October 18, 2015

piran, slovenia

we went all through slovenia last month and i’m all ready to recap.
…all i can say is, be prepared to book your next trip here! it is an
unbelievable country and one of the last few undiscovered places
in europe. i am newly obsessed with it, and i have so much to share.
we’re starting off where chase and i started – the medieval coastal
town of piran. you’ll never see anything like this town, and i can
promise you’ll fall instantly in love with it. it sits at the tip of a
little peninsula on slovenia’s tiny stretch of coastline,
and is packed with history, charm, and stories.
walking through the old town is fascinating.
we had a walking tour with a local named mateja,
and she pointed out so many tiny details that make up
the city. the history is so well preserved here in this magical
adriatic coastal town. the venetian influence can be felt strongly
since it sits right across from venice, but it is a place of its own.
a lot of europeans have started to discover it more and more, so
the streets can be full during the summer months…but as far as
european cities go, this is much more unknown and unique. it
is definitely one of my favorite cities we’ve been to in the world.
^^ here’s a photo from the visit slovenia website, because i had
to show the amazing setting from above. the town is literally
built right onto this peninsula – it couldn’t be more picturesque.
the old seaport is on the peninsula, and the town is surrounded by some of
the original walls from the middle ages (the ones that are preserved).
you can view the town from above walking on one of these, and it’s
amazing to see how the medieval layout with narrow streets and
tiny houses has been preserved today. it is such a special town.
just doing some exploring ^^
from the top of the city, you can see 4 countries at once!!
italy, croatia, austria, & slovenia are all in view.
in the distance you can see the slovenian alps,
turning into the dolomites & austrian alps.
croatia is on the other side. gorgeous! ^^
my favorite stop came when we stepped into
piranske soline –– the local salt shop. the nearby
piran salt pans are some of the rarest in the world since
they still use the old-fashioned process, making the salt
absolutely incredible. honestly, it is almost sweet! the slogan
of piranske is in slovenian, but it translates to the best quote:
“the salt is the sea that couldn’t get back to the sky.” love that!!
we spent time in here sampling different salts (including
chocolate with salt), and hearing about the process… which
we experienced firsthand the following day at the salt pans!
* be SURE to try the salt flower –– it is the best thing in the world.
the cutest town square i ever did see, with a cute boy standing in it ^^
just a little happy to be in this pretty place … can you tell? :)
there are alleyways off every street in the city … it’s a never ending maze!
we had an amazing fresh seafood lunch at la bottega dei sapori
which is right in the city square. the view was the best part!
we said goodbye to our cute guide mateja and wandered the
afternoon away on our own, already falling for slovenia.
the bright white and pastel colors set against
the blue sky are beyond stunning here. add in
the surrounding adriatic sea and it’s near perfect.
i could have stayed here for a few more days if i had my way ..
we can’t say enough good things about the tiny town of piran!
we headed to the next town over – portoroz – to stay the night,
with a lot of fun adventures ahead throughout slovenia!
we rented a car for our time through this country,
but for this first day we used slovenian transfer
service go opti and it was so easy and refreshing
after a summer full of catching buses and metros.