Ljubjana, Slovenia, April 28, 29

  We left Montorio (Corte Carolina Agriturismo) after another sumptuous breakfast made by Gemma, including her own apple cake and biscotti. (She promises to send us the recipe for the biscotti) First, a quick stop at the supermarket, Rossetto, for more cough drops and tissues as Barbara is still pretty sick and Mark seems to be succumbing.

  It was not an easy drove to Ljubjana. We hit a huge traffic jam because of traffic and construction until we took a turnoff west of Trieste and headed up into the mountains of Slovenia, which are beautiful.

   The old town of Ljubjana is pedestrianized, so we had to park a bit outside and walk in. We are at the Galleria Hotel, an excellent location in the old town. Our room is very nice, on the 3rd floor) After settling in, we took a walk to get our bearings and ate on the river at a burger joint. It was very relaxing. Mark had a burger and Barbara had a salad with chicken. The pace is slow and we lingered. It was about 80 degrees and there were lots of families and young people out enjoying the summer weather. There are about 250,000 people in Ljubjana and 50,000 students, so it is a young city.

   It is a city of lovely bridges, including the Dragon Bridge. (The dragon is the symbol of Ljubjana) There is also a beautiful triple bridge.
   The next day, we got up pretty early, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, and climbed up to Ljubjana Castle. The castle was built as a fortress, probably in the 11th century, but rebuilt over the years.  The hill is rather steep, but it was not too long a walk. If we didn't have colds, it would have been quite easy, but the colds made it challenging. Anyhow, it is a lovely castle with views of the city and of the Julian Alps in the distance. We were glad we climbed early as it got hot by mid-day.

   We wandered around the open air market and the Sunday flea market on the opposite side of the river. Lots of walking today - all around the old town, over the bridges several times, lots of people watching.
    We had a late lunch at a cafe along the river. (Shrimp salads for both.) We met a really nice American couple from California who also love to travel and we exchanged travel notes. (They, too, traveled via Norwegian Air.) 
    Later, Barbara took a walk to mail postcards and went into the "secret" garden of the hotel. (On 4 levels with lovely nooks in which to sit, loads of wisteria.

And, she got locked out there. Luckily, she had her phone and, luckily, Mark had his on and he came down and let her in. The receptionist would never have heard her knocking out there!

    A nice city - highly, highly recommended.