91. Strangers

Today we took a day trip to Lesce Bled. I think Mom and Dad have caught on that the kids aren't really into museums, because lately we've been spending more time outside and less time in stuffy buildings looking at old art, and historical artifacts.

Lesce Bled is a small town about an hour outside of Ljubljana by bus. All it really is, is a lake with an island, a castle, a big church, and some great scenery. While Mom and Dad found a place to get lunch, us kids hung out by the lake and eventually made our was up to the market. The market was small and had less than 10 booths placed in a circle. Each booth we stopped at had a local artist selling their handmade goods. They were good salesmen too! I learned the history behind glass making, certain types of flowers that were special to Bled, and a lot about flower pressing. So we had to buy something from everyone. When we met up with mom and dad, we went back for round two.

Our lunch next to the lake invited many ducks to come and befriend us looking for our sympathy and some scraps. Arden caved first. It was a 6 kilometer walk around the lake, but we made sure to take a lot of pit stops along the way.

We veered off the trail to go and find "the lookout" first. This was an area at the top of a hill overlooking the lake and the town. Not sure if we took the most direct or safest route, but we made it! And the view was so worth it. As soon as we got to the top, all shants were unzipped and shirts untucked. The weather was really nice, but it was not cool on the hike up. After a break with peach tea and carrot juice, we headed back down the steep hill by doing what can only be described as controlled falling or dirt surfing.

By the time we got back, there were two swan shaped boats waiting for us at the dock. We used these to row out to the island where a big church was. There were 99 steps on the island leading up to the church where grooms carried their brides to the very top to ensure a good marriage. Unfortunately we went up the opposite side, so we didn't get to make Mom and Dad participate in this tradition.

On the ride back to the mainland, Scarlet had the chance to row a little, so Arden and I barely made it and only ran over a few buoys. our next stop was Tito's villa. This is a summer getaway palace that has actually been put to good use after it's owner was gone. The place that used to house people like Castro, Ghandi, and Khrushchev is now a hotel. We walked in to get a good look, but it really was just a hotel.

Before trying to catch the bus back, we stopped in a restaurant overlooking the lake to try their famous creme cake. This cake has been made in Bled for over 100 years and the recipe is a secret. Well most of the family tried this new cake. Brody stuck with chocolate. The portion size was outrageous, but we all scarfed down every last morsel.

The bus was scheduled to leave every half hour, so I stopped by the shops to get a postcard, and headed to the bus station. There we found out that we had read the summer bus schedule, which hadn't started yet. We had another 2 hours until a bus to Ljubljana came by. As we pondered how to spend these two hours, a eurovan pulled up in the parking lot across from us. An old man got out and placed a taxi sign with prices listed on it. This taxi took less time and cost less than the bus! Two younger people walked up to us and found that they had made the same mistake as we had reading the bus times. Soon all 8 of us were stuffed in this eurovan and Arden and Scarlet got to spend some great time with Darko, the taxi driver up front. Dad, Brody and I were in the back, shut off from all conversation and stared out the windows. Mom talked with our new friends in the middle and made such an impression on them that they paid for over half the trip!

My project for the night was to finaly upload all my pictures to facebook from the past month or so. Brody made dinner, Arden and Scarlet studied, and Mom and Dad played on their phones for their anniversary.