Let me start my vacation recap by telling you this: I'm not really much of a world traveler.
We haven't been a huge trip taking kind of family. Yes, we've been to Jamaica and the Bahamas a few times. Yes, we went to Australia once back in 2006 as a foursome (which was an amazing adventure). But mostly, we stay pretty close to home.
But when Dan's friend of 30 years decided to get married, we figured it was time for just the two of us to have a little adventure together. Ergo, Hello Slovenia, the site of the wedding.
For the first part of our trip, we stayed in the capitol city of Ljubljana and spent our days in the city as well as venturing out on day trips to see some of the staggeringly beautiful landscape of the country.
You know what comes in really handy on a vacation? A remote shutter release for self-portraits.
And a zoom lens.
We ate leftover margherita pizza while sitting on a bench with this view of Lake Bohinj.
It was amazing to be in a country that goes from alpine landscapes to coastal vistas in less than 100 kilometers.
And don't even get me started on my favorite store of all, Piranske Soline.
Sea salt to die for. Truly. (My favorite souvenir? This thing.)
Of course, the food was amazing every place we went.
And Dan was definitly a fan of the Lasko, Slovenia's number one beer.
But the best part of the trip was being with this guy 24-7. Time to really talk about our lives, our love and how it all fits together.
Some of you who have read my blog know that Dan and I have worked really hard on improving our union, making many needed and difficult changes in an effort to live with a greater understanding of ourselves and each other.
This time together was a sweet and gentle reminder of how far we've come during the past three years.
When we arrived in Krajna Vas, the tiny village where the wedding was being held and we soaked in all that was in store for us. A lovely wine tasting at the home of the mayor of Krajna Vas. (Proscuitto to absolutely die for, cured in his own wine cellar.) A traditional Slovene meal served in a restaurant normally closed for the summer, but opened for the wedding party guests. Nights sitting by the pool in the most rustic of homes imaginable, built in the 1500s, sharing time with old and new friends. And of course, drinking many glasses of teran, a Slovene wine exclusively grown and produced in the Kras region.
And of course, it was a supremely idyllic setting for a wedding. All of the hand-made touches were beautiful and personal. The bride, Kjara, had a lovely, romantic vision, executed with so much charm and style.
Honestly, I have 800 photos and all of them feel special to me. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to layer this into my Project Life pages for the week. I'm sure I'll think of something. For now, I'm designing a simple book I plan to print at Blurb to showcase all of the photos.
For now, I am savoring the sweet memories, and the sweetness even still of coming home to my children and the life for which I am so grateful to be living.
At one of our meals, some of our new friends—these charming, beautiful young women who are friends of the bride—asked us about our relationship. How we came to be. How we knew. How we have made it last.
They found it a very romantic story to be sure, but we realized a little bit of fate and luck always goes along with hard work.
We've had a lifetime of lucky.
And to Chris and Kjara, we wish you much love and happiness in your lives together. As they say in Slovenia, na zdravje!
Nicky from Okotoks says
looks like it was good for the soul!!
Christine says
Looks like an awesome trip. The garden table setting reminds me of the movie Chocolat. Beautiful! And isn’t it just great to be at a wedding and realize how happy you are to be in your own marriage?
Kendra B says
OMGosh what a wonderful post!! What great pictures – what great memories you’ll have!!!
Stacy Simpson says
Beautiful photos – thanks for sharing!
mary says
Wow – absolutely awesome post today. Loved your photos. Loved your reflections even more…
April says
Looks like an amazing trip. Beautiful wedding set up too!
BettyLou says
Great post, love the wooden container for salt. You didn’t, by any chance, bring any extra back, did you?
muptegrove@central-bank.net says
Will you please share your book and give thoughts on working on the book through Blurb just wondering.
Paige S. says
Absolutely stunning pictures.
