Festive lights and saying good bye to 2016

The year is nearly over and we had plenty of the adventures, travel and other ones, and I can't wait what the 2017 will bring us. I will step in to it thankful and happy.

The 2016 was challenging in every aspect and in positive as well as negative way, but still it was one of the best years ever and I'm a bit sad that in few hours it will end.

Not all the stories or travels were covered. A long list is waiting on my desk of all the journeys I want to share with you and hopeful you will enjoy reading about them as much as me and my family experience them.

One day trip: Šmarjetna gora/ Saint Marjeta hill

We are enjoying some great weather these past few weeks, with plenty of sunshine and low temperatures.

As my dearest is off skiing for the ski season opening, I am home alone with boys. Spending time outdoors and in nature is very important for me, more so that kids don stay in too much as the tension starts to rise after a while. And as I am more staying in kind of girl and would rather stay at home doing many things that I find joy in, I had to make sure we go outside too.

Normally I choose playground or walk in the near by canyon of Kokra, this time I've decided to take boys for a hike.

Family trip: Discovering Italy

During the autumn holidays, in the beginning of November, we decided to take a little trip (has it been a month since then, already?). Normally we stay at home as it is also the time of holidays: Reformation Day and Memorial Day. And as we Slovenes or at least some of us are quite traditional regarding the holidays it is also time for visits and to spend time with the family.

But as the holidays usually collide with the school autumn holidays and this year with both kids at school we broke the tradition (not with out visiting the family, of course) and possibly made a new one and pack our bags and left to the neighbour country of Italy.

Culinary delights: Guest house Repovž

During our weekend getaways for two food is always the main thing.

We always try to chose a restaurant where we would be able to enjoy tasting the food and time we spent there. I'm a real gourmand, therefore pictures are scarce, as never think early enough to photograph the dishes before starting to eat.

The search was, as it always is, extensive, the competition fierce and selection was flavoured.

In October we chose the Guest house Repovž, situated up on the hills in Štentjaž near Radeče, and it was well worth it. This small village also offers plenty of hikes to nearby hills and trips to nearby surroundings. So, you can well plan a stay of a few days and let your self be pampered by the beautiful nature, amazing views and delicious food.

We got to taste seven different dishes, from starter to main course and dessert in a very slow way.

Top 3 things to do in Athens when on a business trip

In July, I was on a business trip to Athens, Greece.

Business trip can be always tricky. You can visit most interesting places, but never are able to see them because lack of time.

It can help if you can schedule your flights in a way that you have at least some time to explore. And luckily for me, the flights from Slovenia to other European destinations are normally not to convenient and the flights need to be planed much broader than the actual schedule of the the trip. So I had a whole afternoon to stroll around the city.

This wasn't my first time in Athens. I've been there many many years ago, but my previous visit was very short too, few hours only in passing.

This time around a had slightly more time, but still not enough to visit more than the usual and most obvious sights.

For the short term visits in Athens I recommend (or at least this is what I've menages to visit and see):

Discovering Slovenia: Brestanica

In October, for our anniversary we always take a weekend off and spend the time alone just the two of us. 

But that doesn't mean that we stay put. No, that means that we try to visit places in Slovenia that we haven't been there yet. And of course try to taste local dishes, so the restaurant is always on a plate.

This time we decided to visit the south-est part of Slovenia as we found a great restaurant, according to reviews, in the area. So, we searched for an interesting place to visit while staying in those parts of Slovenia.

Brestanica, a small village popped up. And we went. And it was well worth it. Thought its smallest (not even 1000 population) it has some remarkable monuments.

With its rich history, its name dates back to the 838, which makes it one of Slovenia's oldest places. A newly renovated castle dominates the place and its exhibitions take the visitor through stories of its past.

Mitilini and Molivos cities, Lesvos , Greece

At my recent work trip to Lesvos I didn't had much time to do the visit around the island. Nevertheless, I had a chance to admire some great nature and two beautiful and colourful cities.

The capital Mitilini is also the biggest city on the island, home to almost half of the island's population.

Lesvos, Greece

I've been travelling quite a bit this year for work. I even got a chance to visit Greece twice in two months. I will start with the last trip as it is stil very fresh.

The Island of Lesvos was known to me mainly from the literature classes on the poet Sappho. Otherwise it never called special attention to me. And I have never considered it as a holiday destination, like other Greek islands: Crete, Santorini, Corfu etc.

After visiting it, I'm still not convinced I would return for a holiday. But as the occasion of visiting arrived, for sure I was more than happy to take it.

At first glance Lesvos gives a mediocre impression as quite plain island. But when taking a closer look, it charms with its diversity and quite colourful details.

As the principal reason of my visit was work, I didn't had much time to visit around. I stayed just outside the capital Mitilini and there was just enough time to see the south part of the island.

