Slovenia 2023 - Whoa, it's been a bloggin' while!

Slovenia. A little something for everyone. Nature? History? Wine? Arts? Caves? Mountains? Cathedrals? 

Gots it all. 

Several times I've been asked how I pick my destinations and if I just throw a pin at the globe to see where I am going next. That is *not* how I roll. But kind of. 

When a friend was planning a trip to Croatia she asked me if I knew anything about Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, a short drive away from Zagreb. I said nope and off to Google Images together we went. THAT'S how I often find my destinations. Just as I enjoy taking pictures of my food, I also savor the colors of beautiful places, architecture and the idea of finding something new. Colonial architecture in many parts of the world is sure to do me in. 

I had no clue what Slovenia had to offer and didn't know many people who have been there (now I do!). I knew it would be a good place because it's small and wherever I went I would never be in the car for too long. 

My good college friend Renée had free time on her hands last week of June and enjoys planning trips way more than I do. So with that, we (she?) built a rocking itinerary covering city, nature and wine. What's not to love?! 

The people have been so incredibly kind with impeccable English. For whatever we couldn't do in English, my Russian rescued us. Renée put her Italian to work when we crossed over into Italy and together we made it work. The Slovenes are happy. They are eager to show off their land, tell stories and answer whatever question I had. 100% of people we talked to were happy to have Slovenia in the EU, with absolutely no mention of Yugoslavia unless I brought it up. 

Slovenia has three large wine regions and we settled for the one closest to Ljubljana, Goriška Brda, which happens to border Italy and specializes in sparkling. Yes, please. 

The wine country views are awe inspiring, wine truly delicious. We counted that between all the tasting and visits we probably tried around 50 wines. I am by no means a connoisseur so I can't speak to anything other than my preference and cost. I know in the future I'll seek out Slovenia's wine on the menu and surely hope to back to the other wine regions. 

Another thing that caught my attention was the abundance of the arts. Every corner in any city has an advertisement for a festival (theater, music, folklore), someone playing an instrument - accordions, guitars, bass, and of course, that one time when we walked into an entire orchestra sitting under a tree shade along the Ljubljanica River Promenade doing their thing. Children's paintings adorning the windows of Piran's library, beautiful paintings on wine barrels. You can tell this is a place where arts run deep and as a visitor it's a feast for the eyes. 

Even though one of our days in Lake Bled and Bohinj was impacted by the rain, the nature activities seemed neverending as well. We hiked, saw caves and waterfalls, rafted and could have had done lots more had the weather cooperated. I've never been to Switzerland but the Alps here took my breath away so now I must go. 

Random Slovenia observations:

-When given a chance to eat at a castle, do it.  A Slovenian Master Chef Judge Jezeršek has restaurants in several castles all over the country. It'll be a meal you'll remember!

-Kavalir - a free green shuttle (read: golf cart) that will take you anywhere in the old town of Ljubljana. So easy, convenient and why doesn't every small town have this? 

-Always so good to see people being active. Any size, any age, any gender, eeeeveryone is on a bicycle. Some on the road, some on the sidewalk but everyone is moving. 🚴‍♂️🚴🚴‍♀️ 💨

-Euro Pop is thriving. Ace of Base? Yup, still rocking!

-Lake Bled - best food we've had. 

-I'm incredibly inspired to do more with my balcony - more flowers to come! Bright and pink, I'm sure.

This trip has been a blend of carefully chosen places and restaurants and "Hrmmm, lets see what today will bring." Regardless of what we did on any particular day, it was always fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. Even if Renée pointed out my constant stream of positivity. Yup, that's how I roll and Slovenia made it too easy! 

How do you decide where to head to? What's on your bucket list? Are you a planner or into deciding what the day brings as it comes? 

Yup, I'm a teacher

Last week at a local winery the sommelier asked what I did for a living. Upon telling him where I worked the dude next to us laughed. I probably shouldn't have engaged but whatever, I did. 

Dude: "Logan is the first school that had guards, you know"

Me: "I don't mean to age you but that was a long time ago"

He scoffed at the possibility that Logan isn't ghetto and that he didn't actually know it all.  His lady proceeded to ask me to translate something from Spanish and was surprised that I actually spoke it. Ok, moving on...

...to today. Random lady at Remi's end of the tennis season party.

-Are you a teacher?
Yes (I had just finished grading tests when she walked in)

-Do you like your career?
I do.

