We were all exhausted at this point and decided to have a leisurely morning before the ride up to Vienna.  We decided at the last minute to stop there (rather than going straight through to CZ), and better yet - to spend two nights in one place, which we hadn't done yet.

On the way, we met up with my friends Robert and Eva from Czech Republic.  They were visiting Italy on vacation and we were able to meet up on the way out of Slovenia in Palmanova, Italy.  It almost didn't happen because it was relatively late by the time we actually got in touch.  We did finally manage it, though, and after some goodbyes with the lovely Pia and Tine, we headed to Palmanova, Italy.

The city of Palmanova was pretty interesting.  It was dead quiet (weird), but it was shaped like a star.  The old fortification walls were still intact, and at each side there was a road leading into the center of town.  Each road leading to the center was marked with colord flags indicating the cardinal direction.  Pretty cool!

Image from www.mtvfriulivg.it/

We planned to meet in front of the church with the tallest steeple in the main square and actually managed to find each other.  It was the first time I was able to meet Robert and Eva's kids... I hadn't been to CZ for four years, Eva was pregnant with their son the last time I was there.  For lunch I ordered shrimp... which was an experience.  You may or may not know that I am vegetarian, and seafood is an occasional cheat for me while at restaurants.  I wasn't too strict on this trip because sometimes it's just super-hard to do while travelling, especially while travelling with other people.  So anyway, I ordered shrimp for lunch.  These shrimpies came with heads on and were not de-veined, so I literaly had to perform surgery on them... oy.  That was a thing.  My brother (who is an omnivore, btw) was totally grossed out.  Fortunately, there were only six, and one of them was not even cooked through all the way, so there were really only five for me to... work on.  To top it off, they were more than a euro a piece.  Fantastic.  

Anyway, we had lunch, spent some time chatting and getting to know the kids, and then set off for Vienna.  I am really, really glad that we decided to meet up.  Robert was one of my closest friends when I was living in Plzen.  We spent a lot of time together partying in pubs and travelling... camping and hiking in Corsica, in the Italian Alps, and all over Czech Republic.  We have big plans to make a trip with another friend, Vasa, to the French Pyranees for some backpacking one day.  Robert and Eva have always been open, welcoming, and willing to help with anything.  So lucky to have such good friends <3

After parting ways, we hit the road for Vienna.  It was a really pretty drive.  There were a lot of tunnels as we passed through the Alps.  It was so gorgeous... every bend leading to a more beautiful view than the last.  It was just impossible to capture with a camera (plus I think I was driving at that point) so I don't really have any photos of it.  You'll just have to trust me!  

We did stop at some crazy Austrian rest stop... it was so weird.  It was called Old-Timey or something, I don't even know.  I can't even describe it, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking here :)

We did finally make it into Vienna and spent a long time driving around and getting lost as we searched for our hostel.  It was late, we were tired.  I was driving, so whenever Mike and Sam went to ask for directions, I stuck my camera out the window and played with the low light of the dark city.  We did eventually find our hostel.  For you photo nerds... I was flipping out when I saw the Impossible sign. :)

More Europe? Visit Vienna or see some of the perfect fariytale land that is Slovenia.

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Wow.  It's been a long time since I've posted... I'm sorry guys!  

The last few weeks have been a bit unbalanced, but it seems that things are starting to fall back into place now.  We moved (and just finally got interenet connected yesterday, after 22 days, three tech visits to the house, and two different companies), I helped to throw a baby shower, I attended a funeral out of state, I changed phone service, I made some adjustments to the business, and still managed to put in 40 hours a week.  I still don't know where everything is here at the new place, but we like it.  We'll get it sorted out sooner or later!

My new phone number is 352-256-6842, so please be aware that the 585 number will be out of service shortly.

So!  Day Six - Slovenia.

I just love Slovenia.  Czech Repulic is always going to have the #1 spot in my heart, but Slovenia is running a close second.  The country is fairly small but has such a wide range of geographic variation, it's surprising.  Of course, Pia and Tine are pretty spectacular people, so that also helped!  We felt instantly welcomed and like we had been friends forever.  Ah!  So wonderful. :)

So we had spent the night of Day Five at Tine's Parents' house.  His mother is an architect and had designed their home.  We got up fairly early on the morning of Day Six and headed out the door.  Mike and Sam took the Panda to downtown Ljubljana and Tine and I picked up Pia from the salon - she had her makeup done that morning because we had a Beloved session planned!  I have a separate post planned that goes into detail about their session, but for now I'll include just one photograph.

After the session, we met back up with Mike and Sam.  I can't recall what they had planned for the morning, but whatever it was didn't really work out.  It might have been something related to retrieving Sam's bank card that was eaten at an ATM in Cerknice...  Anyway, we met up and headed over to a fantastic Spanish restaurant for lunch. It. Was. Amazing.  I had a seafood paella (complete with tiny octopii and other sea things) and we all ate waaaay to much.  I'm having vague recollections of sangria as well...

We went back to Pia's mother's house for a little rest (read: we were too full to move) and then decided to head up to the castle.  Pia wisely decided on a nap... we had worn her out, and it was 100F+ degrees.  Veeeery toasty, though not too unlike Florida.

We spent the afternoon at Ljubljana castle.  One of the rooms was being used for an art exhibition, so we spent a little time there.  We also wandered around a bit, visited the lovely little chapel, and went up the tower were Tine pointed out the landmarks of the city and different regions of the country.

