Venice, Italy

Rounding out our journey to the mountains was a last day on the Adriatic, in Venice.  It was hot, it was sunny, it was crowded, but heck, it was Venice.  This was Sarah's first visit to the sinking city, and just the last of many for Rob and I.  Definitely worth a day in anyone's itinerary.  This time I spent a lot of time window shopping, the glassblowing creations by Venetians are mindblowing, really.

This time Rob's photos get to tell the story.



These two photos are from our first day in Piran, Slovenia!



Lake Bled & Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia

It's hard to resist the charms of Lake Bled.   Constant year round warm(ish) blue waters fed by hot springs, island church, towering castle, and a lot of cuteness, the words "fairy tale" spring to mind and refuse to be repressed.  We stopped for a couple of nights at the crowded campground on the west end of the lake, getting packed up for a bigger trek up into the heart of the Julian Alps. 

But the sights around Bled are really nice too.  In the morning, while Rob walked around the lake, Sarah and I took the more strenuous route up to a few smallish hills looking over our campground.  They also happened to have great views of the lake, castle, and church.  The route was nicely shaded by trees but it was still hot.  A dip in the lake and icecream was necessary soon afterward, followed up with some sunbathing and more swimming. 

The crush of Sunday traffic tailed off by afternoon, so we drove to nearby Vintgar Gorge, which donated a little happiness to us all in the form of negative ions in cascading waterfalls.   The narrow gorge has been tamed with a boardwalk, allowing us the opportunity to walk over deep pools of turquoise green water and rushing falls. 

Rob was eager to jump in the water, as he thought the color looked appealing although it was very cold.  Finally, at the end of the gorge, there was a huge waterfall with a pool below it.  A few other intrepid souls were poking their toes in and shivering, but Rob took the whole body plunge and soon resembled a shivering tomato.  With a big grin.

Once dry again, the quickest route back to the car was back through the gorge, which was no hardship on our part.  The big tour groups were mostly gone (so was the sunshine) but the walk was just as peaceful!
 

Vrsic Pass and Sleme Summit, Slovenia

Summer vacation this year was a combined journey to the Julian Alps of Slovenia and the Dolomites of Italy, bookended by a sunshiny beach to start, and a day in Venice to finish.  A few days in either country did neither of them justice, but the scenery was brilliant whichever way we turned.  Joining Rob and I this time was our friend Sarah, escaping the dreary UK weather for the first time in 3 years and shocked at the searing heat of the coast.

A counterclockwise circle from Venice brought us first to Slovenia.  A morning of white water rafting on the Soca River between Bovec and Kobarid was a nice, refreshing start.  (Yes, I am returning to the scene of much paragliding goodness, but sadly this time left the wing at home).   The afternoon found us parked on top of Vrsic Pass attempting our first hike.  It took some time to sort out our packs with gear, and then we were headed up.  And what an introduction it was!   The hike had a little of everything; granite peaks, views over the valleys, stunted high altitude forests, flowering meadows, scree fields, gentle grassy slopes, and towering rock faces. 

The route led us to the relatively modest summit of Sleme.  However, our little bump of a peak was in the middle of other gorgeous crags, with 360 degrees of wonderful views.  Plus the rounded hill offered space for hundreds of people to comfortably picnic in the vast meadow...yet on a late Saturday afternoon we were alone.  I'm afraid photos won't do justice to any of it.