Friuli Udine

... of Santa Cecilia, sixty performers in the choir and orchestra which have belonged to Grado for well over a century. They keep alive not only the authentic tradition of popular songs but also the church music which accompanies the main religious festivities including the traditional St Stephen’s Day concert on 26 December at 6pm in the Basilica.

Music and exhibitions throughout Grado also accompany New Year’s ...

... opt for local roads on our exploration through Slovenia. We first hit Gorizia which is divided by country boundaries. The differences between East and West are quite evident. Buildings, autos, clothing … are different. We apparently bypassed the official border crossing. Oh well …

We follow the Soca River northward which takes us through some small ...

... where professional driver, Lawrence was able to navigate the
50 hairpin turns ( 26 driving up, 24 driving down) easily. I was slightly nauseated, but felt better
after a break for air at a stop at a church and a small suspension bridge.

In Kobarid, we visited the World
War 1 museum. Everyone thought it was
just so so, but apparently the rest of Europe
and Rick Steves really likes it.

Then, Lawrence drove like a ...

... des Platzes ausgezeichnetes Essen. ich krieg endlich meine Fischplatte, Sarah probiert diesmal Spagetti mit Meeresfrüchten und Hannah ihr geliebte Lasagne - und natürlich Tira mi su :-)

Da gleich danach im Theater die Abendshow beginnt schaun wir dort noch kurz vorbei - und Erinnerungen werden wach ( an Zakynthos ) :-)

... at Porto San Vito accepts bookings and takes guests to the casone they booked. Accommodation for sixty persons are created in a unique natural environment.
Some of the facilities will be ready for summer 2009 to satisfy the requests of discerning, niche tourists seeking an unconventional oasis of wellbeing and relaxation.

The scheme’s byword is sustainability, in the sense of conserving and promoting artistic, historical and cultural heritages, and directly ...

... is where the Germans first starting developing that whole blitzkrieg thing.

It was also here that Ernest Hemingway volunteered as an ambulance driver and his experiences here ended up in A Farewell to Arms, another high school book I didn't read....but now that I know he met a nurse here, I just might!

... restaurant near the station and waited for our train to arrive. It, of course, was late.

So, the first experience of riding and sleeping in a railway car wasn't that much fun when you realize that you have two rows of three seats (a little larger than airline seats) facing each other, and when the time comes, you sleep in them. Granted, we've been sleeping on the train ...

This is a great small town, where they actually choose to not speak english. We went from the restaurant to bar to wedding to bar to restaurant to bar (the Black Stuff) etc. Eat, Drink, Sleep repeat for a few days. It was a beautiful wedding and a great town.

... the delay, but eventually came up with a plan for the next part of our trip. His plan was to find a bottle of cheap Italian wine so that we would be able to sleep easily on the train. He decided to wonder around Udine in search of an open store. This task seemed relatively easy as the train station appeared to be in the middle of the city and Udine is a medium size city. The problem lie in that Italy has a tendency to shut down after eight pm . So ...

... aus Seekirchen. Um ca. 5h in der Früh haben wir schon telefonisch festgestellt, dass beide "on the road" sind - und nun wollen wir uns treffen. Ziemlich spannend!
Aber es klappt und wir sind vollzählig. Ein erster Morgen-Cappucino und wir sind glücklich.
Auf zum Campingplatz!