Posts
21st-23rd Feb 2010
The first time my Rollas experienced snow was in Slovenia...
pictures taken in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Day 1
THE TRAIN RIDE
window of cafe at train station in Nova Gorica
It started with an incredibly beautiful journey on the "happy train" from the station in Nova Gorica, the Slovenian border town with Italy's Gorizia. The train fare was merely €5 but if you are stowaways in my Lucky Strike tin box, you pay nothing.
Here are some pretty awesome pictures taken by FaiZ , all from the happy train. Yes, believe it and enjoy:
Here are some pretty awesome pictures taken by FaiZ , all from the happy train. Yes, believe it and enjoy:
The majestic River Soca
1st sign of snow
As we go higher..
An incredibly taken shot
(enlarge it to see what I mean)
Sheds
Train stations
Day 2
BLED
Life-size dollhouses
(where my Rollas wish they can spend the rest of their lives)
even their bus-stop is built like oneLake Bled's Gondolas
the boat we took to the island where the church isChurch
Lake Bled's Awesomeness
Day 3
LJUBLJANA
A nuclear scientist showing me how to fix a toy.More Eastern European Architecture
a fascinating facade where nature has built a ladder for a Slovenian Romeo
Art
Photo exhibition entitled "Stairways" in an open air gallery
Traditional art painted on wood
Signboard of a bookshop
Shops
Day 4 onwards
Austria
The famous Sacher Torte
(Rosanna & Eva, those cakes are for you)
a fascinating facade where nature has built a ladder for a Slovenian RomeoArt
Photo exhibition entitled "Stairways" in an open air gallery
Traditional art painted on wood
Signboard of a bookshopShops
Day 4 onwards
Austria
The famous Sacher Torte(Rosanna & Eva, those cakes are for you)
As you can see,words beggar the beauty of our experiences in Slovenia. If a picture says 1000 words, I must have put in enough here to build an encyclopaedia.
As for Austria,all the pictures I want to post are miniatures from the toy museum and the folk art museum. This I will do in my projects blog after I get some sleep.
Will you let me know if you wish to visit Slovenia? And if you do, will you send my love?
Credits- All pictures from the train ride onwards are by FaiZ.
As for Austria,all the pictures I want to post are miniatures from the toy museum and the folk art museum. This I will do in my projects blog after I get some sleep.
Will you let me know if you wish to visit Slovenia? And if you do, will you send my love?
Goodbye, Slovenia!
Credits- All pictures from the train ride onwards are by FaiZ.
43 comments:
Incredible journey and photographs of extraordinary beauty. Your work as always impeccable. Congratulations.
Carmen
Thanks for the tour Sans! The photos are absolutely fabulous, aI really want to go there now, but I think I'm more afraid of the snow that the Rollas so maybe I'll wait until the summer ;)
Well worth the trip! it really looks like a fairy tale landscape. Thank you for the Sacher, I love it. Hugs Rosanna
Wow...Wonderful pictures...
I think that I have to write Slovenia in my pending trips list!!!
Un beso my dear
How beautiful places, you made a great trip!!!!
Bled is really a magic town, every house likes a cute dollshouse...thanks for inspiration!!!
A big big hug
Roberta
Sans, lovely, lovely pictures!!!
Thanks for sharing and the good thing is to be there and be able to see it just in front of you!!
Its a dream to be able to make this trip!!!
Warm regards,
Meli
Wow!! The pics are fantastic! And those houses really do look like dollhouses!
Love that bookshop signboard.
Mercedes
Thank you Carmen for visiting :). The pictures are taken by my friend and I am surprised at the beauty of some of these shots as well. I think more than just showing off the places we have been, it is also a showcase of FaiZ's talent as a photographer. The pictures from the train were taken when the train was moving and I took some with my own as well. That's why I think these shots are extra-ordinary because mine just came up blurry! :)
Norma, are you really dreading the snow so much? I know New Zealand can get very cold in the windy winters (would you believe I have never been to Australia even though you guys are so close?). The only thing I don't like about snow is that it gets very slippery. At one point when we were climbing up a slope towards a castle, MarG & I were almost on all fours! :)
I think winter and snow is best appreciated from a moving train :). As you can tell, train rides are my favourite form of transportation.
