Dober Dan from Slovenia!

So it's Easter Day as I write this- a very popular holiday in Italy...but more about that in another post.

I've been a bit behind in my updates for a few reasons this week- one being my new job doesn't allow for free mornings of daytime television and lounging on the couch and the other being guests!  Good friend Emma and her friend Eileen stayed with us for a few days this past week while they enjoyed a trip through Italy.  We tried to show them a good time here at Hotel Hart and I think they will recommend us to a friend. They checked out Venice, Verona and Vicenza and we had several nice dinners with them while they were here.  Come back soon!

Picturesque Lake Bled

Last weekend we hit the road again for one of our favorite hidden gems- Slovenia.  Slovenia is the lovely country east of Italy, south of Austria and north of Croatia.  It's kind of forgotten surrounded by all those impressive neighbors, but it is NOT to be missed.  Here are a few reasons we LOVE Slovenia:

1. It's cheap!  We stayed in the top tourist site in the country and got a great deal on a hotel.  At dinner one night, we had 2 pizzas (one even GF) and ample drinks for 18 Euro!  

2. No tolls on the roads!  You do have to buy a vignette for 15 Euro, but you can drive for seven days all over the country.

3. The people of Slovenia speak English...and enjoy doing it!  Instead of trying to accommodate several of the surrounding languages, most menus and signs are just in Slovene and English!  I only know one Slovenian word- Dober Dan (hello/good day).  Turns out, I am good at it because the few times I used it, locals tried to speak to me in Slovenian!   

4. The people are friendly!  The people of Slovenia seem to enjoy that you are visiting their country.  They keep it very clean, want you to see the sites and help you do it.  Last time we were there, the hotel front desk worker wanted to chat Celtics with us.

5. The country is very varied- we were in the beach side towns of Piran and Portoroz on our last visit and this time we headed to the Julian Alps.  In parts, the country looks like Italy and in others, Germany.  

Castle Bled

We spent two nights at Lake Bled, the top tourist destination in Slovenia.  The lake was pretty quiet in April, but I imagine it's impossible to get a room in the summer.  I had heard nothing but good things about Lake Bled from those who had been, but it was a bit different from what I imagined.  It's fairly commercialized and feels modern, not rustic and isolated like it looks in pictures.

We spent Saturday hiking up to Castle Bled where we toured the small museum, took lots of pictures of the views and went to the same wine cellar as Laura Bush did on one of her trips here.  We were greeted by a Monk who helped us bottle and cork our own wine!  

Wine Master

Next we went out on the lake in what kinda seemed like a mix between a row boat and a gondola.  I actually wanted to rent our own row boat and do my best Joey Potter impression, but I thought the boats rentals weren't out for the season yet.  Turns out I was wrong and we got a ride on a bigger boat that looked like this instead:

Strange gondola-row boats

After a visit to the island, we walked around the lake, checked out a local wine and chocolate store (where we purchased both) and had lunch at a restaurant named Chillis....which bore an uncanny resemblance to the American chain!  For dinner, we hunted down and found the local pizzeria that served gluten free pies!  

GLUTEN FREE PIZZA!!!

On Sunday, we headed back to Italy but stopped briefly in the capital of Ljubljana.  The city is fairly small and situated on the river Ljubljanica (clever with names, those Slovenians).  We walked along the river and checked out the antique market that was going on.  (By antiques, I mean junk that people pulled out of the attics and garages....) It was also Palm Sunday and while we made it back to Italy in time for mass, we noticed that in Slovenia, "palms" meant any kind of plant.  It was a "bring your own palm" to mass type of place...people walked around the city with palm tree leaves, flower bouquets, tree branches...anything!

The capital city of Ljubljana

In the interest of time, we rode the funicular up to the Ljubljana Castle and got a good look at the skyline.  The city actually reminded me a little bit of Dublin in that it was small and along a river.  We hoped in the car after a gelato stop and headed back to Italy.

The skyline of Ljubljana

Since we've seen most of the top sites in Slovenia, we need to find a reason to go back....anyone interested?!

Day Trips and Weddings

Spring is definitely in full swing here in Italy.  The warmer weather has really made it difficult to sit idle, so we've been out and about on some short day trips.

