hello, nostalgia!

just to get those memories flowing, here's a pretty cool video of trieste that a friend sent me from the internets.  it shows trieste in absolutely impeccable weather conditions (which almost never existed in my real life there) and i want to go back now. 

Trieste from Andrija Kovač on Vimeo.

x!

my obsession with the sunset

i'm sure it's no secret that my favorite time of day is the evening.  after work and before it gets dark, when the sun is making it's way down to the horizon and the sky takes on a character different from earlier in the day, i always find myself mesmerized.  when the sun sits high above the world and the skies are blue, life is good.  but during the indeterminate time between afternoon and night, the sky turns into an incredible piece of artwork that can never be accurately predicted.  

while the sunset never looks quite the same each day, it always happens.  wherever you are, whatever the weather is like, the sun always makes its way down and past the horizon.  and even though it's not always miraculous or even visible, it always happens - it exists everywhere and no matter how my day has gone, the sky will change in the evening, thus making the sunset somewhat of a comfort for me.

i believe that my obsession stems from just that - the consistency.  when little else is consistent in my life of travel and chaos, there's always the sunset.

"sLOVEnia, you guys!!"

as i've referenced here and here, slovenia is an incredible country and i'm obsessed.  i'm so glad that being here in trieste has given me the opportunity to explore the country -- i'm not sure i would have made the time to visit otherwise.

for example: this is at the bus stop near where i tutor on thursday afternoons. that blue road sign says "slovenia" with an arrow.  how cool is it that slovenia is so close, there are road signs directing you. to ANOTHER COUNTRY!

a few weekends ago brought beautiful weather and with friends visiting, i was forced (ha) to make moves to some beautiful sights.  with a macchina that we rented, it was easy to hit some major attractions nearby.

we went to ljubljana, which i love - as you've heard before.  it's the capital of slovenia and there's a large student population there.  we ate amazing indian food (YUM, anything but pasta really gets me going at this point) and then had a night out on the town that can be summarized pretty completely by the photo to the right

needless to say, this brunch (see below) was very necessary. not quite as good as boylan's brunch, but it was pretty damn good.  and it was in slovenia.

also con la macchina, we stopped at a little castle called predjama castle just outside of the postonja caves 

and i mean, if you can't tell, this castle is literally carved out of the side of this rockface. seriously!? INSANE.

seeing the sunset at lake bled was pretty gorgeous. we all know how i feel about the sun setting; i kind of like the bella vistas. and the views around bled were much better than the first time i went when it was a bit overcast. 

the best thing about all of these hidden gems in slovenia, is that they're SO CLOSE to trieste!  on sunday, when i met up with a friend in venice and was sharing stories from my weekend, she said, "hold on, you were in slovenia yesterday?!" yep, it's only a stone's throw away. and yesterday, i was exploring the beautiful coastal town of piran.  piran (or pirano, in italiano) has been rightfully dubbed the "dubrovnik of the north adriatic" -- it was gorgeous.  

after some wandering, a little coffee/postcard break (stamps in slovenia are still relatively inexpensive to the states)

and watching the sunset (of course) by the seaside while posing for perfectly balanced photographs.

so, hopefully i've effectively explained the wonders of slovenia so that you will be interested in visiting this little hidden treat of a country.  i know that personally, i would have never added slovenia to my bucket list and so, as i said, i'm very glad that it was somewhat forced upon me.  

x

my ladybird (and her mantonio) and a trip to venezia.

after our delicious italian thanksgiving experience, i played 3rd wheel on a trip to venezia for the day with ladybird and anto. 

we lucked out with GORGEOUS weather and because it was cold, it wasn't very crowded.  it was my first trip to venice since i've lived here in trieste and it was anto's first time EVER (even though he's italian, how does that happen?!) so it was a fun day, playing tourist. 

enjoy the pics below!

the sunset was beautiful -- as they always seem to be here in bella italia -- tramonti bellissimi, sempre

italy is preeeetttty. and i live here! how cool is that?!

