Holiday Inn Express Udine North

... tourists can see as they stroll around town alone or in the company of a guide who will talk about the story of these charming exhibits, with the musical accompaniment of bagpipes from Val Pesarina. Guided tours (departure by ferry from Grado) have also been organised of the lagoon nativity scenes on the Island of Barbana, the site of a Marian shrine much loved by the people of Grado, who go on pilgrimage to the shrine every ...

... 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 ...

... Bled
early in the morning at 7:30. It would
be a busy day. We stopped by the world’s
longest ski jump first. After posing for
a few pictures, we jumped backed in the car to drive across the border to Italy at
9:05. We then hopped back on the freeway
and drove across the Austrian border at 9:16.
We all thought it was the funniest thing and took pictures to document
the momentous occasion. The only let
down ...

... 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 ) :-)

... of Grado. Grado is a little gem chosen for the beauty of its architecture and surrounding environment, where life still follows the pace and traditions of yesteryear. An Albergo Diffuso plays an instrumental role in saving major heritages (environments, buildings and connected systems) which bring about an improvement in the quality of life and the product in the short and long terms while also offering a new source of income, especially for the private residents involved.
Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy bluwom

... 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.

... friul.it al sara pusibil scoltalu ator pal mont. O cjatarin le maniere di metilu ancje tun sito internet par pode discjarialu. "Families, like trees, grow and develop with their surroundings. Seeds are blown by the wind and new trees are born elsewhere. Roots sink into the ground from which the new tree draws life. Children, like branches, stretch out. Families and trees have similar destinies" (Mirella Ricciardi, African Saga) Maman Loris

... 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!