Sweater weather?!?!

Today we headed north from the Adriatic to the Slovenian Alps. What a difference a few miles and some elevation makes. For the first time since we arrived, we all wore sweaters at dinner (in addition to the pashmina wraps we were lent by the restaurant). Tomorrow is predicted to be a high of 70, with intermittent rain showers. We are hoping tonight's thunderstorms blow through in time for us to actually take advantage of the beautiful surroundings tomorrow with some outdoor activities.

When we were talking to a vintner in Istria today where it was still sunny and warm, she actually lamented the lack of rain and said that it hadn't rained in more than 2 months (a winery we'd stopped at earlier in the trip told us that last year they'd gone 5 months without rain, leaving their grapes more like raisins). Irrigation isn't such a big thing here, so the lack of rain really hurts the vineyards and olive groves.

The hilltop areas of Istria are indeed picturesque and lovely to visit. We stopped at Rick Steves' favorite today (Motovun), to enjoy the views, some truffles, and a tasty lunch. We are sad to leave Istria/Croatia, but at least it's a lovely end to that part of our journey.

Ljubljana, Slovenia was a surprising delight. Much less a typical gritty urban city than imagined (or in any way similar to Split or even Pula, which feel like big cities), instead Slovenia's capital is a nice mix of Italian and Austrian architecture, few high rises, many squares, a hilltop castle, and a delightful river walk area. We easily could have enjoyed a few more hours there (or even another day or two, soaking up the ambiance), but had to settle for a quick visit of only a few hours on our way to Lake Bled (up near the Austrian border). If you're ever in the area, put Ljubljana on your travel radar.

In our few hours so far in Bled, we are in love. Our pension is fantastic (it looks like it should be in a Heidi storybook, complete with a big shaggy dog). Lake Bled is gorgeous and picturesque (even with the clouds). Our dinner on a patio, under a tent as a thunderstorm raged around us (with a view of the lit up castle across the lake lake) was atmospheric and delicious (mmmm...schnitzel...).

We are looking forward to exploring the area more tomorrow, and hoping the intermittent rains are more "off" than "on" (and at the very least no thunderstorms).