Day 1 Adriatic Coast

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 century, the building was dedicated to St. George for saving a ship from a storm. The current church building was constructed in the 17th century. The church was renovated recently and the interior restored to it's Baroque opulence. Atop the church spire is a "wind vane" angel that tracks the wind's direction. Lunch was at Restaurant Pavel overlooking the Adriatic. Kim had grilled calamari and Lorie enjoyed grilled veggies and beet root salad :) The local white wine was good.

Next, followed the coast north into Trieste, Italy where we made a brief stop at a shopping mall. Since time was short, we headed back to Bled and hope to return to Trieste later in the week.

Back in Bled, we enjoyed our fist Slovenian pizza at Pizzeria Gallus. The pie was topped with Mortadela, a cured ham, and gorgonzola cheese. We were happy to discover a cafe with wireless internet. Smokey enjoyed the mulled wine and 80's music at Cafe Apropos.

From Lorie: I'm enjoying the adventure of discovering a new place and enjoyed the rich history in Piran. The small houses and winding cobblestone alleys were wonderful. All around Bled, we can hear the church bells ring.

From Kim: I love the variety of architecture - from the Austrian influence in the Alpine region around Bled to the Italian and Mediterranean influences in the coastal region. Becky - you have a limestone rock from the Adriatic coast!

---

---