Piran, Piran, Slovenia
Breakfast was eaten in the glassed room attached to the house — the usual European fare of bread, sliced meats & cheeses, juice, etc. Stomachs filled, we set off for the car park, a 10-minute walk along the esplanade. Our destination was the nearby village of Isola. We parked at the Spar supermarket where free parking is available for 2 hours. Michael bought a banana to legitimise our use of the carpark, and ended up paying way too much for one banana, assuming that the weighing machine was already set to calculate the price of bananas, as the Instructions on the machine happened to use bananas as the example! (He probably only paid $1 instead of 30c!)
From the supermarket, it was about a 10-minute stroll into the old town of Isola. Whilst the village looks very picturesque from a distance, up close and personal one comes to appreciate that it must be quite a poor town.— the buildings need renovating and painting. However, we enjoyed our wander through the narrow alleyways up to the church at the highest point in the town.
We were back at the supermarket well within the 2-hour time limit, giving us plenty of time to shop for our planned ‘supermarket dinner’ that evening.
I purchased some bicarb soda and a lemon, having read that this treatment helps to eliminate the yucky plastic taste in hydration bladders. (I forgot to mention that the water still tasted disgusting when I took the bladder on our long walk through the Soca Valley the other day!)
Hermann dropped us back at the top of the 82 stairs above our B&B, and then drove back to the car park. When he returned, we set off on foot to explore the village of Piran more thoroughly. The highlight was the view from the bell tower of St George’s Parish Church — it’s always great to get up as high as you can to get a birdseye view of the surroundings. However, it was hot work, and so it was a relief to then walk along the shaded path next to the ‘beach’. By this time, Hermann had already headed back to our B&B. The three of us then climbed up the steep hill to the remains of the city walls, opting not to spend €10 to actually climb on them. From there, it was a short downhill walk back to the B&B.
We met downstairs in the enclosed glass room where our hostess had left us some wine glasses, knowing that we intended to dine in on our ‘supermarket dinner’. We travel with a sharp knife, a thin cutting board, a couple of plastic bowls and some cutlery, all of which were very useful as we prepared our banquet of bread, cheeses, tomatoes, etc. We finished off with some sweet watermelon which was best eaten outside on the grass so that we didn’t have to worry about the drips.
It was getting dark and beginning to spit with rain, but I was not comfortable with the idea of leaving Piran without having made one last ditch effort to find my beloved gold cardigan (you remember — the one that Michael doesn’t even like!).
Reluctantly, Michael accompanied me on my quest. At the bottom of the long alley way down to the first ‘intersection’, I went into the small restaurant nearby, recollecting that it was at about this location that I had taken my last photos of the evening — the ones with the moon and Venus in them. I approached the man who appeared to be the boss and asked whether he had seen my cardigan. It was puzzling when he asked whether I had lost it today. When I said no, it was last night, he pointed to a hook just behind me, near the door — and there was my lost cardigan!!! I was so shocked — and delighted — that I threw my arms around him! Poor man — he must have been equally as shocked!
It was a very happy and relieved Merrilly who went to bed that night! I think Michael was relieved to, as he didn’t have to traipse all over Piran with me, checking with every shop and restaurant along the way.
We were awoken at around 12:30am by an electrical storm and the sound of rain falling on the roof. The sound of the thunder booming around us was amazing, especially the bang that occurred almost instantaneously with the flash of lightning. The electrical storm continued for quite a while — I’m really not sure how long, because as it faded away, I drifted back to sleep.
Tracy
2018-07-23
Such a beautiful country -will be adding to the list to see
Hey Merrilly and Michael I have
2018-07-24
Hey Merrilly and Michael I have finally worked out how to read your travel entries! What fantastic photos, the colours are beautiful. I'm so glad you found your cardigan. Happy travels xxxJo
melandmic
2018-07-24
Yes, Slovenia is certainly worth visiting, Tracy! Glad to see you’ve found your way on to our travel bus, Jo! xxx
Debbie
2018-07-25
Happy you found your cardigan Merrilly, never got mine back but have replaced it. Hopefully won’t happen again. More great photos! Xx
Ian
2018-07-31
Welcome on to the bus Tracy. The many photos of the towns traversed today, coupled with the documentation, made this section of your tour very real for those of us enjoying this bus and stop tour.