it, I would appreciate a word of advice. Should I pick it up from library again or not? What do you think?

Danas objavljujem još fotografije odjevne kombinacije koju ste mogli vidjeti jučer ( u mome suradničkome postu s Jennifer). Ove fotografije su uslikane jednoga veoma sunčanoga dana u Splitu (prošloga četvrtka ako me sjećanje dobro služi). Išla sam vratiti Yucatan Andreje de Carla u knjižnicu. Nisam baš shvatila ovaj roman. Jeste li ga vi čitali? Što mislite o njemu? Jesam li nešto propustila? Pomalo me podsjetio na roman Na cesti i baš kao kod toga romana imala sam dojam da nedostaje neka dublja poruka. Smiješno je što je sam pisac u predgovoru rekao da čak i njegovi najveći obožavatelji nisu shvatili ovaj roman. Nisam ni ja, a nisam baš neki obožavatelj, ovo mi je prvi njegov roman koji sam (barem djelomično pročitala) i nisam ga shvatila...i šokatno zapravo i nisam došla do zadnje stranice. Pročitala sam većinu, ali pred kraj sam odustala. To mi se rijetko događa, obično sam jako tvrdoglava i pročitam svaku stranicu i ne preskačem retke. Možda nisam ni trebala spominjati ova roman jer ga nisam cijeloga pročitala, ali ako ima netko da ga je pročitao, dobro bi mi došao savjet. Bi li ga trebala ponovo podignuti iz knjižnice ili da ga zaboravim? Što mislite? 

Now, about the outfit.  What to say about this outfit? It is perhaps too colourful, but it is what I wanted to wear that day and I'm glad that I did. I felt very comfortable wearing this. The sunshine was quite strong, so I had to wear a hat to protect myself from the sun. I like wearing scarves with my hats, it just feels right. The necklace is my own creation. You can read about what was the inspiration behind it here. This red blazer is probably the most worn item in my closet.  I can't get enought of it and I plan to wear it a lot this Spring.

Sada o odjevnoj kombinaciji. Što reći o njoj? Možda je previše šarena, ali to je ono što sam htjela nositi toga dana i drago mi je što jesam. Osjećala sam se jako ugodno u njoj. Sunčeva svijetlost bila je dosta jaka, pa sam morala nositi šešir da se zaštitim od sunce. Volim nositi marame na šeširima, to m nekako ide jedno uz drugo. Ogrlica je moja vlastita kreacija. Možete pročitati što je bilo nadahnuće za nju ovdje. Ovaj crveni sako je vjerovatno najčešće nošen odjevni predmet u mome ormaru. Planiram ga baš iznositi ovoga proljeća jer.... nikako da mi dosadi.

One of the things I love most about Split has to be the contrast between the old and the new. By old I don't mean just the summer house of Roman emperor Diocletian (i.e. the famous palace that forms the centre of Split city) but also the old stone houses. One connects these houses with Dalmatian cities almost automatically, right?  The spirit of those early days, so well described by Miljenko Smoje, still lives on. People often ask me to define the characteristics of people living in Split. Well, yesterday I heard a good example. One girl mentioned how she eneded up in ER when Barcelona lost a match last week. That's may seem insane but that's Split mentality for you. If you're going to like something, you'll go all the way, you'll take it to extremes. If you lose a game or if you are not successful in whatever you wanted or set up to achieve, then you're probably going to swear a lot and you're not going to act like you don't care. Like when Goran Ivanishevich said he is going to break the plate if he wins another one (the plate being the award/trophy given up to the finalist of Wimbledon). That was the year when we won the Wimblendon, so he didn't need do that but I can totally imagine him breaking it. That's how people in Split think. It is not important to participate, it is important to win..and maybe just maybe that is not a bad way to think. Why shouldn't we aspire to be the best we can be? Why should we settle for less and pretend we are happy with what we have achieved if we aren't happy with it?  Honestly goes a long way. Sometimes being honest with ourselves is everything.

Jedna od stvari koje volim u Splitu je kontrast između staroga i novoga. Pod starim ne mislim samo na ljetnikovac rimskoga cara, to jest samu palaču koja je zapravo centar našega grada, već i kamene kuće (koje čovjek  gotovo odmah povezuje u glavi s dalmatinskim gradovima, zar ne?). Duh tih ranih dana, koje je tako dobro opisao Miljenko Smoje, još uvijek živi. Ljudi me često pitaju da definiram karakteristike ljudi koji žive u Splitu. Jučer sam čula dobar primjer, naime jedna je djevojka spomenula kako je završila na hitnoj kada je Barcelona izgubila utakmicu prošloga tjedna. To vam se može činiti ludo ali to je splitski mentalitet. Ako ti se nešto sviđa, onda ideš do kraja, u krajnost. Ako izgubiš, ako nisi uspješan u onome u čemu si htio, ako nisi postigao ono što si naumio, onda ćeš vjerovatno  psovati i nećeš se pretvarati da te nije briga. Kao kada je Goran Ivanišenić rekao da će ako dobije još jedan pijat sigurno ga razbiti (u prijevodu pijat znači tanjur, a mislio je na nagradu koja se daje finalistu Wimbledona). Srećom te je godine osvojio Wimbledon pa nije bilo potrebe za tim, ali ga doista mogu zamisliti kako ga razbija. Možda to i nije loš način razmišljanja. Zašto ne bismo bili najbolja verzija sebe? Zašto bi se zadovoljili s manje i pretvarali se da smo sretni s onim što smo postigli ako nismo? Iskrenost je važna, a ponekad je ta iskrenost sa nama samima stvarno najvažnija stvar na svijetu.

