Photos from Ljubljana, Slovenia

The city of Ljubljana (pronounced Loo-blee-yah-nah) is the capitol of Slovenia, with a population of approximately 280,00 people.  We visited on a hot Friday in the beginning of June, and we were thrilled to have our wonderful friends as our tour guides.

Preseren Square 

 The city has a wonderful vibe, with tons of young people and families out enjoying the city.  There is a river that runs through the heart of the city, called the Ljubljanica River, and there are many beautiful bridges to stroll from one side to the other.  The most famous is the Triple Bridge, which is a span of three bridges very close together adjacent to the city's main square.

Triple Bridge

Dancing marionettes along the river

We stopped by a food market in the afternoon for a bite to eat and a glass of wine.  The food market takes place every Friday, with many local restaurants serving up a variety of dishes from falafel and burgers, to Asian noodles and traditional Slovenian dishes.  We sampled a Slovenian pork dish, risotto with asparagus, and my husband found a burger made with lamb meat that was so good my son asked for one, too.    

Friday food market

We then headed up to the castle to get  a good view of the city.  The kids were excited when we came across a man doing calligraphy in the chapel and he made the kids each a bookmark with their names.

Chapel in the Ljubljana Castle

After stopping at a playground to let the kids burn off some energy (it amazes me how after walking around a city all day the kids can find hidden reserves of energy as soon as they see a playground), we headed to a cafe for another glass of wine and a coffee before heading back to our friends house for a BBQ dinner.

Tables full of used books were set up all over the city, and were so inviting to stop and browse at the books in Slovenian.

Ice cream break!

I would go back to Ljubljana in a heartbeat, and it seemed to be a city with a lot to offer it's people.  The people there seemed so friendly compared to other places we have visited, and everyone was happy to speak English with us.  If we had not been with our Slovenian friends, I know I would have had a lot of stress with sightseeing around the city, but it seems hard to imagine being stressed in such a beautiful, laid back city.

My son Ryan and his good friend Val

Beautiful Slovenia

Predjama Castle

Our favorite thing about living in Germany is all of the amazing friends we have made here.  Since our kids attend an International School, we have met people and made friends from all around the world.

Swimming in the Adriatic Sea

We were so excited when our good friends from Slovenia invited us to come visit them at their house outside Ljubljana.  We  visited in the beginning of June, when the kids had a few days off from school, and it took us about six hours to get there from Ulm.

Heaven can be found under a beach umbrella!

To be honest, when I first met this family last year, I had to look on a map to find out where Slovenia is located!  For those who also don't know, it is at the top of the Adriatic Sea, nestled between Italy, Austria, and Croatia.

View from the dock in Piran

What was especially great about this trip, is that it was stress-free since we had locals showing us around.  We didn't have to worry about pulling out the map every two minutes to make sure we weren't lost or spending an hour on TripAdvisor just to find a good restaurant.  In between activities we could hang out at their house while the kids played.

Postojna Cave

Slovenia may be a small country, but there is quite a lot to see and do there.  We spent a great day touring the impressive Postojna Cave, followed by some swimming in the Adriatic, and a seafood dinner in the coastal town of Piran.  I was quite warm while we were there, so swimming and laying on the beach was perfect.

Sunset over Piran

We also enjoyed a day in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and a trip up to Lake Bled, which I will make separate posts about so I can share more photos.

We loved Ljubljana!

I was so impressed at how friendly the people were in Slovenia, and it seemed that almost everyone spoke English.  The kids were really sad to leave on Sunday, and we all agreed that we would love to go back and visit Slovenia if we have another opportunity.

  

Back to Paris

Notre Dame

Lucky for us that we live so 'close' to Paris!  Shortly after moving to Germany, we made our first trip to Paris, and at the time we promised the kids that we would go back again soon.  Well, it took us a year and a half, but we finally made it back!

The Louvre

On our last trip we were able to go with my Mom, and so we decided that it would be great to have my husband's mother, Theresa, join us this time.  Hopefully taking our mothers to Paris will make up for all the naughty things we did as children.

The kids getting crepes from a crepe cart.

Unfortunately, the weather was not what we were hoping for considering it was the middle of May, and we had to make do with cold drizzly days.  I never seem to pack appropriately for anything, and we had to stop into Zara and buy the kids sweatshirts.  At least a rainy day in Paris is better than a rainy day anywhere else.

Arc de Triomphe

In order to see as much as we could in the two days we had, we decided to use the hop-on-hop-off bus.  Despite shivering on the open-top bus, it was really a great way to see all the sights.

We were freezing in May!!

Of course, our favorite thing to do in Paris is eat!  We had so much delicious food, and I am starting to drool just thinking about it again.

Everyone loves the Eiffel Tower!

When we were in Paris the first time, we were unable to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower due to windy conditions.  I had learned my lesson and also bought the tickets online this time.  Amazingly, as we headed up the tower, the sun finally came out for the first time in two days and gave us great views of the city.  We were all pretty ecstatic to be able to get to the top.

Happy Birthday to me!

 Our trip was in between Mother's Day and my birthday, so we made a stop into the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Elysees and I picked out a bag that I have had my eye on for awhile.  Needless to say, my bag and I have been inseparable ever since.

Yummy macarons by the Seine River

Parisians have such a bad reputation for being snooty and obnoxious, but we found the exact opposite.  Everywhere we went we found a welcoming reception, even with having our kids along.  The kids love Paris and French food, and they are already asking when we can go back.  Hopefully it won't be another 18 months!