Last weekend, we enjoyed our Sunday afternoon in the town of Sirmione.  The town is a peninsula that juts into Lake Garda.  It's at the southern part of the lake, so only about an hour drive from us.  We were apparently in the know because half of Italy was there on this day.  It was a beautiful town and we spent time walking along the lake and to the castle.  From the castle, we walked to a grotto where there were ancient roman ruins.  We viewed from afar and instead enjoyed the scenes along the lake.  We enjoyed some gelato at a very popular place in town where, when I tried to order in Italian, the server replied to me in German....so much for my improving Italian!

The Castle in Sirmione sitting in Lake Garda

We've been to a few part of Lake Garda and I am coming to believe that it's one of the more underrated nearby sites.  Tour books often highlight the other Italian lakes- Como and Maggiore.  We haven't done Maggiore yet, but had our ill-fated drive through Como and were not so impressed.  Garda, on the other hand, is quite delightful, much closer and not as overrun with Americans.  If you're in the Veneto area, it's a must see.

More of the Castle

Perhaps one of our most enjoyable days recently was the wedding of our friends Silvia and Patrick.  (This is not the same Silvia we hiked and traveled with....another Silvia.)  Patrick is American and Silvia is Italian, so the marriage was a nice combination of both traditions.  We had never been to an Italian wedding, so we weren't too sure what to expect.  We figured lots of food, lots of wine and a full day of fun.  We were not disappointed.

The ceremony took place in downtown Vicenza.  It was a civil ceremony, but not like an American courtroom wedding.  First, the room was beautiful, as you can see below.

I felt like I was at a royal wedding!

Second, it was officiated by this man in a great sash....(it was also translated into English)

Awesome officiator 

The ceremony only lasted about 20 minutes and involved some nice words, an exchange of rings, the reading of Italian marriage law and a lot of applause.  It was pretty informal and very relaxed.

We then ventured to a 16th century castle in the nearby hills for the reception.  On this day, the temperature was easily in the 80s and actually clear, a rare miracle in this area.  The views were amazing....even the bathroom window looked out over the hills and towns of Italy.  Seriously, everyone should consider a destination wedding in Italy because its beauty couldn't be matched!

The view from the reception

The wedding included some American traditions, such as the garter and bouquet toss, the cake cutting and some toasts, but it was also included such Italian customs as confetti, lots of prosecco, bellinis and wine!

We clean up nice

To say that we ate well is an understatement.  I'm pretty sure it was a six course lunch/dinner, with several eating breaks.  We'd eat, drink and converse over one dish, then get up, go outside, cleanse the palate and start again.  The food was delicious and ranged from quiche and cured pork to risotto, crepes, lamb and beef to vegetables, french fries, fruit and cake.

The menu...bringing eating to a new level!

In true Italian fashion, we were not rushed out of the reception and ate and hung around as long as we liked.  I only wish my wedding was as relaxing, casual and laid back as this one was!  Overall, a lovely way to spend a warm, spring day.  Tanti auguri Silvia e Patrick!

A Little Bit Behind...

Forgive me for my lack of blogging in the month of March.  I have had things to blog about, but time was in short supply at the beginning of the month and then came our epic trans-Atlantic voyage back to the homeland (and I can't write about my trip to Quincy in  blog titled "Life Outside Quincy").

So what have I missed sharing?

1. Amazing ski-weekend with my cousin Alisa visiting from Ireland.  It was a ladies ski weekend up in the Dolomites with lots of powder, sunshine and good skiing.  I don't think I can write about it as eloquently as she did, so for details, see her blog about it:
http://braydenalisadublin.blogspot.com/2011/03/skiing-italian-style.html

As you can see, it was an intense day of skiing (and hiking)...

That's me enjoying the powder on a glacier...

The highlights of the ski weekend included Alisa sampling life Italian style (bad drivers and lack of manners when forming a line) and us witnessing an absolute animal massacre on our drive.  I've never wanted to see a deer get absolutely destroyed after getting hit by a car, but now I have.  

2. Spring is here.  After skiing in all that powder less than a month ago, it's now WARM (think 70s).  It feels strange to me for it to be this warm, but I think that's because I just spent two weeks in Quincy where the daytime high was about 35 consistently and the wind chill made it feel a lot less.  More pictures on spring another time since we just got back.

3. Summer trips- Ski season is over, but our summer travel plans are now in full swing.  Aside from some spring trips to Slovenia and Sweden, we are looking at summer trips to Croatia, Germany and perhaps some other local sites.  Stay tuned.