Rosanna, are these fairly common sights in Europe? Maybe even in certain parts of Italy? I kept thinking that maybe it is because I come from a tropical South East Asian country and because we do not have "snow"scape here that I am ooohing and wowing. Maybe you guys are used to this kind of beauty and they are a dime a dozen?
From the moment we step off the plane, we were in awe of all the beauty surrounding us and I think we were almost choked with too much of a good thing!
About Sacher Torte, I thought it was only in Vienna that we could taste this and I was really surprise to find a Sacher restaurant in Innsbruck! I was very excited and told FaiZ & MarG we MUST try the cakes here because both you and Eva strongly recommended it. I wanted to buy a cake for my mum's birthday but they didn't think it would survive Milan and then the plane trip! :) But you guys must explain to me why you think the cakes are so great cos as far as my inexperienced taste buds are concerned, the cake tasted pretty much the same as the others, unlike the chocolates from Genoa (which are really quite extra-ordinary!)lol :)
Sorry Sans, but my comment will be VERY short today... I am extremely busy packing. I don't need much as I am going to where I need just a few warm scarves and socks etc. I can't take ALL my books so I'll leave some behind.
Will you please ask Hassan to bring his tri-shaw to my back door? I need someone to take me and my stuff (few/several bags)to the airport. Oh yes, tell him to park in front of the red hydrant. It is conveniently close to my house and every body knows it has been reserved for me and they never stop there.
I am moving asap into that adorable little house (the one just before the bus stop photo).
It is ALL MY DREAMS COME TRUE HOUSE!
Glad you liked Viganotti's chocos, they are the best, aren't they? Well, Sacher is different from other european cakes for the consistency, the apricot jam inside and most of all for the chocolate glaze which is so thick. It doesn't happen often in other cakes. More over inside the sponge there are almonds, orange oils( you have to rub sugar lumps on orange peels to extract the flavour) and should be no yeast inside. The softness is given by beaten eggs, yolks and whites. I love it because is so rich and different from any other cake we have in Genoa, but no whipped cream for me,please! Have a nice day Rosanna
I forgot: yes, we have plenty of snowy landscapes and lovely dwarves homes and high trees in all the regions close to Alps. Anyway I suspect that Slovenia is still much more genuine and unspoilt. That lake is wonderful! I'm happy you had so much fun. And I laughed so hard thinking of you and MarG crawling along the path!
Eva, let me plan your itinerary for you :). First you try and visit Rosanna & Roberta, then you take the train from Genoa to Gorizia, stopping over in Venice or wherever you like.From Gorizia, you take the happy train to Bled.
I am telling ALL my friends who want to go to Lake Bled that there is only ONE way to go there and that is by happy train! You don't even need to buy a seat because you will be standing by the window, already open with the wind in your hair and the best views Mother Earth can offer.
It is true that an image is better than thousand words, on these images he made accompany her to me in a viage of dream.
An embrace
es cierto que una imagen es mejor que mil palabras, con estas imagenes me hizo acompañarla en un viage de ensueño.
un abrazo
I forgot to say you thank you by the Sacher torte. I totally agree with Rosanna, for me Sacher torte is different to rest of chocolates cakes thanks to the softness. You can see how the cake melt in your mounth...;)
Hope you feel better of your cought?
Remember: be always positive!!
Un beso grande
Oh, Sans, thank you so much for sharing your trip with us all.
Beautiful scenery, most definitely.
I love the little yellow house in the snow, it looks like a dollhouse to me.
We have snowy scenes around us, but, we have to go a bit for mountains. Their trees look older than ours.
The charm of the buildings... :)
Hey Roberta :), you can see I am recommending that everyone go to Slovenia vide Italy. In the guidebook (Lonely Planet), they did mention that the train ride from Nova Gorica to Bled is the most scenic for the whole of Slovenia.
