On our honeymoon, Larry and I went on a day trip to the coast – all 20 kilometers of it. Slovenija unfortunately does not have much coastline owing to the fact that Italy and Croatia took most of it for themselves. Don’t even get Slovenes started on Croatia – they’re not happy about Croatia stealing all the coastline, in addition to the fact that they’re in a battle right now over access to the open sea. At any rate, the modest coastline that Slovenija does hold along the Adriatic is picturesque and charming and . . . a little bit Italian. The town we will be spending two weeks in is Piran – first settled by the Venetians several hundred years ago and as such, the city looks more like Italy to me than it does Slovenija. Even today, you can see Trieste, the nearest major Italian port city, in the distance from the rooftops of Piran. The residents even speak with an Italian accent here – and I can tell that though I don’t speak the language!

On our day trip a few years ago, we spent a few hours in Piran and vowed to come back – so here we are. We’ve got a tiny apartment for the next two weeks in the middle of this tiny little ancient town. The streets are so narrow you can’t imagine anyone driving a car down them – until you see someone doing it. Yet another reason the European auto market is full of much smaller cars.

One secret about Slovenija is that it has amazing calamari. Larry always told me this and I had a hard time believing him until we visited and I tried for myself. Seriously – it’s amazing. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the rubbery, over-coated stuff you get in the states. And being a seacoast town, Larry and I immediately headed to one of the waterfront restaurants where we had some for lunch. I can’t get enough of this stuff!!!

Though it is late September, the air on the coast is still warm and the water temperature is still 73 degrees. There are still plenty of people swimming!