"Italy:" Day trip to Slovenia

Another day trip from Muggia was to the town of Bled in Slovenia. It was under 2 hours to drive there, with no passport control needed because both Italy and Slovenia are in the EU. We got up there midday, and drove around the lake to see the views. We made it up to Bled Castle, but decided not to go in as the views were nice from the outside. The kids were happy to run around and found a huge pile of leaves to jump and play in.

Above the entrance to Bled Castle with Auri & Charlotte

Looking down to Lake Bled from Bled Castle

After enjoying the views from above, we continued the drive down to the lakeside, where we parked and enjoyed taking a few photos before going to lunch at a lakeside cafe. We  enjoyed the meal, including a slice of famous Lake Bled Cream Cake, before heading out for a few pictures of the lake in the fading light before heading back to Muggia.

Once back in Muggia, we went out to a grandmother-owned restaurant that was staffed by family members. It was a very quaint and rustic place, and the highlight was Paul's order of a crab pasta that was served in a crab shell!

"Italy": Day trip to Istria, Croatia

Our second full day staying in Muggia, we took a day trip to northern Croatia -- only a little over an hour drive. We drove up into the hill country, to a small hilltop town called Grisignano. We caravanned with Dan's cousins, who were in a separate car for the trip. On the way, Dan pointed out the language similarities between Italian and Croatian because of the common ancestry in the area. Once we arrived, we parked the van and walked around the town. The scenery over the hills was beautiful; we could see other hill towns around the area. I was having a rough day with morning sickness so probably didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would. 

After walking around the town, we stopped at a cafe for a drink and snack. Charlotte and Auri were having fun together!

After leaving Grisignano, we drove to a farm with an accompanying restaurant for lunch. I ended up taking some bread out to the car to nibble on and nap in an attempt to feel less ill, which did help and I was able to come back in and eat a bit of "real" food before we left. From all reports, the meal was excellent. Paul gave Charlotte his phone to take some pictures, which of course included a LOT of selfies.

Charlotte's view

After lunch, we drove down to the coast to see the water before heading to Umag, a city that Dan's grandparents lived in before conflict drove them out. It was a pretty city, decorated for Christmas. We met a friend of Dan's for coffee before heading back to Muggia for the evening.

Seaside in Istria

Church tower in Umag

Walking through Umag

After returning to Muggia, we got some takeaway pizza and had a "picnic" in our room for the evening, then went to sleep.

Italy: Trieste & Muggia

In early December, we travelled to Italy with our friends Dan & Elisa and their children Auri and Camilla. We flew from Stansted to Trieste, in northeast Italy. Upon arrival, we had a little adventure trying to play Tetris with our suitcases in the minivan we had rented -- we finally realized that it was not going to happen and Paul ended up staying at the airport with a couple of suitcases while Dan served as shuttle master between the airport and hotel we stayed at in the small town of Muggia, which is located across the water from Trieste. 

Once we were settled in the hotel, we all walked to Dan's cousins' home, which was about a 10 minute walk through the town of Muggia. The small city streets (mostly pedestrian only) were beautiful, quiet, and decked out with Christmas decorations. The kids loved running in the streets! Dan's cousins were so kind and had pizza and drinks for us. They spoke fairly good English, but the task of translation fell to Dan and Elisa for much of the trip. They were such good sports about it and didn't seem to mind at all! The cousins' daughter Alexandra was very sweet to the little kids and let them play with her toys -- including a pair of butterfly wings that Charlotte loved wearing. Later in the trip, the cousins gave Charlotte her very own pair, which was so sweet! 

Auri and Charlotte running through the streets of Muggia on our first night.

Each morning we were in Muggia, we ate breakfast at a cute little cafe in the town's main square. We got cornetti (filled croissants), espressos, and peach juice for the kids. I also got peach juice or lemon seltzer water, as I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time. I made it through only 1 day of the trip before becoming horribly nauseated and generally all-day (not just morning) sick from the hormones. It was a terrible time to be so sick, as there were so many amazing food options that I just couldn't stomach. I ended up eating a diet of mostly crackers, bread, some potatoes, and very basic pasta. Carb central! I was bummed to be missing out on the coffee, wine, soft cheeses, and cured meats that Italy has to offer. Dan and Elisa were so sweet and understanding about what I was going through -- I felt badly to be a limitation at times for the group. 

The three of us with our cornetti and peach juice

The whole group at breakfast in Muggia!

It was fun to walk around a bit in Muggia. The kids loved the main square in particular, especially one little ride-on car and running back and forth between the town's Christmas tree and the built-in stone benches outside the church. It was fun to wake up and hear the steeple's bells calling people to mass each morning. 