We headed back to Cerknice to spend the night at Pia and Tine's house.  When we got there, we picked up Amos (their dog) and went to the 'disappearing lake'.  The lake is actually a section of a river that runs through the extensive underground cave system nearby.  As the water level of the river changes, the level of this lake changes.  It changes seasonally and also daily, it's really quite interesting.  Amos was happy to get out and run around, and did manage to spend a little time in the water.  By the time we got back for the night we were all exhausted from our two days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It was such a pleasure to meet Pia and Tine in person and to visit their wonderful little country.  I highly recommend it if anyone is thinking of a trip.

Wanna check out Pia & Tine's Beloved Session?  It's right here.

More Europe?  I've got a drive through Palmanova, Italy up to Vienna lined up for you, or more from Slovenia.

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Sorry for the delay in the posting - there is a lot going on here between sessions, moving house, and a few other things going on.  I will probalby be posting sporadically for the next couple weeks as things start to settle into place. :)

So, Slovenia.  Slovenia is pretty incredible.  It is a small country that has an Eastern European influence in terms of architecture and language, but it definitely has some influence from two of its neighboring countries, Austria and Italy.  Part of the Alps run through the country, it has a little coastline on the Adriatic Sea, it has a lovely capital city, it has rolling countryside hills, and it has a karstic cave system.  I highly recommend visiting if you have the opportunity!

We ended up in Slovenia because I had met two photographers that are also part of the Beloved Collective during an intense, life-changing workshop online.  I mentioned to them that I'd be traveling to Europe this summer and they insisted that I visit them and have a shoot with them.  I couldn't possibly say no. :)  So our first day in Slovenia was a pretty intense 'tourist' day.  We visited a cave system at a UNESCO protected site, which was amazing.  It was seriously like the Mines of Moiria.  I have been in some cave systems here in Florida, but we just don't have the altitude variation that exists in other places to make it into a really dramatic experience.  At one point we were walking on a narrow bridge in the cave about 45m above the river with easily 100m of space above us up to the ceiling of the cave.  Really inredible.  

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the caves, so I only have a few from outside.

After the cave, we stopped for lunch at a great little pub.  I had a dish that was part ravioli with a truffle-cream sauce (YUM) and part gnocchi with a creamy nettle sauce (also YUM).  From there we decided to take a drive down to Piran, a little historic town on the coast.  We strolled around there, went up to the castle, dipped our feet in the water, and had some gelato.  We drove into Ljubljana and spent the night at Tine's parents' house.

More Europe? See our first gelato in Italy or more from lovely Slovenia!

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Day three.  This was the day we visited our great-grandfather's village.  Again, we wound our way through many switchbacks up to the top of an old mountain.  It was surprising to me how dry the landscape was in this part of the country.  In other areas, I was seeing the same type of vegetation that we have in Florida, including oleander, confederate jasmine, mimosa trees, and lantana.

As with our great-grandmother, we only knew his name and the name of one of his brothers - we didn't know their parents' names.  We did not get as much help from the locals in this village, but there was defiitely some.  The first encounter we made was with a woman named Maria Amoruso, which is kind of amazing because we have had several Marie Amorusos in our family. :)  Apparently Ripabottoni was chock full o'Amorusos that may or may not be related.  Maria Amoruso worked in the municipal office and was able to show us the birth record of our great-grandfather and also gave us some information about the town.  Someone did get in touch with a woman who spoke English and who was going to set up a meeting for us with another Amoruso, but we had to leave before they arrived.  To top it off, it was right when the town was shutting down for the afternoon so we couldn't even tell the people that we were working with previously that we needed to get going.  I felt really bad about that. :-/

This was our last full day with AMUC.  We headed back to Rome and stayed there for the night.

More Europe? Visit Roccasicura, Italy where my great grandmother is from or follow the road from Italy to Slovenia and get some gelato (finally!).

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Europalooza 2012.  That was an amazing two weeks.  It felt like I was gone for three months, not just two weeks.  It was so refreshing to be away from technology and non-stop work and to just be out in the world.  I really needed it and loved every moment of it!

This trip was a family reunion of sorts.  My brother (Mike) and his girlfriend (Sam) and I met up with my Aunt Marie and Uncle Chuck (AMUC) who were traveling in Europe for the first time in celebration of her completing her doctorate degree.  We had decided to get together and visit the villages that the Italian side of our family is from, so this would be my maternal great grandparents.  After visiting these villages in Italy, AMUC returned to the states and Mike, Sam and I rented a tiny Fiat Panda and made our way through Slovenia, Vienna, and Czech Republic.  In CZ, we met up with our brother-in-law who was there on business and a few of my very close friends who I had not seen in four years.  It was definitely a type of homecoming for me.  More details on that to follow later. :)

So AMUC, Mike, Sam, and I all met in the Rome airport on June 27th.  Interestingly, it was here that my brother realized that he'd left his debit card at home and Sam encountered a broken ATM (the first of many for her).  We all piled into a vehicle that UC had arranged and set off on our journey.  The hotel that we had made a reservation at turned out to be closed upon our arrival at 6pm, so we ended up staying at a different place just up the road, which was pretty fantastic.  It was Albergo del Lago in Villetta Barrea - a tiny mountain village near a lake.  We had a lovely dinner complete with fresh olives and wine (I had pasta with fresh local mushrooms - yum!), slept well, and packed up the next morning to begin tracing our roots.

More Europe? Check out day two and our visit to my great grandmother's village!

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