Morning came way too early!
We went down to enjoy breakfast – let’s just say I could have enjoyed
all the croissants on the breakfast bar.
We then went out to catch a water taxi back to the airport where we were
meeting the Grahams, Shelby, my Uncle Frank, and my cousins Barbara and
Elaine.
Frank, Barbara, and Elaine all flew into Venice that
morning. We met at the rental car
place. The rental car reservations were
all confusing with the rental car place having us supposedly arriving the day
before and then they had too many reservations.
It was a bit chaotic but we got it all settled. We had rented two vans and a car… come to
find out these vans were huge cargo vans that could site 9 people per
van!! We loaded up and then headed
towards Slovenia. I always get confused
by the road signs and didn’t have unlimited data so had to rely on maps. We were supposed to get on the autostrade
(interstate) but I accidentally had turned too early and we were on a smaller road. Well after a few stops, we got it figured out
and made it to the interstate. We knew
this time that we had to get a toll pass for the vehicles before entering
Slovenia. We stopped at a rest stop to
get the passes and some snacks for the vehicles.
Our first stop in Slovenia was the Lipica Stud Farm – home of the famous Lipizzaner stallions
(the horses that dance and prance). This
was a new place for me to visit. Uncle
Frank had been there before on a previous visit. We were all starving so we grabbed lunch and
then Elaine and I went to a demonstration show while the others explored the
park. The place was quite large to
explore and we were able to see the horse stables and museums around the
park.
It was time to head to Dolenja Vas. We stayed in the same gostilna (Gostisce Pri Zalogarju) from my last trip to
Slovenia. OMG… the hospitality… what
nice people. We had 7 rooms reserved for
13 people so room assignments were given and we were all able to settle
in. I was planning to do some laundry
when I stayed in Venice but since my plans changed it was time to wash a few items. We managed to do laundry in the tub in one of
the rooms, which worked out nicely because I was running out of clothes.
Jože’s family came to meet us for dinner at
the gostilna - you can see the family chart and relationships below. He was joined by his wife
(Ksenija), his daughter (Daša), and his grandson (Matjaž). Matjaž is an elite swimmer and spends most
mornings going to training. He was
getting ready to go on a vacation with his dad so this was the only night we
got to spend with him. It was fun to see
the young kids interact with each other over the dinner. We had a great dinner with lots of wine
flowing and delicious food. As the night
was winding down, the guys – Frank, Jože, and Sammy – were the last ones
standing (or should I say drinking) as the rest of us headed to bed. 
