Aliways and Ulice

Following on from our Predjama Castle adventure, our guide then took us to the Postojna Caves. There are 1200 caves in Slovenia (just in case you're thinking enough with the caves) due to the karst rock formations - limestone caves (but no glowworms). These must be one of the Natural Wonders of the World, if not the Universe etc etc. If not, I'd like to nominate them. The whole operation is incredibly slick and well organized. The guy who owns this beauty also owns Predjama Castle and has poured incredible funds into these sites to ensure that they are of international calibre. First thing - if you are going to be visit, you need to be aware that inside the caves the temperature is a constant cheerful 9 degrees - so take some layers. The entrance into the caves is by way of Petit Train (yes Nanette)  - after 4 ks of train ride (and oh my, keep your head down if you are over 6 feet, and don't wave your arms around Italian Style as you speak - there are no cages or barrie

Oh, i've had the loveliest of days today, topped off by a lovely meal and a glass of wine. Eating out by yourself is an art, and I think I've perfected it.  Or i just don't care what people think any more. The one thing that most people say when I say I'm travelling solo is 'oh, I couldn't go to a restaurant by myself'. Yes you could. It's character building. So there I was in TaBar, looking at the menu, thinking, oh my, some i can read but this is going to be ordering blind' when the konobar asked if i needed some help - and simply flipped the menu over to the English version... But let me tell you what was on today's tourism menu - at 8:30 I met a group of travellers and we set off to Predjama Castle. This, dear readers, is what I came to Ljubljana to see - it was featured in a 1950's travelogue book that Josh and Frank found in a second hand book store, chronicling the travels of a couple through Jugoslavia. Pred (in front of) Jama

I bought some new shoes yesterday, good walking shoes. No-one seemed to sell socks though, but not to be thwarted I decided to wear them IMMEDIATELY and then my next decision was to walk up (not take the funicular) to the castle. Up a very steep path and at quite a distance. Now i have a blister on my toe... It was pretty difficult getting good photos of the castle because it is so huge. So I've cheated and added a sketch from the guide book. I changed back out of my new shoes as soon as i got into the castle (always have your jandels at the ready),  paid the hefty entrance fee and wandered. Aimlessly. Because i couldn't align the map with the audio thingy, with the signs, with the flow of the people. *sigh*. (half way up the stairs, but a way to go to get to the top..) But in a nutshell - it was the property of the Hapsburgs in the 1300s,   was  in French hands for four years when Napoleon came to visit (read 'conquer') went on to become army

Second day in Ljubljana, still loving it! Practical stuff - the weather. Stunning blue skies but a morning temperature of 12 and a high of 27, although it certainly didn't feel cold this morning. I'm fascinated by the Art Nouveau architecture around the city and have tried at various times today to capture the Co-operative Bank building which is just along from where I'm staying. The architect Ivan Vurnik has taken the Art Nouveau style one step further by incorporating motifs from Slovenian folklore into the decoration on the building. It's just so vibrant and different. A street away (and housing Zara and Mango) the buildings are more renaissance with the domed tower features and statues on the roofs. I want to take you back to the Preseren Trg (square). Preseren was a poet (1800 to 1848) who is credited with writing  the first poems in the Slovenian language (which hitherto had been considered a peasant's language)  and the Slovenian National An

I can't believe this lightening speed internet!  this is the Canal Police Station! Morning in Venice, with a Flix Bus to catch. Economy of Travel Part II. A bus from Venice to Slovenia (Ljubljana) is 19 euro. The bus was at 8:45 so, planning on potentially getting lost, I left the hotel at 7 - the journey, the journey- walk with cobbled rattling bag to the canal taxi (ligne 2A) to get to the bus station. I love it - imagine living in Venice and going to work by canal taxi (because that's what the other people on the taxi were doing). The next part was a bit hit and miss because the buses were hidden and it took a while and a bit of circling to find them. And it wasn't just me - i met an English woman who was circling in the other direction trying to find Venice! Four hours later (and what a gorgeous looking city Trieste is!) I arrived in Ljubljana. Who knew that my hotel would be only a 5 minute walk down the road, (thank you google maps)