Days 16 and 17 2023, golf, busses, iced tea and a cat

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Day 16 2023, Tuesday.

A little less sun but hey, it's still paradise. After clearing out the moths from the bathroom, we headed out to the tourist train. Yes, we've done it before but a trip to Bled really isn't a trip without a slow paced, diesel fume filled chug around the lake. Teeth chatteringly bumpy in places thanks to the storms, we took in the new fences and old haunts before getting back to where we started. On a hunt for bled cake we stopped at the shop but there was none so we made do with a couple of slabs of something Slovene (and done ice tea, it's really fabulous) to take back for lunch. Next was swimming. It should have been golf but with no nearby parking, we went to the beach. The sun was variable but Seth snorkelled, Ash got attacked by the lake bled python (😂😂) and a duck got inadvertently shot at by Seth's water pistol. Once they were out and we had warmed our now slightly blue boy up, there was a quick change in the car park (Ash made me and Seth stay with him so he didn't look like a strange middle aged man getting randomly near naked in a car park 😂) and then it was pizza time. I think this might be my favourite restaurant in the world. Not for the food which is fine but for the view and the feeling. No wasps to spoil this party tonight but somewhere along the line we must have mistaught Seth how to eat pizza, seemingly he can only eat it upside down, cue topping on laps and just about everywhere else!. Another supermarket and no bled cake I was starting to panic but we had to leave as it was golf time. A horrible medical emergency on route (thankfully not ours) meant queues and a slight parking panic by Ash but eventually we ended up where we were supposed to be. Crazy golfing our hearts out. Seth made use of some creative counting, Ash tried to teach a six year old about stance and I got a hole in one. Once home, the rest of the evening passed with star gazing and snuggles on the balcony.


Day 17 2023, Wednesday, another fabulous day. Only slightly burned still by our Austrian train epic, today was another day of public transportation. This time a bus to Ljubljana. Surprise number one was that the bus from literally fifty feet away from our apartment could take us all the way to the capital. Second surprise it was twelve quid for all of us. Hopping on the bus we did our good deed for the day, all but chasing someone who had just got off with their phone which was left on a seat. It was a show and steady rumble through the Slovenian countryside, arriving a couple of hours later in Ljubljana.
First stop was for a picnic ( wasp free) followed by a wander through the, quite honestly, fabulous city. We stopped for a drink (to fuel my newfound obsession with flavoured iced tea, it's amazing) by the side of the river near the apparently famous dragon bridge. Seths questions about the river meaning I know that it's 41km long as well as a variety of facts about the sava too.....It was truly lovely (we'll gloss over the side show of a couple of homeless guys having a full on fight!) Over a bridge (some of it made of glass 😬😬😬 ) was the market, milk machine, a pigeon with vitiligo (according to Seth) and all and, above us, the huge furnicular railway up to the castle. I put my fear to one side and up the 118m near vertical slope we went. It was more than worth it. The castle is beautiful, the view amazing and the whole experience a bargain as well. We stopped for an ice cream (and more iced tea) Seth playing catch with his (thank God for wipes) before we took the furnicular back down (slightly less scary this time.) Past the many sculptures, we headed back to the bus station, Seth had a play on route and we arrived just at the right time for the bus home.
Once back in bled, we stopped for yep, more iced tea, this time with a view though, having decided to walk the half mile or so from Bled to where we were staying. A bar even closer to the lake called first though, aash bringing up the rear having been sent on a cucumber mission, according to Ash there were none in the shop this morning although now he thinks he might have confused then with courgettes....this time both Seth and I had the most amazing hot chocolate, most of it worn by me for the rest of the walk back I think.......
Once back, I made tea (proved the smoke alarm worked too, well done me 🤦) and I fully expected a chilled evening. Until Ash, a couple of beers 'silly' popped out to the car for a few things. As he came back in I could hear miaowing..... Then I could hear ash talking to a cat. Then a cat (now named Jones) came into the flat, encouraged entirely by Ash. Jones had a good sniff around, I *may* have suggested Ash got rid of the cat or I would get rid of him. I had visions of it taking up residence in our suitcase and us having to figure out how to get the flipping thing home....turns out Ash had had a while conversation with Jones on the way back from the car...sigh....Jones is now back outside but I'm fairly sure tomorrow will bring a full on Jones hunt!

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