Ljubljana

 Waking up to a bright, sunny day, (and I mean bright!), we decided we’d take a run into Ljubljana to check out the city. It seemed like we hadn’t seen the sun for weeks but in fact it was only about 8 days.

First obstacle was our car was covered in ice! We had to try scraping it off, rubbing it off, using the wipers, putting on the hot demister, and eventually I went back into the house and found a squeegee when wet with hot water did the trick. It was -2C, the coldest so far. Fresh snow had fallen on the mountains and it was a beautiful drive into Ljubljana apart from the “closed road”. We thought we’d try it again and drive on the footpath as we had been doing previously, but it was actually being excavated by a huge digger, so we had to turn around in the narrow road and try to find an alternate way around ourselves- no DETOUR signs here, and the GPS was no help at all, again.

We arrived into the city, well the suburbs actually, which were just masses of unit blocks, and traffic! We kept following the signs to the Centre, and tried to find somewhere to park. Keeley pulled into a parking lot, but the turn was so tight the car wouldn’t fit so we had to wait till the traffic stopped for us to reverse out, we didn’t think there were any spots left anyway! Then saw a sign to the Castle, so thought we’d find a park there. We eventually spied a parking lot and pulled in and parked. There was no parking attendant or meters- it turned out to be a private parking area for the apartment blocks. We took note of our surroundings so we could find our way back to our car, and headed up, up, up to the castle. There were lots of steps, and I was happy I had my stick to help me up.

We came through the gate into a huge courtyard, and found the toilets down below, many, many stairs down below. Then we bought tickets to the castle- 6 euro was a fair entry price- we thought it entitled us to just the castle, but thought we’d climb the tower- more stairs- as it was such a clear day and the view would be spectacular, and spectacular it was. Worth every stair! Down again and checked out the Chapel, which was also the Scriptorium, and had our names written in 15^th century writing, similar to Old English, before heading to the coffee shop for a bite to eat. I couldn’t choose between the berry tart and the pina colada mousse so bought both, as well as a cup of cappuccino. Keeley chose a chocolate pie, two little home made chocolaty things and a cup of hot chocolate, which was so thick she thought she had to pour water in it as she was given a glass of water as well. It turned out the water was just to wash all the chocolate down, as her choices were so rich! Mine were just simply mouth-wateringly delicious. Best sweets since Paris, and much cheaper! The whole morning tea (which was actually our lunch) was less then 15 euro.

We staggered out to the courtyard to venture down to the toilets again. As soon as I got to the stairs, I realized I had left my stick in the café, so had to walk all the way across the courtyard to retrieve it from the café. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on!

We prepared to walk down the mountain again, when Keeley suggests we try the funicular. You’ll know how much I wasn’t looking forward to that walk down, when I tell you that I agreed! It might be a faster and more painless way down. We followed the signs to the entrance, and Keeley used our castle tickets to get through the turnstiles. Unbelievably the barcodes worked even though we hadn’t purchased tickets to the funicular either!  Maybe, they give you the same ticket no matter how much you pay for it. The tower and the funicular were supposed to be extra!

We waited for the cable car, or whatever it is called, to come up; Keeley- with excitement, she loves things like this (she must be related to Aunty Rel!) and me with trepidation and a small amount of fear. We started talking to a couple of English guys, one of whom was actually worse than me (he wasn’t even game enough to climb the tower) but we chatted all the way down, which made the ride seem quick. We left them after they had taken a photo of us with a kangaroo (a statue, not a real one!)

We had seen markets along a canal from the top of the tower, and started walking in that direction. We found the canal and kept walking, soaking up the atmosphere of what must be the old city- very pretty! We eventually came to the markets and purchased a cup of hot mulled wine to go. It was hot, and burned all the way down, but it did warm us up form the inside. (It was bloody freezing!) Keeley bought some Christmas soaps from one stall where the woman picked us as Aussies after two words! “How much?” She told us she’s visited Australia 10 years ago, but still we were amazed that she picked us immediately. She spoke English very well, not like you would expect from a Slovenian stallholder at all. Further along, Keeley bought an Advent calendar from another gentleman who had only a smattering of English. Both gave her hand-written receipts!

We took our bearings from the mountain on which the castle stood and decided we were more than half way round, and if we just keep walking round the mountain we’d come to where we’d parked our car, which we did, but it was a LONG way round, maybe 3-4 kilometres all together. My feet were starting to protest, my knees and back joined in, and eventually we reached the car. I was so pleased to get in, sit down and activate my massage seat!

Keeley decided to pull into the Hofer on he way home to buy mayonnaise for her pasta tonight. I waited in the car. I did venture out to take a couple of photos of the snow-capped mountains, but quickly retreated to the warmth of the car. The sun was going down and it was becoming a little chilly. :-)

The road was still completely closed but we managed to get around it without getting lost (we simply took no notice whatsoever of the GPS!) and arrived safely back to our warm mansion, and parked right in front of the front door for two reasons- one so we could easily load the car in the morning and two- so the overhang might prevent the worst of the ice forming on the car. We weren’t home long when the doorbell rang.  I opened it to a woman asking me to move the car. She was our neighbour- she lived in the apartment attached to the side of the house which we hadn’t even noticed existed! We had been coming and going in via our back door, as the electronic front door was too much even for Keeley.

Keeley cooked her pasta for dinner- I have to admit the mayonnaise was delicious and I cooked my sausages and vegetables- beans, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. I could only eat one of the sausages, so left the rest for Luka’s dog. Then off to the utility room (laundry) to wash all of our dirty clothes, as this will be the last wash we do before Keeley goes home. We are both starting to feel sad that she will be going home in just a week- she’s getting worried about leaving me on my own, and I’m getting panicky about being on my own. We’ve had such a fantastic trip together, just the two of us, and only 2 spats the whole time!

We’re off to Venice tomorrow, which was a last minute decision, as I was planning on having 4 nights in Lake Como.  We were so close to Venice I couldn’t resist. I love Venice! We now have just two nights in Lake Como before heading back to Paris where Keeley has a very long 3-flight trip back home and I fly to Istanbul.