Slovenia

“I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”

Jack Kerouac

You never sleep well with a bottle of wine and two pizzas in your gut gurgling away.

Pizza is an ocean of salt, so you spend the night drinking water and going to the toilet.

At least I woke up at a somewhat reasonable time, 5.20 am.

Ljubljana today.

A few hours before breakfast, it’s time to read.

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Oscar Wilde

It is raining. Rain is welcome when you live in a country where it seldom rains. Umberellas and off to Zërgë.

Zërgë is a place that looks as if it were designed with the intention that children should never visit. Tight spaces, high chairs. Only two tables down stairs, and tight, difficult to navigate stairs head upstairs where there are another two tables. Stuff everywhere. You can’t swing a baby or a cat for lack of space.

The message seems clear, and it works. The dozens of times of times we have been there no one has attempted a child. The occasional small dog, but never a child.

Bravery or stupidity changed that today. The couple with the almost walking toddler gave it a try. Pleading looks at the locals for a table were disregarded, Shell with a blank ‘you had kids, you deal with it’ when they glanced her way.

Up the stairs and then it started to scream. Never mind, they just rode it out. Why ruin your own life when you can fuck a morning for a few dozen.

Off to the airport to pick up the Mini.

I have mixed up the collection time. 12.30, not 9.30. I have a Boomer moment and believe the computer has it wrong and then remind myself that computers don’t get things wrong, I have put the time in incorrectly.

We decide to go with a Citeron DS4. There was a moment when I was convinced the extra 40 euros a day was worth the BMW Series 2 coupe. But Shell reminded me that while I am 50, I don’t need a sports car, a trucker cap, and a pair of Vans to be young.

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”

Franz Kafka

The trip was uneventful. A peaceful drive without the tail gate, light flashing lunacy of Dubai.

We reminisce about our last visit to this place, which included sparkling wine from Slovenia on arrival, and wonder if they have maintained the service in the last 18 months.

We park the whip and stroll the few hundred meters to our place.

Sparkling wine from Slovenia on arrival.

We have an amazing apartment on the top floor with a view of the castle and a balcony.

Dinner is booked for 5.30 pm. We shower and open a bottle of wine. Put some music on and I decide I will stay in Ljubljana forever.

It is Restaurant Week here and our original booking was an hour away. with the late reschedule, there were slim pickings.

Altrokè was underwhelming – three set menus: vegetarian, fish, and meat. The courses took forever to arrive and were pretty average.

The wine pairing was terrible. The restaurant owner also has a winery and matches his own wines with the courses. Somehow, he has the idea that the pairings for the three set menus are all the same. Fish carpaccio and chicken liver pâté, same wine. Lamb with polenta and local river fish in salsa verde…. same wine.

We walk home, and it begins to rain again. Some ice cream even though it is cold. We open the balcony door, and I fall asleep to the rain.

I want it to rain forever.

Kiss me with rain on your eyelashes,
come on, let us sway together,
under the trees, and to hell with thunder.”

Edwin Morgan

Tonight’s wine –

2023 Luka Wines Pinot Noir (Kholenber, Slovenia)

Nice, easy drinking Pinot. Cherries and chocolate. Great afternoon drinking.