We awoke to another fog bound day…so we set out on an adventure with Joan & John Stone and Janet & Carl Sten. We boarded the train in Mestre headed to Padua (this was fairly easy and the ticket clerk was helpful). We headed to Padua to see Basilica di Sant’ Antonio “Il Santo.” We disembarked from the train and contemplated taking the tram or walking. The ticket clerk advised us that Il Santo was an easy, straight 1K walk. Unfortunately, we decided to veer from the easy, straight path and follow the brown information signs. This path tooks us the [View Full Entry]

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People watching was one of our favorite things! [View Full Entry]

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Wow, Venice. Such a beautiful city! The first day we rode the train from Mestre to Venice and strolled thru narrow, winding streets to Piazza San Marco. Along the way, we passed the Rialto Bridge and saw multiple gondolas on the waterways and Grand Canal. We had our first Venetian meal at wonderful trattoria on Calle della Regina named, Vecio Fritolin da Fina. Although we didn’t get pinched, Kim’s hand was kissed and we did hear several “Bellisima!” As would be expected, the night before leaving Venice, we noticed that the waiter, who kissed Kim’s hand and left his name and [View Full Entry]

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We finally made it to the capital city! We spent the day in this wonderful Art Nouveau Eastern European city. Hope you enjoy the pictures. They speak for themselves… Note: We have included some fashion pic’s … don’t be surprised if we reappear with skinny jeans, black biker boots and henna dyed hair ;) [View Full Entry]

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As always, we started the day out with breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we boarded the bus, bound for various sites in the Alpine region. Lorie wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed in Bled. Our first stop was Skofja Loka, Slovenia’s oldest city. We strolled along 800 year old streets, layered with cobblestones. After reaching the highest point in the city, we toured the museum and castle. Portions of the castles have been restored through the years, most notably by Joze Plecknik, Slovenia’s most important Architect. We continued our tour by stopping at the Elan Factory outlet. We shopped briefly [View Full Entry]

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We had a relaxing day in Bled today - no bus trips! After breakfast and a morning of blogging, our day began with hiking around the lake and up to St. Martin’s Church. After searching out the path to the “Grad” or Castle, we hiked up the windy, steep path (about 1K). Wildflowers were blooming all along the trail. Castle Bled is the oldest castle in Slovenia. Once we got to the castle, we found that the castle interior and museum were closed but that the printing room and wine cellar were open. The printing room housed a replica of the [View Full Entry]

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“Dober dan!” Hello! After having breakfast at Hotel Bled, we headed out for the day. The tour today includes a trip into the Kras Region, near the Italian border, a little east of the area where we toured yesterday. This region of Slovenia is the World’s original “karst” area and is where the term karrst topography originated. The area is riddled with limestone outcroppings and sinkholes and an extensive underground lake and cavern system. The fist stop was in Lipica. Founded in 1580, this is the site of the original stud-farm for Lippazan stallions. A classical riding school was founded after [View Full Entry]

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The day began with breakfast at the hotel. Then, we headed on a 3 hour bus ride for the Slovenia Coast. We met our tour guide for the week, Jon. We headed south for Piran, a beautiful fishing village and vacation destination. The small village hosts 20 Catholic churches, dedicated to various saints. Piran was home to the composer, Guiseppe Tartini, whose statues welcomed us in Piran Square. We walked up small winding alleys, past hanging houses to see the view from the prominent Church of St. George. The original church building was constructed in the 3rd century. In the 14th [View Full Entry]

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After a long day of travel, we were happy to arrive at our hotel in Bled. From the plane, we had a sneak peak of the Alps and of Venice. On the drive from Venice to Bled, we enjoyed seeing family vineyards and the Italian countryside. From the room at Hotel Park, we have a beautiful view of Lake Bled. Directly across the lake, atop the hill is Castel Bled. A beautiful old church sits on an island in the middle of the lake. With little sleep but lots of energy, we are off and anxious do a little exploring. [View Full Entry]

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We've decided to share our adventure with an additional traveling companion :) Our journey begins Saturday morning, February 16th. Check back soon to join the fun! [View Full Entry]

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