-I mean all the benefits. Medical. The summers. The vacations.
Umm hmmm. Yes, I have more time off. Actually I don't get any special benefits other than that. That was the 70s.  I pay into my medical just like any other job. 

-Oh. But you start at 8? Done by 2?
I'm not sure what you mean, you just saw me grading on a Saturday night in a restaurant.

-Parents contact you about their kids a lot? Only the ones that care about their kids' education?
Well, a lot of it is cultural differences, not that parents don't care about their kids. Not everyone is comfortable reaching out.... 

-What qualifications do you need to teach? Less to work at a public school?
OMG. THANK GOD. PIZZA IS HERE.

Sometimes I love my job, sometimes I don't. There are days I come home on cloud nine 'cause some kid made a nice comment or I overheard something neat. Like the girl on Friday who quietly gasped when I showed a picture of Cartagena ("wow, so pretty, I need to go there").  Other days I want to rip my hair out because everyone has their headphones in and phones out. I'm certain that everyone comes home happy some days and not so on others. That's called a job. 

I don't ask for thank yous, I'm not a pity case, I'm not doing this to give back, I'm not volunteering, it's the job I studied for my undergrad and masters and wanted since I was 6 years old. That's all. 

I know I have summers off! I love them! They are a lovely benefit I didn't think about when I was 6. My job and schedule permit me to live my life to the fullest and do awesome things with my kid. There is a shortage of teachers so if you want the same, go to school for it and you too can have long vacations. It's an amazing concept. 

If you think you know Logan, I hope you keep up with all the awesome things that happen there every day. Academics, band, forensics, sports, trips, teachers, counselors. With a bit under 3700 students, cool things happen there all the time. Insightful. 

As the always sage advice goes, if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything. When all else fails we can always chat about the weather. 

As for the future generation, I'd never want Remi to be a teacher for this one particular reason that happens ALL. THE. TIME. Defending your job. No one should ever have to explain why they do what they do. It's really that simple.

A Few Impressions: Europe 2018

-Some European main cities are comparable to most 3rd world countries I have visited in terms of credit card use. You are so fancy with your swipe, insert and contactless, why don't you take credit cards?

-Wifi availability is only slightly better.

-I love being "without" a phone. Yes, it's out for several thousands of pictures I have taken so far but until London I didn't have wifi unless I was waking up or going to bed. It's grand. I am going to try to institute a "no phone day" once per week at home. Let's see if I can do it.

-My kid ordering in Spanish, Portuguese and German is one of the reasons we must offer foreign languages in elementary school. Simple reason: he doesn't care what he sounds like. Case in point: we are on the train and he had already walked over there and gotten himself a water. He wanted another water but this time I said I'd join since I needed a coffee. He wouldn't let me, said he can do it, got coffee and a water and was back to the seat 3 minutes later.

One day, upon learning "refund, please" in German he was all too happy to return water bottles to collect his 75 cents in revenue. 

My students who take Spanish for 3 years are always hesitant to order a dish in Spain or ask for the price. I don't think my kid is anything special,  it's his age. 9yo don't care about verb conjugations and sounding silly and as a school system we fail to take advantage of that.   

-Is it worth learning a language of a country you don't necessarily see yourself spending a lot of time in? 

In 2004, I lived in Hamburg for several months and leading up to it took a semester of German. Motivation was high (I was going to Hamburg whether I spoke or not!), German seemed pretty attainable, the college course was intense and I loved being great at something. I went to Hamburg, dazzled locals, got made fun of for my accent, shopped at Spar and Aldi, got on buses and once stunned a local with a few sentences when he thought I knew zero German. There was a "oh shit, she knows what we are saying, WHAT HAVE WE SAID?!" look that washed over him. It was fantastic. 

It's been 13  years since I visited Germany, since then I've spoken German 0 minutes of my life and as the saying goes "You don't use it, you lose it." I've loved understanding the gist of most conversations this week and would love to learn again. So here is the question: Does one ever learn a language they don't intend to use? Or is that every student of mine that doesn't see the usefulness of the class? Would it be crazy to take a German night class now? Thoughts welcome.  

-Bubbles are the best form of cheap entertainment. Germans have figured this out and have placed an appropriate hippy in front of all the main attractions with a tip jar.

- I spent the week in Southern Spain drinking tinto de verano (red wine mixed with either Fanta Limón or sparkling water -blanco). In Germany, the name of the summer game is weissweinshorle (white wine mixed with sparkling water). So how come we don't do that in the US? We rarely delute our wine with anything and once I am back I am going to start. It's refreshing, tasty and you don't get a buzz. I am all in.  

