Natural Beauty of Slovenia

Days 1 & 2 - Piran to Ljubljiana 

Our overnight flight ended with a fantastic view of the Alps from 30,000 feet.  Somehow the peaks are still covered in snow.

Then, as we landed we got a beautiful view of Venice.  If you can zoom in to this image, you can really see everything!

After a two hour drive on the highway, we arrived in Piran.  First let me say the roads here are spectacularly better than home.  Every road seems to be freshly paved, no potholes in sight, and we watched them building a new overpass using the coolest equipment we don't have at home.

Back to Piran, we arrived at our place in Portoroz, which was this super pretty little neighborhood, and took a 10 minute bus ride into Piran.  There is no driving in Piran becuase it's just a town of little cobblestone streets. But man was it pretty!

Little cobble stone streets reminded us of Uzes a little.

I love old doors

Beautiful Church overlooking the town

I was so surprized by the beauty of this church inside.

View from the church steps.

As do many of these towns, there is a square where town gatherings happen, while we were there there was a band playing Slovenian music, which kind of reminded me of Turkish music a little.  It was like my theme music :) 

And we enjoyed a little lunch in the square, too.

Next we tackled the town walls.  The city is built on a peninsula, so there was this beautiful, tall wall all along the border with the mainland.  We climbed up and walked along it for some stunning views.

 

Looking back at the mainland

After the day of exploring, we went back to our apartment to freshen up, then enjoyed a dinner at a little local place that was delicious and, like everything here, so inexpensive, and hit the sack hard! We were exhausted.

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast in our town of Portoroz, which reminded us a bit of Palma or Bodrum, but on a smaller scale.

Breakfast! (It's just iced coffee)

After breakfast, our first stop was one of the over 10,000 caves in tiny Slovenia. This one is set up for tourists and is 25km deep. 

The building at the entrance was even pretty, this place is just lovely!

entrance to the cave

Once inside, we saw the coolest formations.  Millions of years ago, this was all underwater, and as the water receded, these caverns were left. And as the waters in the earth dripped down, they deposited minerals (limestone, calcium, iron) creating these crazy rock formations.  It takes 20-30 years for these rocks to grow 1mm.  Insane! 

Next we headed to Pradjama Castle, which was built right into one of these cave systems.  The castle was an impenetrable fortress, and they used the the cave part of the castle to hide and to come out another side for provisions while under attack. 

Lunch first

They had rooms set up as they would have been then, with original furniture and all.

You can see where natural cave wall and man made wall meet.

Leading to the cave part of the castle, they added a drawbridge for extra security

Cave part of the castle, where they would hide when necessary. 

By the way, this was our tiny car that Jason hates! 

Once we finished enjoying the castle, we headed to Ljubljana, which Jason remembers so fondly, but was worried it was not what he remembered from 17 years ago.  As we pulled up to our Airbnb, his fears were really growing.  The neighborhood was kind of sketchy.  The apartment itself was clean and modern and had all of the amenities it said it would, but really, it was not what we wanted for 2 nights, so we just ate the money we spent on that place and booked a fabulous hotel we found right in the center of town.  As I was checking in, they said Jason stayed here before! He didn't remember this was the place he stayed, but it was! Our room was on the top floor with a huge balcony and a spectacular view! Well worth the change!

The View from our balcony was breathtaking!

After freshening up, we took to the streets for an evening on the town.  Man is this town pretty, I can't wait to stroll around tomorrow! There was some food festival going on, so we decided to take part for dinner.

 

Then we walked the streets and hit a few cafes for some wine and beer and went to bed.  Tomorrow we will properly explore this whole city, it's churches, castles, bridges, and all! 

Flying Tips from Frequent Flyers

Jade and me in the new first class pods.

As people who fly a lot, we have a few tips for long flights.

Before leaving

First of all, when you book your flight, check Seat Guru to find your best seat.  The website is awesome and this way, you'll know just where to sit.  Then make sure you check in online to save time at the airport.

