Ljublana Day Trip 

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Woke up to get breakfast and on the 8 am boat back to our bus.  Church bells are ringing in the distance as we left.  It was such a Mediteranean moment, ringing church bells and sunrise against the back drop of this Adriatic town.   Drove to Ljubljana today.   I had no idea what to expect visiting Ljubljana.   Arriving to town, it looks like a typical big city, it is the capital of Slovenia.  Oliver parked the bus and we were off walking to an older part of town.  A vibrant square and streets going every which way along the Ljubljanica river.   

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Bikes and and pedestrians are everywhere.   We began our walking tour at an open air market.  WOW!  It's Friday and the market was filled with shoppers buying their food for the day, local workers enjoying lunch break and creating their version of "Aloha Friday." We opted to leave the rest of the walking tour and just hang out at the market.  Another great thing about a Rick Steves tour.  We can leave and do our thing, just be back at the gathering point on time.  No offense to the planned walking tour, but the market was where it was at for me.  This is Europe through the back door and how we wanted to experience one of our last days on the tour.   

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I bought hand knitted woolen socks from a grateful lady whose grandmother knits them.  These were definitely hand made unlike the mass produced socks seen at various tourist type shops.    She even gave Jim a free pair after I bought 5 pairs to give as gifts.  They weren't inexpensive, but the quality and uniqueness was priceless.   This was one of the more delightful interactions I had on the trip.  The gratitude of this lady when we appreciated the handiwork of her grandmother.  Appreciation has no language barriers. 

We had a glass of wine, the same Bulls Blood wine we had in Eger which we loved, and continued walking through the stands.   We continued down a nearby street and found Romantika—a real Gelato stand—I had local flavors-  yum.  We continued down the River Walk.  Ljubljana exceeded our expectations.  We only had about 4 hours there and decided it would be a great place to spend another day or two on a future trip.  

Drove to Lake Bled via Saso’s village.  How fun to see where our tour guide lives.  Elan skis are made here, too.  We passed the Elan factory on the way into the village.  

Arrived to hotel at Lake Bled.  Dinner on our own and we went to the restuarant Saso pointed out as we drove through the town.   With Saso living so close by, he knows where to go.  My pasta dish was a yummy mushroom truffle sauce spaghetti.  Jim had risotto.  Nice wine, beautiful evening.  Back to Hotel.