Tag Archive: slovenia

  1. Ljubljana, Slovenia

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    We were in for a treat today. First, July 17th was my Daddy’s birthday so I vowed to make it a great day in his honor. Second, we were going to meet Jessica, a student in my ASU Online Travel Writing class in Summer A. I was really excited!

    The day started out perfectly. We woke up and had a really delicious breakfast at the hotel with the best coffee of the entire trip. I wanted 30 cups. Then we did a farmer’s market tour and bought All. The. Cherries. I know some of you have witnessed this. Me V. Cherries. The cherries never win.

    Our drive to Ljubljana was short and so reasonable. Slovenia, compared to Montenegro, Bosnia, and Croatia, seemed immediately affluent. I could almost sense the Euros sorting their way down from the Austrian border.

    Entering the town proper of Ljubljana (and okay, it’s pronounced lyoo-BLYAH-nah) was a little like rolling in to Boise Idaho or Anchorage Alaska. As of 2011, 272,220 people lived in the capitol of Slovenia and the downtown was so small you’d miss it if you sneezed. It was perfect and quaint and walkable and I wanted to stay.

    John and I checked in to Lesar Hotel Angel, where Jovan was an absolute dream. He led us to our beautiful upgraded room and then left us to tour the grounds and have a snack. We did, and then John was itching to hit the cobbled streets. We had a nice walk about before it was time to meet Jessica. When she was my student, I was so impressed with Jessica’s beautiful and thoughtful writing. When the session started she was in Italy and as it progressed she moved to Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro! I emailed and told her I was headed her way, and she told me she would be spending the month of July in Slovenia. I asked if we could meet and she said yes! She was staying just outside Ljubljana with a family she found at workaway.info, a site that offers room and board in exchange for small jobs. Jessica would be helping the family’s two kids with their English skills while spending a month in their home.

    We went to a delicious restaurant, Julija, and Jessica was a little late so John and I ordered lunch. When she arrived, Jessica and I caught up, then the three of us toured the castle together. It was such a treat to spend time with her!

    When Jessica needed to get home, John and I walked to the Metelkova area, and I’m glad we went in the daylight. It’s a little like Christiana in Denmark–lots of “artists” (druggies?) hanging around waiting for nighttime. I was ready to hit the road. On the walk back to the hotel we wandered into a proper art gallery and saw some beautiful work by some local Slovenian artists. I found a painting I loved, and we were on our way back to the hotel.

    Dinner was at Valvasor, and we had a delicious meal.

  2. 7 hours to go

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    UltraLite

    Only seven more hours before we take off for our flight to England. We decided to travel UltraLite because we will be in six countries (we are now planning a day trip to Montenegro): England, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Austria. That means nine hotels, plus an overnight on a ferry.

    Here are our 22 inch carry-on rollers. Note the UltraLite Patagonia bags on top. John got his backpack for Christmas from Cindy and Larry, and I was so jealous I bought the tote for myself. I love this thing. It weighs 10 ounces, and it folds into its own little pocket when you’re not using it.

    I want to tell you a story about our trip. I taught travel writing online in Summer Session A and I had an amazing variety of very talented writers. One of my students fights pirates in the Indian Ocean. His work was thrilling to read. Another student was traveling in Europe during the six week course. She started in Italy, moved on to Croatia, went to Montenegro, and then to Bosnia.

    Her last travel article was a gorgeous and moving 500 word piece about working a dead-end 9-to-5 job where the best part of her day was stopping at McDonald’s each morning for a coffee. After weeks of going through the drive-through, she became friends with the man who served her every morning. He was from a small town in Bosnia and had moved here after political unrest. She enjoyed her interactions with him so much that she started picking up some Bosnian phrases and started greeting him in his home language. They got to talking, and she was so moved by his story she went to visit his hometown during her stay in the region.

    Her article gave me goosebumps. It was difficult to respond to as a teacher, because she’s such a talented writer there was very little I could add about craft. Instead I wrote to her, “This travel article makes me really like you as a person, which is the highest compliment I can give to any writer.” She emailed me immediately and said that my comment made her feel good. After a few emails she told me she is spending the month of July in Slovenia. We will be there on July 17 which was my dad’s birthday.

    So we have plans to meet for coffee. Seems like this trip is already shaping up to be wonderful.

  3. Europe 2014

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    My friend Lesley and I were hiking to what we call “The Saddle”–a rock outcropping about .5 miles from the summit of South Mountain. She brought her dog Barney, a good-natured Labradoodle who makes me so happy with his swishy tail and droopy tongue. We started talking about our summer plans and when I told Lesley that John and I are going to Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria, she said “you’ve been wanting to go to Croatia forever!” And she is so right! I’ve been wanting to do this trip for about 5 years but could not make it happen. Well, this is the year it is happening.

    But it’s hard to get there from here. We like to use our British Airways miles and that will get us about as far as Italy. So we are flying to London then on to Venice, taking a ferry across the Adriatic Sea and landing in Split. From there we will head south to Dbrovnik, then back north to Tragos and Zadar, then a hike in Lake Plitvice and up to the capitol of Croatia, Zagreb. From there we go up to the capitol of Slovenia, Ljubljana then we stop for a hike in Lake Bled. We’ll drive across through the Austrian Alps and stay in the town of Lienz, then we head on to Canazei to compete in this skyrace. Then Back to Venice airport where we fly to London for a night. Them home! This means on a 15 night trip we are staying in 10 different hotels (oh, and one night on the ferry). It will be a whirlwind, but I’m really looking forward to it.

    We will get to do lots of exploring, and a total of 23 hours of driving! We need help with our playlists please! Let us know if you have some great music to share.

    Here are is the circuit we will make: