Le Vie en Rose

Arc de Triomphe

Erin, looking very Parisian.

Look what I found!

View from the Arc de Triomphe. This was taken after nine in the evening--it takes a long time to get dark here in the spring!

Bookstore where Hemingway and other famous authors borrowed books. Apparently, they still house aspiring writers upstairs?!

It's so much more friendly with two

Erin at Santa Maria in Maggiore, just down the street from where we're staying.

Me in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

Erin and I met up in Rome on Saturday, and have been taking the city by storm since then--more or less! It is great fun to have a travel buddy once more, and I'm very excited not only for tomorrow's adventures, but also for our next port of call (hint: it's sometimes referred to as the City of Light).

I'm just waiting on the sun . . .

Awesome restaurant. What you can't see in this picture though is that there's a café pretty much directly across from it called Romeo.

Not sure if this really is the Shoe Bridge, but check out all those shoes!

Ljubljana by night.

Never found out what the procession was for. Cathedral of St. Nicholas to the right.

Great market! So many fresh fruits and vegetables, it makes me wish I had a kitchen.

The Dragon Bridge. Interesting legend surrounding this bridge. Look it up if you dare ;)

Franciscan Church of the Annunciation in Presernov trg (square).

I understand this square is the place to be. And there is usually something interesting to see.

I keep hoping for a flash mob ;)

Lilacs in April . . . Makes me think of T. S. Eliot and "The Wasteland."

Where the work gets done. Or tries to.

Funicular. Don't really understand how that word got chosen, but it is kinda fun! I took it on the way down from the castle.

Ljubljana Castle, which broods over the city very impressively.

Sunshine! And cool trees.

Happened across a youth symphony's performance.

Sculpture of Mahler.

Still trying to figure out what this is supposed to signify?

Saw this same face a couple places and it intrigued me.

Lake Bled.

A duck. And Bled Castle.

Curious how the skiing would be. Doesn't seem like the elevation could be very high.

Island with church (of which I forget the name. I didn't actually go visit it.)

Wondering how many stairs I've walked over the course of this trip. If I'd been thinking ahead and yet completely insane, maybe I would have kept track of how many miles high I could have climbed with all the stairways I've ascended.

The real deal.

Can't say I loved the museum (I'm just a bit museumed out, I think), but I thought this plaque was very thought-provoking.

You can take a gondola-type boat (pletna) and a man will row you over to the island.

Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!" ~ Psalm 66:3a

Believe it or not, this is a relatively short bus ride (30 minutes? / 12 kms?) from Ljubljana.

Chickens!

In the background is my destination, Smarna gora (669 meters high).

Self-portrait :P

I had a bit of trouble knowing where the trail was at first, until I figured out that these bulls-eyes marked the way.

What some of the path looked like near the top.

But the view was worth the sweat.

And there's even a church and a couple places to get food / drink.

Can you see the real mountains? Makes my hike look not quite as impressive.

Slovenia has been an enjoyable change of pace from Italy. I'm picking up one or two phrases of Slovene, but very grateful that so many people speak English!