Somethings never change. I think that is why I'm so fascinated with the constast between the old and the new. Perhaps it is my way to try to discover what is fundamental to our human nature, what it is in us that doesn't change. Speaking of the old and the new, I love visiting museums. I have visited the arhaeological museum in Split a few times already, but it never gets old (if you are a history lover, I'm sure you can understand why a person would visit the same museum a couple of times). This museum has a lovely collection of prehistorical, ancient Greek and Roman findings (from Dalmatia) as well as medieval art. This museum also has a great coin collection, but I must admit I haven't payed that much attention to it. I'm not particularly into coins, I paid more attention to other items in this museum.  Isn't it fascinating how those ancient stone sculptures seem so alive? Great art is really timeless. When I look at those ancient works of art, I feel like I know the people who made them and even those that were potrayed. It doesn't matter at all that they lived two thousand of years ago. Art knows no time limits.

Neke se svari nikada ne mijenjaju, mislim da me zato toliko i zanima kontrast između novoga i staroga. Možda je to moj način da pokušam otkriti što je ta osnova za našu ljudsku prirodu, što je to u nama što se ne mijenja. Govoreći o novome i starome, volim posjećivati muzeje, a iako sam već par puta bila u Arheološkome muzeju u Splitu , nikad mi ne dosadi. Volite li povijest, razumijet ćete kako i zašto osoba može posjetiti isti muzej nekoliko puta. Ovaj muzej ima lijepu zbirku iz prethistorijskog vremena,  iz doba drevnih Grka i Rimljana (iz Dalmacije) i srednjovjekovlja.  Tu je i dosta poznata zbirka novčića, ali moram priznati da baš i nisam obratila pozornost na nju. Nisam nešto posebno zainteresirana za novčiće, više sam pozornosti obratila na druge stvari u muzeju.  Zar nije zanimljivo kako te kamene skulpture mogu izgledati tako živo? Prava umjetnost je stvarno bezvremenska. Kada gledam ta drevna umjetnička djela, osjećam kao da poznajem ljude koji su ih napravili i one koji su prikazani. Nije uopće važno što su živjeli prije dvije tisuće godina. Umjetnost nije ograničena vremenom. 

Enough about the museum. If you scroll down, you can see a lovely bulding that belongs to catholic nuns of Francistian order. I think the official name in English is School Sisters of Saint Francis. I must have passed by this bulding a thousand times, but this was the first time I took notice of it. That just goes to show you must actively search for beauty in order to find it. This garden is so charming, it looks like such a peaceful and serene place. It is important to rememeber to keep our eyes (and hearts) open, isn't it?

Dosta o muzeju. Na slikama ispod, možete vidjeti divnu zgradu koja pripada časnim sestrama franjevačkoga reda. Njihovo službeno ime je Školske sestre Franjevke. Sigurno sam prošla pored ove zgrade tisuću puta, ali ovo je prvi put da sam je primijetila. To sam pokazuje da ljepotu treba aktivno tražiti da bismo je pronašli. Ovaj vrt je baš dražestan, izgleda kao tako mirno mjesto. Važno je zapamtiti držati oči (a i srce) otvorenim, zar ne?

hat, scarf, shoes, bag, blazer/ šešir, marama, cipele, torba, sako: not branded, nije markirano
dress/haljina: moda in ( it's a local brand, I don't think it is available anywhere else)
necklace/ogrlica: DIY

Time to finish this post and what is  a better way to do it than this? When you come to Split, visiting its promanade (known as Riva) is a must. It is the perfect place to daydream a little. Watching the boats and ferries always calms me down. Perhaps there is something in that image that gives my soul inspiration to sail away (metaphorically speaking). There are ties that exist between the material and spiritual world (sea must be one of those ties) and sometimes there is nothing wrong in relying on them.

Vrijeme je za završiti ovu objavu, a što je bolje od ovoga? Kad posjetite Split, morate otići na Rivu. To je savršeno mjesto za malo sanjarenja. Gledanje brodova i trajekata me uvijek smiri. Nešto u toj slici daje mojoj dušu nadahnuće da otplovi ( metaforički rečeno). Postoje neke veze između duhovnoga i materijalnoga svijeta (more mora biti jedna od tih veza) i ponekad nema ništa loše u tome da se oslonimo na njih.