-Berlin (and other parts of Germany) are little Russia. It is fair to say that kid practiced more Russian on this trip  then when he is in MI with grandparents.  At first, he was *so* excited when he heard Russian but after weeks of Portugal/Germany/England with my brother's friends and mine, he doesn't bat an eye when he hears it. In the meantime, I think I got dumber. Behind surrounded by people that speak perfect Russian makes me self conscious and unable to tie a sentence together. Ugh. 

- My kid now eats bread with butter! And puts lemon in his water! He drinks orange juice! Wow. He has tried mussels,  anchovies, seabass, swordfish, blue cheese, sardines, paté and routinely ordered avocado toast with poached egg (expensive habit!) but more importantly, my food worries didn't come to fruition and there is hope for home. 

- London nearly melted this week with the highest temperatures ever recorded. The eve we took the tube was described as "too hot for legal limit to transport livestock in the UK" in the newspaper. There was no AC anywhere and fans (when they were available, rarely) just don't do enough when your body temperature is above any normal degree. 

Trains, boats, plane, buses, tube,  taxis, cars, double deckers and horses. We have had an amazing summer and I got to share it with some friends and family all over Europe. In the end, my kid loved  traveling as much as I do and impressed me with his curiosity, friendliness and openness. I loved seeing the world through his eyes, here is to many more trips together to places far and wide!

What Went Wrong June 2018

It's no mistake there hasn't been a blog entry in recent days. Over the years my blog has become a fun thing to share the moment, look back on, and a bit of a reference guide for future travels. I try to write stuff that's not a just check list but instead a spot where I can take myself back to the places, tastes and all the feels. But as Remi has started to go to school and I've added various people on Facebook, I've had to become more thoughtful of what goes out there. Yes, I still swear (we are all adults and word "shit" won't kill anyone) and a glass of wine is delicious (we are all adults and I can drink if I want to) but instead of writing my travel blog and an email to parents about the days' happenings during school trips, I started copying and pasting the text. When all goes well, it's easy.  I can write fun stuff here and there and keep it as a memory. As seemingly everything on this trip was going wrong, I found myself sugar coating to the point of no recognition and decided to abandon blog and focus on pictures (parents still got a quick summary via email). So what happened?

1. I didn't fly with the students. Since Remi and I are not coming back for another month, my itinerary wasn't just different coming back to CA but also going to Europe. The Group Director didn't haven't me there to corral the troops, the students didn't have anyone encouraging them to explore or making suggestions for lunch places and by the time I got to Madrid 6 hours later than the group, I walked into a ring of fire and utter dysfunction. 

2. Some of my students never had me as a teacher. While usually that hasn't been a problem, this particular bunch wasn't particularly interested in getting to know me. Upon reflection towards the end of the trip, I realized no one actually wanted to hang out with me. We were a group of 8yo to 67yo and I spent my entire time with the 20-21 contingent. They've traveled with me before, presumably like me (since they came back for more) and weren't scared of engaging with me. 

3. Some students had me as a teacher two years ago. In my attempt to make this accessible to as many people as possible, I advertised this trip 27 months ago for smallest monthly payments since they would be spread out over 2 plus years. As a result, I haven't seen some students in 2 years and they didn't know me (read reason #2 above).

4. Neverending gossip and cliques within my group. I'll just leave it at that. 

5. Phones, phones, phones. I guarantee you, some students aren't capable of telling you the names of cities we've visited, let alone any info about what we saw. As we got on the bus, earbuds would go in. In museums, noses in phones. Tour guides would talk to us, the students' backs towards them.

So this begs the question "Why did they go?" Did they want to visit Spain? Did they just happen to have money and it was a reason to get out of Union City for 10 days? Were their friends going? Did they go to get that Instagram shot? I'm honestly not sure. 

And while no one likes a martyr, I do these trips for the students. As someone who travels a lot, I seek out something I can show my kids and encourage speaking Spanish and overall travel. If my students haven't learned a thing on this trip then it was a complete waste of my time.

Of course, I'm generalizing and there are
those who loved every minute of it and soaked up the experience. Most of those were in college or older with a few minor exceptions. I did get to take a 20yo on their first flight!

Three parting things that I enjoyed:

-Teaching kids who were willing to try how to eat mussels

-One student noticing how interactive the guides are

-One student saying leaving is bittersweet. They are excited to go home and see their loved ones yet enjoyed being in Spain. 