Family Holiday - Discovering Bosnia and Herzegovina

I've been travelling quite a bit since the last post and it is about time I write about it.

Let's start with the most recent trip that with took for our holiday - Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslavian country that was touched by the Balkan wars the most.

And the common Yugoslavian past, me and my partner were both born in Yugoslavia though very young when Slovenia declared its independence, was the reason this year we decided to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, as I've never been there before and to show our children a bit of history that they will never experience, but their are still a part of it in a way.

I must say that trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the best holidays we took as a family. I didn't expect much, didn't even think much about it. That is why probably the country amaze me from the start.

The country is stunning and from the moment we entered it, we were surrounded by what it seemed endless greenery. The forested mountains astonished and accompanied us in almost every step of our trip. They extend up to the sky. The nature is just amazing everywhere we went with its green rivers and offers the most peaceful atmosfere and a peace of mind.

The one way to visit a city

I love cities. I'm a true city girl and although I love spending time in nature as much as possible and I'm addicted to the peace and serenity nature offers, there is something about cities that I find irresistible. The long history of inhabitant, the centuries of development and changes, the footprints of people of long ago and the mark they left. The soul of the city.

That is way there is only one way for me to visit a city.

Many people visit cities as tourists, meaning they are focussed only on visiting the most important monuments and places of the city. But they are not aware that by doing so, they are missing on discovering the most interesting characteristics and essence of the city.

So, how can we discover a city without being an obvious tourist? 

One day trip: Natural Park Strunjan

On weekends we try to spend the time outdoors as much as possible. If you ask me I would be perfectly happy inside doing one of many other things that interests me and no, cleaning is not one of them. But my three boys would go nuts (and on my nerves) if we would do that.

Normally we go hiking or cycling in wormer days. So, spending the day at the coast was a bit different for us. We tend to avoid the coast mainly because it's usually crowded. Especially on sunny weekends. Everybody goes to the coast.

There are many prejudice against Slovenian coast:

Firstly, there is only 42 km of it. But since anyone from any corner in Slovenia can enjoy a day at the beach, because it is so close, is a good thing.

Secondly, there is everybody there. If you want to escape the noise and busy hustle and bustle of the day, Slovenian coast is not the best place to go. At this point, I actually agree.

Thirdly, it's considered as not as beautiful shores as you could find somewhere else. But there are some wonderful places you can visit and enjoy the day at the see.

So, the seaside was our choice of the day. And as we are more hiking like family and not the leisure kind one, we decided to visit Natural park of Strunjan.

One day trip: Katarina

On a sunny day like today's there was only one place to spend the first day of spring - somewhere in nature. 

We spent ours in Katarina, a hill near Ljubljana. It is one of those places that is crowded in a sunny day and you can enjoy a more peaceful hike when the weather is not so great.

It offers an easy hike and plenty of great views, lots of greenery and peaceful nature. 

How to visit Paris in one day

Last week I was in Paris for 3 day at a conference. As conference was only for 2 days, I had an extra day to stroll the one of the most amazing cities in the world.

I love Paris. I adore it.

I saw Paris for the first time when I was 16 and fell in love with it. For me the city has the most amazing atmosfere. What fascinates me the most it its history that left, in my opinion, a remarkable stamp on the city itself and why it is so remarkably charming. I mean, it has charm, it has mistery, it has Sartre, and I could go on and on. And for me those are are the things that make me oversee the dirt of the city.

But let us return to the visit. This time I was with a colleague who has never been to Paris before really and we had one day.

One day trip: The Škocjan Caves

It's been raining quite a lot for the past few days here in Slovenia. In this kind of weather it's sometimes hard to find an outdoor activity that would suite all family member and wouldn't pose a dilemma whether to spend the day at home.

Slovenia offers many pearls of nature to visit in any kind of weather or time of the year. And the Škocjan Caves are one of those landmarks. 

One day trip: Kurentovanje at Ptuj

If you visit Slovenia around carnival time, make sure to stop at one of traditional carnivals in Cerknica, Cerkno or Ptuj.

Everyone of them is know and interesting of its traditional masks. As we visited the first two in previous years, this year we decided to go to Ptuj. To see the famous carnival figure named Kurent. 

One day trip: The Peričnik Fall

On the weekends we like to spend our days outdoors as much as possible. Often this means spending the day in nature hiking. 

The Peričnik Fall is one of the favorite destinations among hikers, nature lovers and photographers. 

One day trip: Planica

We are enjoying quite a bit of snow here in Slovenia for the last three days after a very spring-like winter. And that made me thinking about my favorite places to go in winter times.

One of my favorite places to visit, not just in winter, thought it is more winter time place to visit, is Planica, manly known for ski-jumping and a place with the highest Flying Hill in the world (picture above).