Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Lake Balatan
We are staying in Keszthely, it is on Lake Balatan in Hungary. Yesterday we drove around the lake.
Slovenia 10 & 11 May
Slovenia is a tiny country so we are staying right in the middle of it and can visit all over each day! Our apartment is in the Snovik Thermal Spa - and there are pools for soaking in thermal water and an outdoor pool with water slides. It is in the middle of a forest/farming area in the Kamniske Alps and very beautiful. We are only 35km from Ljublijana, the capital. Yesterday we visited the Julian Alps - a town called Bled and then Bohinj. The lakes are beautiful and there are castles and churches everywhere. You see lots of hayracks called kozolecs - and the farmers are making hay right now. We have visited Ljublijana twice - we took a funicular up to the castle - it is on a hill in the middle of the city. The dragon is the symbol of the city and there is a dragon bridge, a triple bridge and a Cobbler's bridge. For dinner last night I had Tyrolean soup with semolina balls - tirolska juha z zdrobovimi kroglicami. I went swimming in the pool today but the water was cold outside and the water slide was slow but fun.
Istria Peninsula - 8 & 9 May
This is called the 'new Tuscany' and is very beautiful - we drove to Pisan,a fishing village on Slovenia's tiny coastline. I had lots of fun climbing on the rocks along the sea front. Then we drove to Croatia and visited Porec in the afternoon. Porec was full of old buildings from the 15th century and huge old cobblestones from Roman times - it was called Parentium by the Romans. We stayed in Rovinj for the night and the next day we drove around the Istrian peninsula to Slovenia. My brother bought a piccolo in Rovinj and my Mum bought boreka - a cheese pie. We stopped in a rest area - they had goats in little pens.
A Day in Venice 7 May
So many pigeons in Piazza San Marco (aka Pigeon Square). We bought potato chips to give to the pigeons because people aren't allowed to sell pigeon food anymore. Pigeons flew onto our arms, shoulders, hands and heads. They ate the chips in a few nano seconds and flew back down to the ground. The only cars in Venice are boats. Venice is full of canals and crumbly, old buildings but it's really neat. Venice is also the city of the masks - there are lots of masks for sale - cheaper ones on the market stalls and beautifully crafted ones in special shops. Some of them are very unusual - there is a carnival every year where everyone in Venice wears masks. After a lot of searching we bought a beautiful black mask. I hope I can keep it safe for when I get home.
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