So I hope you are ready to say hi to all who takes my recommendations! :)
Meli, it took me ages to pick these pictures because you are right, I kept thinking many of the pictures could not convey our actual experiences enough. There is just so much a camera can capture, you know.
That's why there is only 1 pic for Austria :). Too tired after looking at 1000 over photos :).
The word "dream" is a perfect description of this trip. Thank you :).
Merce, the signboard got me very excited. Even though we had to hurry back to the station to catch our train to Salzburg, I had to stop and go in . I asked if they sell a poster of their sign but unfortunately they do not. The girl at the store was very sweet though and gave me their paper bags which are in black and white. The bag has a drawing of a house made of books. Very "us" (as in dollhouse lovers). You will love the bookstore. They sell children's books, beautifully illustrated and art / reference books. I wish I had more time to stay there.
Dear Lize,
I hope this comment finds you well.
You must be almost at the airport by now since Hassan left yesterday morning, right after your comment, for your house and it would take him about this long to get you and your lightly packed bags to your plane.
While you are just about to enjoy whatever you feel like doing today, I received an email from a man who signed off as "Mr Iam Leeze Bosse" whom I suspect is somehow connected to you. It was a strange mail with only 2 words "Please explain!". I hope he is pleased with my 20 page reply. Suffice to say , I have told him in no uncertain terms to leave you well and truly alone to enjoy your day or he will have to answer to me.
Oh, I gave him your shed address in Slovenia (of course I know exactly where your dream home is!). I am sure you don't mind since you were quite free with mine :). Only for absolute emergency, I told him or he will have to answer to me. I stress at a few paragraphs that I know some very powerful people in Italy, which is just next door to Slovenia.
So go ahead and enjoy yourself but don't forget to send Mr Bosse that sales report. I did tell him it would be on his desk by 5pm tomorrow.
Ahh, here's Hassan, just riding back, huffing and puffing! Oh my, he has a red hydrant on his blue seat!
(10 mins later) Hassan just told me that the hydrant is very useful for parking anywhere he pleases so he took it back here with him!
Love loads
Sans
Thanks Rosanna , for telling me the name of the shop. I haven't had the heart to open my packages yet but FaiZ is already happily chomping away his! I suspect my chocolates will still be here in July!
You make the cake sounds so heavenly although I am not sure I remember apricot jam. But almonds yes, FaiZ hates almonds, he thinks it taste like cockroach's shit (don't ask me how he knows). I think I remember the orange..not sure. O dear, and I actually thought Shir's brownies taste better! *looking for a hole to crawl into now :) I am no food buff. I eat to live. My friends are ashamed of me :):) when they bring me to good restaurants. Completely wasted on me but I do love your pesto pasta :).
I nearly posted pictures of me and Marg crawling up the slope but didn't think people want to see my butt blocking the views.
O yes, Contar, an image says 1000 words except I do have 1000 pictures :):).
Dale, imagine living in a neighbourhood of dollhouses . LOL. That's Slovenia. In Austria, they build little wooden "dollhouses" for their trash bins!
Oh, how sweet, Sans. :) I think it's a European thing to make everything so special.
I just read your return to Lize and it's hysterical! You so crack me up!
I'm supposed to be working! (dons blinders!!)
Wonderful pictures and travel Susan, congratulations. Best wishes
Beautiful pictures!!!
It looks like a wonderful trip you made.
Lotje knows she have a lot of dollshouses, but she only may look at them, she isn't careful and her paws are to big (LOL)
Everything that fals down on the floor dissapears into that big mooth of her and I never find it back.
Love Sylvia
Hi Eva, thanks for asking. The cough is still here but not so bad. One of those where your chest hurts when you heave kind of cough. That's why I call it the "bronchital" cough..haha! I think I got it from SuZ. Just grouchy a little cos I am not exercising because of the chest pains. It however has given me more time to stitch :). Trying to learn the basketweave techinique. (Thanks Dale for the tip!)
I hope you are feeling better, Eva. I thought of you today when I walked past a traditional biscuit shop. Wanted to get you some peanut biscuits but they were not on sale. Next time :).