As a teacher, I know our rewards come with time and patience but I won't sit on my thumbs awaiting them from this trip. With such minor victories, I am left to decide if I ever want to do this again.  For now I just focus on the adult trip to Thailand in 2019 and my personal travel. Adelante!

Segovia/Burgos/San Sebastian/Surprise 2018: Día 4-6

Día 4

Segovia? Burgos? I'm pretty sure we've found our favorites of the trip (for now :))! Sure Madrid is lovely but it's a big financial, metropolitan city. True Spain lies in narrow cobblestone streets, tapas, hilly paths full of history, cathedrals, castles and these two towns delivered.

Segovia's acuaduct is an impressive 15 kilometer structure that delivered the water from the mountains into the city. Today it is full of remnants of the 8 centuries that Arabs spent in Spain,  gorgeous Alcazar castle and an impressive cathedral. Some of us ate the traditional suckling pig,  while others had some tapas or stuck to pizza.  I think I speak for everyone when I say we could have walked around more and taken in the views but we had to continue on North to the city of Burgos.

Burgos is a small charming town where we met Luis, an awesome guide so full of energy and engagement it caused one student to say "I wish teachers were that interactive." And with that, please know how special it is that you are able to give your kids this opportunity. While I can try to recreate presentations, show images and talk about my love of Spain, there is absolutely no comparison between hearing about it vs standing in a 13th century cathedral, Segway-ing your way through Madrid, tasting the entire tapas menu and having local guides make you be kings and queens of Spain to explain European monarchy. I truly hope that each and every person is making the most of these 12 days because everyone here is so very lucky to experience this.  

At this point of the trip, students are figuring out their relationship with the journals. Some are journaling their way through the day,  writing down their impressions and feelings before I ask while others have questioned the need.  I do believe that the journal is some of the best way to internalize the experience and those who get into the journals are giving themselves a souvenir of a lifetime. 

After dinner, it was our second trivia eve. The students who answered questions from the day (culture, Spanish or history related)  got to choose a bookmark from Madrid, post card from Segovia and Burgos or coaster with images of the acuaduct. 

Two walking tours in two different towns in one day made for a lot of happy, tired people, most of whom retired in our swanky modern hotel (which did not include quality Wi-Fi, making this a very late email). Others went into town for dessert, laughs and great company.

 

When we wake up, we are off to Basque Country, Northern Spain where we will learn new words, see the world famous Guggenheim museum and see something completely different from the last four days.

Day 5

Bilbao's Guggenheim and Jeff Koons' Puppy are known all over the world. Today we got to explore Bilbao, one of the most industrial cities of Spain. Host to hundreds of conventions per year, it is a city that had revitalized itself in the last 30 years. Building a convention center, fixing up the harbor, investing in infrastructure, the city has become a hot spot for all things industry. DC and Hong Kong metro, buses, locomotives all over the world come from Bilbao. 

We had a couple of hours to explore the Guggenheim (China Olympics exhibit was the favorite for most), catch the local Pride Parade on the river and shop.

And then there were the pintxos. Variety of food in small bites or on a skewer is a fun way to share lunch with your friends while trying many different things. 

San Juan Eve is tonight! Take a piece of paper, write down all the things you want to "burn" away in your life and throw the paper in a huge fire. Out with the negative, in with the positive. After dinner at the hotel we took a walk to the San Juan gathering, saw the huge bonfire and listened to music. It's always great to participate in a local event and San Juan fit the bill and wrapped up a great day.

Day 6

Because EF doesn't ever stay in one spot for too long, today we went to explore San Sebastian, coastal town on the Atlantic an hour north of Bilbao. The modern architecture, bridges and of course, the beach were all there for our enjoyment. Being that it's Sunday and gorgeous weather to boot, the beach was packed. Some people went to the beach, others ate, shopped or went on a boat. When we gathered at our meeting spot at the appointed time, our Tour Director,  Kolja had a surprise for us. 

What's one to do when you have a couple of free hours? Go to France, of course! 45 mins later we arrived in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a small Basque fishing village with a beach and crepes. Saint Jean is the same holiday we celebrated the night before (San Juan in French!) and there were many people who wore their local red handkerchief to celebrate the city's namesake day.  We had two hours that were spent swimming, tanning, trying out our French and overall relaxing. This relaxing afternoon came at a perfect time as we are all quite tired and about to embark on a long bus day to Barcelona tomorrow. And there you have it, Spain and France in one day! 

