Loo, Loo, Skip To My Loo-blee-ah-nah

LJUBLJANA PHOTOS

4 days rolled in to 1!!! (They were all quite similar, afterall.)

We spent the majority of our four days in Ljubljana at Paninoteka, our favorite little sandwich shop on the river. It was inexpensive, on the river, and the food was warm and crunchy. Also, we didn't have too many things to do other than relax and enjoy the setting, so why not sit outside with a cup of tea, eat paninis, and watch the time pass? Long live grilled sandwiches! On our most productive day, we walked for an hour to a movie theater at the biggest mall in Europe just to watch SUPERMAAAN. It was worth it! (I think Gordon kind of looks like the Man of Steel, don't you?)

Another day, after a full day of rain had finally cleared, we walked up the hill to the castle for a panorama of the city and we saw some trash cans that were shaped like frogs with gaping mouths. Earlier that day, I had my hair cut! and even earlier that day, Gordon and I sat in a coffee shop and played Briscola, an Italian card game that we've learned. (We tried to buy a "regular" deck of cards for our overnight bus trip from a street vendor in Croatia, but we ended up with a longer, slimmer deck of Italian cards that is a little different with only 40 cards. As a result, we've since learned two Italian card games: Briscola and Scopa.) In the Slovenian coffee shop that morning, as we were dealing our fifth game, we were very politely informed that it is illegal to play cards in a bar or coffee house in Slovenia. (Oops!) So much for a rainy day activity!

In the evening, we went to a traditional Slovenian restaurant serving up some of Grandma's favorite Slovene recipes called Sokol. (Highly recommended by Astrid and Karen!) We met Isobel, our Croatian sailing amiga and Peter, a new friend who was staying at our hostel and, incidentally, who is also a big fan of Paninoteka. Everything on the Sokol menu had "game" in the title and indeed, you could order any kind of animal that you might (or might not) desire to eat, even, and especially, horse! (They also have a fast food chain called Hot Horse if you prefer your horse burger on-the-go and smothered in nacho cheese, relish, ketchup, and various other unknowns. We only know this because Peter tried it and the man behind the counter, as a courtesy to his customer, paused to ask him, "You do realize this is real horse?") The fancifully translated dinner menu included such oddities as "seakale beets with potatoes" and "bulgar mush". I was feeling curious and ordered the "beets" as a side dish to complement my Chicken Steak in Game Sauce only to discover that it was the same exact garlicky potato and spinach dish that we had eaten everyday for lunch aboard the Vrgada (our Croatian sailing vessel if you've forgotten). Gordon tried an elaborately delivered hanging pot of Goulash. Isobel and I also sampled the Grog, an old fashioned invention of the British Royal Navy, hot rum with a tea bag, cinnamon and sugar, and an orange slice. Walking along the river later that night, we came upon a group playing music by the main square. I'm finding it hard to describe what the music was like... With an accordian, keyboard, upright bass, guitar, and violin, this creative group of five guys had starry-eyed night-strollers entranced like moths around an ambient blue stage. I was one of those mesmerized moths who was so thankful to be a passer-by that night on that street in that city.

Everywhere we went we were meeting people, like the lady who made us a plate of late night falafel, who were young, kind, and talkative. Everythiıng about this place was vibrant! It was a restful place to be with a laid-back atmosphere where even the rain didn't dampen our spirits and Gordon was endlessly amazed at the trend of male capri pants! (Just wait 'til he sees what I got him for Christmas!)

Ljubljana! Aptly named, The Beloved One.

LJUBLJANA PHOTOS