Haha Dale. I too think Hassan is quite mad. If he is real, I will so marry him :).
Now *cracking my whip, go back to work, SLAVE! -talking to meself :)
Thank you, Gemms :) Come again soon :).
Hehe, Sylvia! Luckily my little Xerxes does not like minis unless it is fish shaped and smells :).
But then with Lotje, you can throw away your failed experiments just by commanding "eat!" and all evidence of unsatisfactory workmanship will forever disappear. :)
Dear Sans,do not keep your choccies hidden that long. They are artisans made and will not last till July. Make an effort and open those packages. You can always ask your nieces and nephew to help you ;0))
Oh FaiZ has been lucky, almonds are a favourite of mine and I nearly thought of preparing an almond sweet for you. Well,I have been lucky! Hugs to you all
Sans, i'll help you finish your chocs, although i only crave them but once a month XD
such beautiful pictures, i'd love to make a mini village of those beautiful houses! was also fun trying to pronounce the names of the locations XD XD XD
OH! and i 'ran into' the tree wizard, Chris! LOL! bf and i were at bras basah, and he insisted i go take a look at a scale model workshop (which i didn't know moved into the space vacated by Sagacity) and whaddya know, TADAH!!!! chatted with him briefly, you're right, his works are AMAZING!!!!! and he spoke very fondly of you too ;)
k back to my mundane chores......... <3
Rosanna, I will bring 1/2 of the chocolates to my office and the rest, I will distribute amongst people who are very nice to me :).
I don't understand FaiZ's taste buds or nose. He hates almonds but loooooves smelly cheese.Weirdo!
Cindy!!! Just 10 mins ago,Chris called me to tell me about your encounter!
When we meet, I will pass you some to try, I have all sort of amazing flavours like pepper, sze chuan, spicy , chilly etc etc. Yes, they are chocolates. Hope we don't wait till July to meet ..lol!
It is possible to make the village. 1:144. :)
Sans, i'm not allowed to eat chocs :( healthwise i'm not doing so well, will need another checkup soon *sniffles* I HATE TO SEE DOCTORS!!!
lol what a timely comment from me then wah ahhaha! make Chris make the village ;P i'll just admire and make lots of oooh-aaaaaah noises XD
Thank you for the photos, have a wonderful trip.
A Carmen hug
Oh my goodness, how wonderful. Wish I were with the Rollas as a stowaway in your Lucky Strike tin. Love snow and architecture, but I hope you didn't feel cold. (One time in China I felt so cold for a week and never warmed up). Fabulous photos and you must be so inspired in so many different ways!! Thank you for a terrific trip.
such lovely houses on your pictures!!
and the song of the beatles made me smile!
You me and Chris will meet soon :). When we are both feeling better, Cindy. I have some really good friends who are doctors, some quackish and all weird. All are good people :). Have no fear, go see them, sometimes they even make you feel better! :) More often than not, I just let my body do the healing.
Thank you Carmen :). I have just received your email and the translator is doing a good job :). I am too thrilled and will patiently for your box :). You, my dear , is an amazing artist . I am ashamed that it took me so long to find out! The miniature oil paintings you did in your last post is breath-taking!
Gracias Carmen:). Acabo de recibir tu correo electrónico y el traductor está haciendo un buen trabajo:). Estoy muy emocionado y con paciencia para su cuadro:). Usted, mi querida, es un artista sorprendente. Me da vergüenza que me tomó tanto tiempo para descubrirlo! Las pinturas al óleo en miniatura que usted hizo en su último post es impresionante!
O yes, Jean, I remembered the time I was in Beijing and it was winter, I felt like I was in a grey and dreary meat refrigerator except there was no meat inside except me. Beijing is so vast and the buildings rather far apart so much so there appears to be no protection from the winds and cold :). That was a long time ago, way before the Olympics :).
Hey Pussman, long time no see! That song is one of my all time favourite. I play this song everytime I want to remember places because of the 1st line in the song. By the way, blue bear is on my left bar :)
Post a Comment