day at the adriatic
the continuing saga of my week long trip to western slovenia continues with a day trip to the adriatic coast– a town called piran to be exact. what’s that? you didn’t think slovenia had a coastline? au contraire, mes amis. check this out………
not only is there a little stretch of coastline smushed between italy and croatia (27 miles of it, or 43km), but it is on the adriatic, my friends. i’d never been to this particular part of the mediterranean before. and damned if i was going to be two hours away from it in ljubljana without making a day trip out of it. so i spent a whole day in piran, arguably the most beautiful of all of the slovenian seaside towns. but because of its very close proximity to both italy and croatia, it didn’t really feel like “slovenia” at all. but maybe slovenia is more than what you think it is, just as switzerland is more than alps and dairy cows. piran has certainly got some adriatic flair to it!
to be ten months (10 MONTHS) without seeing the ocean was almost too much for this island girl. the bus pulled up after a two hour ride to this immediate view. blue as far as the eye can see. (i’m near-sighted so that’s not too far but, you know)
after a wander through the square, we had lunch at the most fabulous seaside restaurant. objective number one: to eat as much seafood as possible. shrimp cocktail, seafood tagliatelle, and lovely ocean views: this is what heaven looks like.
after lunch i decided it was high time to hang out in the sea, and i was pleasantly shocked at just how warm the adriatic is! i could’ve spent the afternoon swimming (read: splashing while standing in the water). slovenia doesn’t have any beaches really at all (except for the neighboring touristy resort town of portorož) but this stops nobody from laying out their towels on the rocks or setting up shop with a lawnchair nearby. it was a glorious warm beachy day and the entire town was loving it.
because piran’s got that whole italian/croatian vibe going on, there are plenty of little streets and alleys to wander around in. piran isn’t made for tourists at all (and there were hardly any of us)… a real diamond in the rough, so fortunately it didn’t feel fake or made up to attract anyone. it felt real: peeling paint, clotheslines and all. i appreciated that so much.
sure, piran has a couple museums, churches, and even a centuries old monastery… but just wandering around and soaking up the good seaside vibrations made for a perfect afternoon. with the great weather, you could easily spend an entire day lounging in a rented lawn chair or taking a dip. it was absolutely one of my top slovenia experiences. i think i’ll always remember sitting on the rocks with my feet in the sea and the sun on my face.
below, looking north: the immediate land on the right is part of slovenia (isola), but right behind it you can see trieste, italy!
so, who’s ready to go? vacation is truly over as this month is all about wrangling thirty czech kids per week and try to instill some english language into their growing minds, but more recent trip reports soon to come.
happy travel tuesday, from the slice of the adriatic in my own backyard.