Now, before leaving for the plane, I like to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.  I use argon oil all over my body, followed by a body moisturizer, and I put a nice facial moisturizer on, too.  I wear very little makeup on the plane, because it's likely going to be all over my face.  If I'm going to want makeup on when I land, I'll bring it with me and apply in the seat before landing. (This only goes for a long flight, for short flights I will wear makeup.)

I also make sure I pack the following before leaving for the aiport:
- I'm very light sensitive when I sleep, so I bring an eye mask
- Jason is sensitive to noise, so he brings noise cancelling headphones
- Again, the planes are so drying, I bring facial moisturizer and lip balm to reapply as needed
- This one should go without saying, but hand sanitizer, and use it OFTEN.  Everything you touch on the plane has been touched by hundreds if not thousands of people
- Water is very important.  Buy a big bottle after security
- I also eat a lot when I'm bored, so I pack lots of healthy food: fruit, veggies, nuts and protein bars

How to dress
I remember when we used to get dressed up to fly.  Now people literally go in their pajamas (gross) or sweatsuits.  Just a tip, they will never upgrade someone dressed sloppily to first class.  Never.  It's in the rules.  Here's my favorite outfit on a long flight (it's what I'm wearing in the picture above):

- Think layers! a loose fitting, comfortable tee shirt or tank with a black cardigan

- A large black pashmina which can double as a blanket or pillow

- Leggings are super comfy and fashionable

- A leather jacket or blazer

- Flats or riding boots.  My feet swell, so now is not the time for pumps, and sneakers are only for the gym.

- Huge sunglasses.  If I'm not wearing makeup, or I've gotten puffy on the plane, I just like to hide behind large sunglasses

Side Note:  While flying I like to keep to myself and wear headphones and read.  Everyone has their favorite way to fly, but for me, I make a playlist that will get me in the mood for my destination, load it onto my ipad, and read while listening.  It's one of the few times I'm not working, so I like to take advantage.

Airplane Etiquette 
We always know the amateurs because they have no idea about Airplane Etiquette.  Don't be that guy! 

- Wait for your row or boarding zone to be called, and wait someplace else, not around the gate entry.  Don't be rude.  I know the overhead space is a premium and with charges for checked bags, everyone wants to carry-on, but if you get onto the plane and can't find space, hand your bag to the flight attendant.  You might be lucky enough to have your bag gate checked, which means it will be waiting for you as soon as you get off the plane.   Even better!

- When you board, put your bag in the overhead quickly and get into your seat, you are holding up the boarding of everyone when you take forever to find the perfect spot for you bag.  Also, if you are behind someone having trouble getting their bag into the overhead bin, help them out.  Everyone behind you will thank you.  One final note about overhead bins, please put your bag in the general vicinity of your seat, not in the first bin at the front of the plane when your seat is in the back.  What will the people in front do?  Go to the back of the plane to put their bags on?  Come on!

- Once you've done that, sit down, turn off your phone, and sit patiently.  The flight won't take off until that's done and it's YOU keeping the rest of us from going.  Don't go to the restroom, don't go talk to your friend 5 rows back, don't talk on the phone and have the flight attendant tell you 5 times to turn it off.

- Now that you're in the air, someone asks if you can trade spaces.  Here's the tip, never ask someone in an aisle or window if they want to trade for your middle seat.  Not going to happen.  Instead, try to trade like seats for like seats.

- Armrests:  The person in the middle seat gets both armrests.  Period.  That's the rule.  If you are in the aisle seat or the window seat, you can lean away.

- If you need to go to the restroom during a flight, please don't use the seats in front of you as your crutch.  It's not at all fun to be woken up by the shaking of your seat by someone grabbing it by your headrest and shaking you.  Also, try not to bump or kick the seat in front of you if you can at all help it.  (This also goes for movie theaters, but that's another post).  And don't forget those touchscreens on the backs of the headrests, don't pound to hard on those either.

That's all I can think of for now.  Happy Travels!
~Sue