Day 42 – Friday 19 June

So far so good with the car parking we think – at least there were no clamps on it this morning or notifications digitally or otherwise of a fine. Fingers crossed we do not receive anything afterwards.

Clearly the forecast indicating a drop in temperatures a few days ago was all false promise.  Yesterday’s very warm 28-29 degrees for the alpine region is even higher today, topping the 30’s.

Last night we organised to get on the road by 7:30am so we had plenty of time to return the car to Ljubljana by 10:30am. The drive is estimated to be 2.05 hours, however we always like to leave enough time for topping up with petrol, wrong turns and road works.  It does not pay to stress when driving over here, which is challenging enough at the best of times.  We also are fortunate not to have incurred any damage to any of our car hires, and the last trip back is always the most stressful incase something goes wrong last minute!

The drive was the most scenic drive of our entire holiday. The Soca river is just sublime – even if you need to be a polar bear to swim in it.  Today we were treated to mist rising from it with the morning sun and mirror images reflecting.  For about an hour we drove through more beautiful hamlets – hills to alps, meadows, and bright flower pot lined streets and window boxes.  When the road left the river, the scenery was still lovely and of course invited us to come back at more leisure to enjoy off the track exploring.

The car was returned to the agency and we got 100% clearance – which is always a BIG relief. Just past the agency was a cafe and as it was already about 28 degrees at 10:00 (yes we got there early), we stopped for a cuppa and comfort stop before walking to our hotel.  As we were about to leave a man sitting at the table next, approached us, apologising for listening to our conversation but enquiring where we were from as he could not place us.

Fifteen minutes later he shook Verns hand, kissed mine with a slight linger…. Oh dear…. And wished us much good life and travels. He was from Serbia originally and lovely and helpful with travel and local information and advice to avoid tourist pitfalls.  He commented on the energy and interaction between Vern and I with our conversation – again apologising for listening – but how much love and respect he felt was between us, and he wanted to acknowledge it as he respected it so much.  

When I replied we have been together since we were 16-17, he was even more amazed and impressed.  In respect of our conversation, it is very difficult not to be heard with tables so close – and we of course were delighted to have made a positive and uplifting new connection.

Our hotel was not too far to walk, but even on the shady side of the street we were a bit sticky by the time we got to the hotel 10 minutes later.  Fortunately a room was ready for us early, so we topped up on fluids again and set out with a big bag of washing for getting a commercial wash done.

We are mindful that we are hitting a heat wave and will need a sanitising before and afterwards on our clothes to maintain good hygiene and freshness.  We really dislike sweating profusely and the body odour that can accompany it.  Probably too much information – but when travelling with one small to medium suitcase each in hot weather for 7 weeks, one needs to consider these things. Handwashing in a sink can only do so much.

The main square is about 5 minutes slow walk in the shade, then the laundrette is another 5 minutes walk across the triple bridge.  Unfortunately they were full up when we got there, but offered to look after it and do it when a machine was free – either today or tomorrow morning.  

Sorted, we saw next door was a second hand shop, and popped in there to see if there were any light clothes that Vern and I might get to supplement our packing for the next sweltering week. There was nothing suitable for me, however Vern got to good shirts for 12 euro each. Next stop was the market food stands to get a light lunch.

For lunch we settled on a Venison burger and fries (brie, bacon, rocket, mustard sauce and onion jam) and a big chicken bao bun plus a house-made sugar free lemonade.  Today was a matter of trying to stick to any shady area. The temp was now 32 in the shade, and it is sweat material. We found a spot in the shade to eat before returning to the hotel to cool down and do blogs and admin.

It really is just too hot to do anything outside of air-conditioning for us, and fortunately we had a good wander around  Ljubljana on the way in last week so were not too disappointed.  We tried going into a couple of shops to browse under air-conditioning, however most are in older buildings and the units are not that efficient at cooling as they are back home.  

In that respect, many places do not have air-conditioning and we are a little concerned about France and Italy who are even more lacking in that regard. There are already reports in the news of deaths in France due to the extreme heat – apparently only 22% of homes have aircon. 

Another reason for the deaths is drowning.  People try to get cool in lakes and rivers and something seems to go wrong. Its just awful.

After another shower and cool down, we headed back to the market area and enjoyed our last dinner in Slovenia.  We had a very tasty smoked pork rib, coleslaw and bun, and a fresh truffle pasta.  Eating outside next to the river in a tiny bit of shade was not really pleasant unfortunately due to the oppressive heat still at 8:00pm still in the 30’s – albeit the food was delicious.