We could have taken a less than two hour drive straight down to our destination today, the small coastal city of Piran, but we decided to take the long way around.
We first headed North, towards the Julian Alps. There is a pass called the Vršič Pass that at 1611 meters is the highest pass in Slovenia. There is a series of 50 switchbacks covering both sides of the pass and the views were dramatic. Even though it was a little overcast to start the day, the scenery did not disappoint. Each switchback on the way up was paved with cobbles and the gradient was pretty steep - there were a few signs showing 14%! We saw many people on mountain bikes slugging their way up and we shouted encouragement as we motored by.
On the other side, we wound our way down to eventually descend into the Soca River valley. The Soca is almost 140 kilometres long and runs through Slovenia then Italy and into the Adriatic Sea. Its emerald green colour was truly beautiful and I found out later that it is one of the rare rivers that retains that colour found usually closer to mountains throughout its entire length.
The road was pretty winding but eventually it started to smooth out and run through some small towns. We stopped for a pee and snack break at one town and I tried to look at Abby’s door - it wouldn’t open from the inside of the car and didn’t appear to have the child lock setting engaged. It got annoying to hear her hard, persistent tap-tap-tap at the window the second we stopped the car every time..lol (it reminded me of Gram yelling “Art, turn the AC on” the second he turned the car on). I was playing around with the latch and it stuck in the closed position such that I couldn’t get the door to close any more. Doh! I asked the lady at the coffee shop if there was a mechanic nearby and she said, why yes, it’s right there (pointing 200 meters away). Great. We drove over and discovered signs saying he’d be back July 16th! Then I spotted an old man and when I explained my predicament he pointed us another 50 meters down the road to a mechanic working in front of his house. That was easy! With a little lube and a screw driver, he had the latch working better than before. That was fun! The old guy actually had a son in Monterey, California and he seemed to take pleasure in helping out.
Back on the road, it wasn’t too long before we passed a nondescript sign stating we’d just passed in to Italy! Abby immediately perked up (we think she’s part Italian) and started pointing out the quickly changing topography. Trees disappeared and turned into fields of grapes, sunflowers and corn. Tall, Italian Cypress trees could be spotted from miles away. The roads got a little more worn, and the villages and towns we passed through looked a little older and more.... lived in.
We could also feel a major temperature change. We were fully out of the mountains now and we could almost smell the salt from the Sea in the air. The sun was out in full force and it was getting hot. We were headed to the seaside city of Trieste for lunch.
The drive from the north along the coast into Trieste was very picturesque - everything you’d imagine from an Italian coastal city. When we finally reached the center of the city, we passed a huge piazza with majestic Roman buildings standing straight and tall around three sides, so we parked and looked for a restaurant.
After lunch, we spent a few minutes weaving our way back to the car In the shade of some cobbled alleyways. That area actually reminded us of Rome, if a little less bustling. We got back to the car and put Piran in the gps and found it was only 25 km away. We drove out past the more industrial side of Trieste to the south and before we knew it we were back in Slovenia!
Piran is a pretty little coastal town that does not allow tourist vehicles in the city proper. We were allowed to drive to our hotel, where they checked us in and then led us by van out to the central parking area just outside of town. The shuttle drove us back to the hotel so it was pretty painless.
We ditched the kids and encouraged them to join the other seaside revellers and took a walk around the main square, alleyways and sea wall road that pretty much makes up the entire town. By the time we were done, we were smoking hot so we put our bathing suits on and joined the kids treading water in the Adriatic. The water butts up against a rock or concrete shore and is relatively deep and rocky, but calm and warm. There were ladders and stairways leading into the water from a number of short concrete piers. The water was blue green, crystal clear and so refreshing.
We had a late drink with Paul and Blair then we headed out all together with the girls to a nearby spot for dinner and another spot for dessert and football. Tonight, England beat Columbia in another dramatic shootout. No more soccer until the quarter finals on Friday - it’s becoming a nice afternoon and evening routine!
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