xo

the most beautiful sunset i have ever seen

9 december 2010

view from opicina down to the waterfront. after 29 days of rain, i forgot what these looked like.

and then the clouds parted.

today was an excellent day!  after 29 days of rain (literally) the clouds broke and yesterday and today were beautifully clear.  although i'm in bed with a box of tissues about to watch love acctually and nap in an attempt to rid my body of a yucky illness,  i am loving life.

after all the rain, today was like a breath of fresh air.  walking around in town, taking in all of the christmas decorations and the winter air, we all looked at the city in a new light.  it's days like today that make me love this city. 

view from the pier looking back at piazza unita'

we had a delicious picnic nel molo in front of piazza unita during the sunset, featuring vino rosso and fresh cheeses from a nearby tent and as lizzy's boyfriend, A, opened the wine he said, you know, it's really comforting to know that here in italy, even though no one will ever be on time to anything and nothing will be open when you want it to be, there will always be good food and wine that is easily accessible. 

and that is so true.

beautiful sunset, beautiful people.

x

today was a good day.

the bora has died down to a pleasant late-fall breeze and the air was crystal clear today.

after picking up our permessi di soggorni (we have permission to stay in italy! legally!), we walked down to piazza unita and the sunset was incredible, as we discussed that they always are.

the sky was so clear, you could see across the sea to the dolomites as perfectly as we've been able to see them yet -- it was absolutely amazing. these pictures just look pathetic compared to how breathtaking the view really was...

xo!

welcome back to trieste! enjoy the bora.

well the past week and weekend have gone by very very quickly -- i almost don't think they've really happened.  it's hard to believe that it's almost november and our first half-term break! i'm excited to have a week off from school and to travel to amsterdam! but can't believe that it's almost november and winter and christmas and then the year is almost over and phew time needs to slow down.

here's what's been going on:

first, L and i have been trying to find a local volleyball team to play for.  we found one! and last week went to play with them.  they turned out to be a slovenian team only practicing in opicina -- which was only somewhat convenient for us.  the language barrier was hilarious and playing was SO much fun -- i forgot how much i liked it!  we're trying to find a different team that practices in the city that might be a bit more convenient for us, so i'll keep you posted.

then, veronica's (very tall) friend, tim, came to visit from london!

having guests was so much fun, they gave us an excuse to go out every night -- (hint to everyone i know, come visit.)

 and then we got stuck in an elevator on the way to our spanish-themed dinner at R and A's apt....

it's ok? we have 6 bottles of wine and prosecco?

but no, we're really stuck. help!

we just didn't quite make it to the 8th floor.

the view from R and A's apartment was pretty sweet -- makes our city look so "metropolitan," says Lizzy.

how cute are we?!

how cute are they?!

AND THEN i went to the states. for about 40 hours. for morgan's wedding!

the fam at frankie rowlands for drinks post-rehearsal dinner

with cousin alex friday night

at the reception -- such pretty fall colors in virginia! and the weather was so warm

no, he didn't play 'celebration' by kool and the gang but he was much better than ross at playing the bagpipes

a little karaoke at the reception?

more bubbly?! yes, please!

the sunset as i was leaving DC to fly to munich was gorgeous!

so of course i took a hundred million pictures of it.

when i arrived in trieste,  it was raining. no, there was a legitimate MONSOON. and the bora has arrived (officially, now).  yesterday, the winds reached 90 kilometers an hour, which is about 56 mph, which is really fast and really cold. 

i don't love it.

xx!

road trip #2 domani!

first of all, check out my adventures with AXO's flat olive during barcolana last weekend here!

second of all, K and i picked up our 2nd rental car today and OF COURSE the sunset by the water was unreal (as, i'm learning, they always are)

(check out my new occhiali del sole!!)

tomorrow, we leave for cortona! K studied there last spring, so i'm looking forward to having her show me around -- and eating more delicious tuscan food. 

x