Tomorrow we move into our last hotel where we will spend four nights. Our schedule is packed and we are excited! 

Madrid / Toledo 2018: Día 3

Toledo  and a day full of choices are on the menu for today.

We started visiting the old Spanish capital, Toledo.  You know, the Holy Toledo one. The one that has one cathedral and 79 churches for its population of 10 thousand. Toledo never disappoints and it's narrow streets, cobblestone pathways took us to one of the largest gothic structures in the world, the Jewish quarter, sword factory and the famous El Orgaz of El Greco.  Our guide Carlos was hilarious, kept us on our toes and made the day educational yet fun.

Yes, some of your kids are coming home from swords and daggers. You've been warned.

Lunch of veggies and rice got us enough energy for the second portion of the day, one where the kids had to make a lot of choices.

Número Uno: Reina Sofia to see the famous works of Dali and Picasso's Guernica or the Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens ended up being relaxing and pretty, the Reina Sofia informative but rushed.

Número Dos: Segway or a walk to the Royal Cathedral of Almudena.  Both groups seemed to enjoy their choices and then...

Número Tres: Cooking class, Rodilla  or Tapas for dinner. Cooking class was a hands on experience where we got to prepare a cold summer tomato gazpacho soup, tortilla española omelet, vegetable and seafood paella and an almond tart. Yum! Rodilla was a cheaper sandwich option (think chain restaurant with tasty tea sandwiches) and Tapas was a selection of small traditional dishes off the menu.

By the time the day ended we found ourselves journaling at almost 11 o'clock at night and having our first trivia night. As the week goes on, I hope the students are listening. Those who answered my questions basee on the last couple of days got to choose a bookmark of an image of Madrid that we have visited. There is more trivia to come, so you have to stay awake!

The night ended with some of us staying in, while others venturing out for the last late eve of Madrid. Baby octopus (not your usual choice), padron peppers and leche frita (I surely haven't heard if fried milk before!) and great conversation made for a delightful eve.

Tomorrow we are starting out trek North, with the first stop of Segovia.

Madrid 2018: Día 2

Day 2 started with a typical Spanish breakfast, some delicious pan with cheese and a selection of meat, excellent coffee, juices and croissants.

Everyone was on time  (yay!) and we were off on a driving tour of Madrid with our local city guide, Berta. We drove by Las Ventas bull ring, saw the most affluent neighborhood of Salamanca and made our way to the Palacio Real. King Felipe is currently visiting the US, making it possible to see some of the 2800 rooms of this luxurious palace.

Onto the local market we went to pick up some food for a picnic at the gorgeous Parque de Retiro. Let's be honest, when given an option to make smart decisions not everyone takes it. We had a fair share of Pringles, chocolate cookies, Oreos that some students called lunch. Others took the time to choose a good piece of lomo, chorizo, jamon and did a tasting of various cheeses and fruits.  Have I mentioned how hot it is? I promised months ago that heat will be an issue and unfortunately, I was right. Why do I mention this now? It's so important to choose good meals so that we can give our bodies the energy it needs to walk (8+ miles today?) and handle the crazy heat. Moral of the story: tomorrow we all will make better food choices!

After a relaxing picnic (in the shade!), we split into two groups. Real Madrid lovers went to  Santiago Barnabeu to see the famed team's home stadium while the rest of us "raced" in rowboat. And by race I mean, try to figure out how to navigate the thing so we weren't just doing loopies. Ok, maybe that was just our boat.

We split into two groups once again, with one heading back to the hotel, while others to Teleférico Cable Car to get a view of Madrid from afar. A few pics later we got back to the hotel via Madrid Metro, just like locals.

Dinner was meatballs and rice (mixed reviews but maybe better than yesterday?) followed by an incredible flamenco show. I have seen Flamenco all over Spain, but seeing how the dance comes from the South it is not uncommon to find less than authentic experience elsewhere.  Las Carboneras didn't disappoint! Powerful expressions, precise movements and high energy created a quality show consisting of three female and one  male dancers. 

The eve ended with some people heading back to the hotel, while others cooling off with ice cream at Mercado de San Miguel. Think of San Jose's San Pedro Market meets San Francisco's Ferry Building. Now make it fancier and open almost 24/7 and you have yourself Mercado de San Miguel. I'd like to just eat there for a week nonstop but that's unlikely to happen.

Tomorrow we are off to Toledo, Spain's religious capital and then back in Madrid for a pick of several activities.