Charlotte and Auri loved this little car

The Christmas tree and the town's church. Our hotel was down a street to the left of the church as you face it. 

The harbor at Muggia

Village streets in Muggia

Our second day in Italy, we took the ferry across the water (an inlet of the Gulf of Trieste, which is the northern part of the Adriatic Sea) to visit Trieste. The skies looked a bit heavy as we headed to the dock, but we stayed dry. It was a bit cool and windy waiting for the ferry, but it was a fun way to access the city! 

Looking south from the dock at Muggia

Dan and Auri waiting for the ferry

Dan and Camilla on the ferry

Looking back toward Muggia from the ferry, heading toward Trieste

Charlotte was a fan of watching for boats out the window

Once we disembarked in Trieste, we were getting hungry for lunch! We walked through the city's main square, which was very picturesque. Because of Trieste's location, it was a former port for Austria, and therefore the architecture and food culture in particular have Austrian "flavor." We ate lunch at a typical Trieste restaurant, which served schnitzel and sausages as some of their main dishes (again, very German/Austrian). 

Main square of Trieste, with lots of Christmas trees up!

Paul and Auri outside the restaurant, goofing off with those of us still inside!

Paul holding Camilla, who looks very interested in that beer

After lunch, we went to a coffee shop and had a little coffee and dessert. Charlotte and I both needed naps (pregnant lady problem!) so we ended up heading back across the bay to Muggia with Paul, while the Favrettos stayed in Trieste longer to visit the markets. After we had rested and reunited back at the hotel, we headed to dinner with many members of Dan's extended family at a restaurant in Slovenia. It was fun to head to another country just down the road -- there were no passport controls as both Italy and Slovenia are in the EU. We had the restaurant to ourselves, which was perfect for letting the kids wander as they got bored.

We stayed in Muggia for 5 nights; the remaining days we spent on day trips to Croatia and Slovenia, which I will cover in the next post.

Hallstatt, Austria

On our last full day in Austria, we took the bus back out to the airport to pick up our reserved rental car. We then drove through the countryside to the beautiful lakeside village of Hallstatt. I've seen it on several lists of the most beautiful places in Europe, so when I realized it was close to Salzburg, I figured it would make a fun day trip. It flourished as a salt-mining town, dating back to Neolithic times (think 5th to 8th centuries BC) and we were able to tour a salt mine while we were in town. 

After making a quick pit stop for a box of Kleenex (ugh, that cold was the worst!), we arrived in Salzburg. We parked a little ways away from the city center (after struggling to find the correct parking lot as signage was confusing). We walked into the village and toured the cute streets, of which there are basically two -- one lower street, and one upper "street" that was more like a path to the houses further up the mountainside.

We then took the funicular ride from the base of the mountain up toward the salt mine. At the top of the funicular, there was a restaurant where we grabbed lunch, and enjoyed the views from the platform extending out over the valley over Hallstatt. There were a LOT of selfies and selfie sticks happening up there!

Entrance to the salt mine

The miners' train!

The salt mine tour was a little bit pricey for what it was -- a bit too cheesy and a bit soft on actual information provided. However -- it was fun to get dressed up in special overclothes (to protect your clothes from the salt if you brush up against the walls), go down super speedy mine slides, and take the miners' train back out of the mine -- through a very narrow tunnel! keep your hands and legs in! -- at the end.

After the tour, we headed back down the funicular to the car park and headed back to Salzburg. The GPS took us through some real back roads -- ones we may or may not have supposed to be on?? We initially forgot to refill the car with gas when we got back to the airport, but were pleasantly surprised to see we could just drive back out of the parking garage to get the gas (not possible in the States!). We then bussed back into the city, and ate dinner at a truly delicious restaurant (Gastof Alter Fuchs -- "the Old Fox Inn", I believe). I wasn't sure about going out to dinner as I was feeling low energy and was coughing and sneezing everywhere, but it ended up being probably one my top 10 dinners ever! The atmosphere was so cozy, with wood fires and soft lighting, and the food was amazing. I had a butternut squash pasta dish, and we finished with an apple strudel (famous in Salzburg). It was the perfect ending to our last night in Salzburg!

And pretzels for appetizer!

We flew out relatively early the next morning, and were back to relieve Mom of Charlotte-duty by early afternoon. They seemed to have had a great time, despite being somewhat stuck in our small town with not a lot of good weather to play in. Thanks again Mom for taking such good care of her!