Brilliant bled

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Day thirteen. There may have been some rain (ok a storm) this morning but as we'd decided on staying in for the morning it really didn't matter one tiny bit! So after lunch and after the storm we headed down to catch the tourist train (is it really a holiday if you've not been on a tourist train or open topped bus?) As we walked down Seth said his tail was wagging, which made me very happy. (If you've not seen bluey this will sound very odd!) As one of my favourite ever places I wanted Seth to fall in love with it too and it's safe to say he has. We waited for the train with a bit of souvenir shopping then jumped on to get to the beach at the lake. The water was surprisingly warm as we paddled, we're returning tomorrow for a full on swim and kayak though. After a bit, the lure of the chipsy chicken drumstick crisps was too much and we popped to the shop. I don't want to say these crisps are the only reason for coming to Slovenia, there is bled cake after all! but hey are the crack cocaine of the crisp world and I just don't have the vocabulary to describe them. We've been dreaming of them for three years and when we found them in the shop I could barely contain myself. Ash refused to let me buy all the bags, he was worried we'd look strange(r) so we've agreed on four bags today four tomorrow and four on Monday (all to bring home!) If I had my way we'd be ditching the inflatable kayak in the roof (sorry Cooke's) and bringing a roof box full back in the manner of Ross and Monica's grandma and sweet'n'low! Crisps bought, we headed to the bar for a drink and ice cream, yet again having to bat away the ever present danger flies. Seth had a dance before we went to catch the train. Sadly we missed it by seconds so instead had another paddle and talked to ducks (not me). Finally we got back on the train and trundled back to bled itself. We decided to visit another shop (I honestly didn't look for more chicken crisps......) Seth had a great time trying to work out what garlic was in Slovenian (none the wiser) and we went back to the apartment for tea.

Day fourteen. Another rainy morning but it soon cleared and we headed out to the lake via the strangest landrette ever, a bit out of town, in someone's basement, it was something I found on trip advisor. We got there, handed the clothes over to a Slovenian lady with perfect English and will just collect them dried and folded tomorrow for about a tenner a load. It feels too good to be true. I'm not sure what misdemeanor could happen with a bunch of our dirty clothes though! Perhaps the biggest risk is totally forgetting to fetch then tomorrow and getting to Amsterdam before we realise. Somewhat bemused we headed back to the lake and parked up near the rowing club Seth was soon wetsuited up and literally leaping into the water. Ash was slightly more cautious as the water was pretty chilly. (I clearly couldn't go in as someone needed to watch the stuff.....) Seth took to his snorkel like... Well, a duck to water. He could happily have stayed in all day long, looking at the fishes and creating stories of what was down there. Unfortunately his blue lips and manic shivering suggested that he was pretty cold even to us, so somewhat reluctantly we had to do a quick change to dry and warm him up. Sadly this also meant the planned kayaking was off for later as we didn't have enough spare swim stuff. Ash got changed in the car, unusually the car wasn't surrounded with small children/nuns/ old ladies as he was doing this (so many times he's tried to be discrete and the worst possible group of people have appeared) I don't think the passing horse saw anything at least! We headed for lunch, in part to get the blood flowing, at the beach, only slightly disappointed that the shop (with its chicken crisps and bled cake) wasn't open (ok I was distraught the other two weren't at all bothered) but we tucked into lunch, unusually not that many danger flies either. A walk back to the car was happily interrupted with a stop at a bar for ice cream for Seth and I may have had some bled cake ? . We headed back 'home'. It was only a ten minute journey but in that time Seth had picked up his French recorder (still no idea what possessed me) and was playing (a surprisingly good) rendition of the final countdown. This was fine until the playing stopped and he said 'I've got it stuck' I turned around to see the recorder on his middle finger. I pulled.... It stayed put. I pulled harder..... It clung on more. Great. He kept playing, finger well and truly stuck in the bottom of this bloody instrument as my brain worked out a plan. Somehow 'the final countdown seemed more apt at this point. We got back, parked up and Ash tried to pull the finger out thinking it was just me being ridiculous. He couldn't get it out either. By now I was debating asking the lady who lives in the flat below for a saw to get it off, having images of this swollen digit getting more and more stuck on. Seth also looked pretty ridiculous walking to the flat with one giant tuneful finger. Once inside we tried soap, that didn't work and as I was fetching the oil, ash had the genius idea to fill from the top via a recorder hole. This didn't work at first but then with a squelchy pop it was off. That bloody recorder....honestly my mum would be finding this all very amusing without a doubt. Tea at the apartment, a face time call to grandma and grandad (got hit by hurricane Seth through the airwaves I think!) And it was nearly time for bed. Seth has loved this place so far ☺️

Day fifteen. After a bit of musical beds last night we had yet another lazyish morning (I love holidays!) Before heading out to Dino land. We popped in to get our now clean and folded laundry on the way. Ash quite rightly pointed out that 1) we actually had very little idea what was in the bag so how would we know if we got it all back...2) we left them no details so if they find anything that might be ours it's lost forever...... And as I write this I've realised that I've not even looked at the bag since we picked it up so there's every likelihood some of our pants are forever in Slovenia!

Anyway, Dino land/world is an amazing amazing place, not least because it's a tad on the naff side but also because they have managed to effectively rewrite the history of the earth in polystyrene and fibre glass. You go in to animatronic dinosaurs, none to actual scale as far as I can see (and looking slightly more flaky than the last time we came). Seth inadvertently took our two teeth from a t rex head that had been lightly gaffer taped on. Last time we came it was the worst storm I think I've ever been outside in so I think we'd forgotten that, as you round the corner of t rex you are faced with.....
Some 'egyptian' 'stone' tablets, a very small mock up of Stonehenge, a modern 4x4 with a dinosaur in a cage on its trailer and then to finish it off nicely, some polystyrene Easter Island heads. It's like someone swallowed the history of life on earth and threw up just a few, totally unrelated bits and fashioned them out of whatever was to hand! Facts, or lack of, notwithstanding we had a great time, Seth enjoyed the dinosaurs, I enjoyed the fact we didn't get almost killed by lightning this time and Ash got stuck in a half dinosaur egg. Before Seth had a play, we watched a '6d dinosaur movie'. Not sure what the 6d bit was, I'd question any more then 2d's if I'm honest, and the windows home screen at the end kind of took away from the magic! Seth had a play, the danger flies ruined the party yet again and Seth made friends in the play area with all the kids as usual. All in all an excellent morning.
On the way back we stopped at a supermarket, not just for bled cake and chicken crisps but I am now the proud owner of twelve bags of crisps too take home...... After a quick lunch we walked over to the crazy golf. The murder flies again found us but we soon escaped for a quick eighteen holes. The last time we played this course Seth lay down quite a lot (he was only two) this time he lay down a little less (progress) and in fairness earned his ice cream at the end. As it is our last night here, we had tea out (this time bombed by sparrows AND danger flies) where Seth made friends with the waiter and waitress, had a drink overlooking the lake (yet more wasps despite the fact I saved one from drowning at the golf place) and headed back for an early (ISH) night.

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