Maureen says
Martha Stewart would be proud of that table setup. Gorgeously elegant simplicity. It sounds as if you had the trip you and your marriage needed and deserved.
amanda says
Thank you for sharing! I am so glad you got honeymoon with your honey!
Anna Ely says
Beautiful place isn’t it. My niece and her husband and children are living there. Her husband is with the Marines and the Embassy. I love all the pictures she posts of the region! It would be wonderful to see!
bdaiss says
*gasp* How gorgeous! I admit, my one desire in life is to travel. Any where. EVERY where. I think Slovenia just went on my list. (Unfortunately I do already travel a LOT. It’s just to all the same places every year. Hazard of the job I suppose.)
So glad you had a delightfully wonderful adventure!
Ann says
Cathy
I wanted to share with you what I did with Project Life last year when we went on our road trip. I took a map, cut it up and put in the pockets, took a few photos from the trip, i.e. a photo of hubby and me and the journaling said something like – gone for two weeks. See mini book for more details.
Sounds like you had a great trip. Beautiful pictures. ~Ann
karen says
Looks like you and Dan had an amazing time. Love your photos.
Christine K says
What a wonderful trip. Your pictures are AMAZING! I am leaving on a trip to a faraway place in a few weeks and your pictures inspire me. Thanks for sharing.
Leigh says
Beautiful post and pictures. Thank you sharing.
heidig says
Gorgeous pictures and wonderful story! Thanks for letting us take a peek.
Kathryn Benfiet says
Absolutely stunning photos. What a gorgeous country. I’ve been happily married for 30 years to the love of my life and there’s nothing like time away from real life to connect and cement your marriage. So glad you and Dan had that time…you’ve both worked hard to get to this new and wonderful place. Thanks for sharing.
Nat says
So many thoughts:
1. Congrats on getting the big trip with alone time. My husband and I make long trips together a high priority but it’s been a while since we’ve taken one and we were just discussing making sure we have time to connect.
2. Really interested to see how you handle documenting this. I do an initial photo purge when I come home. I do a photobook just so I have something quickly that I can hand people to show soon after the trip. The rest I struggle with. I don’t do PL, traditional scrapbooking only. I’ve scrapbooked a couple of big trips but I’m still struggling about the “right” way (right meaning it makes sense to me).
3. Totally adding Slovenia to my list.
Keianna says
These photos are beautiful. TFS
Annet M says
Lovely! My husband’s step-aunt and her family live in Slovenia and we’ve never been. This just fires that desire up more. Thanks for sharing!
Jennie says
Really enjoyed your photos, Cathy! What a great trip.
Aliza Deutsch says
Those photos are beautiful. Every, single, last one. That w edding looks beautiful.
madeline St onge says
You have totally made my heart happy Cathy. So glad you and Dan could reconnect again
keep on keeping on
Paulette says
Thanks so much for sharing Cathy! Living life wide open is a good thing :o)
Laurie says
Gorgeous photos. I love to travel and you have convinced me to add Slovenia to my list of places I want to visit. Thanks for sharing.
SherriS. says
I’m not the only one that loves your photography and yes, now I want to go there too. Glad you both had a wonderful time!
Cynthia H says
Love love LOVE your pictures and narration. Glad to hear you had a good trip.
Maruša says
oh, your writing and all the photos just made my heart very warm. I love it when someone visits my country and is so excited about it, because it really is beautiful. I am happy that you enjoyed your time here and ‘hvala’ for this post!
RitaQ says
Awesome photos & captured memories. Totally looking forward to seeing your finished/sample pgs of photo book. Of course there will be templates?!!!
Since this is such a special book, you might want to consider printing it at Adoramix – their quality is amazing & the pgs lay flat. I printed my daughter’s wedding bk with them & there is NO comparison to a Shuutterfy or Blurb bk. They are pricey but worth it for special projects. Note… I have no affiliation with them. I still use Shutterfly for everyday, fun books.
Mary Kate says
LOVE seeing these photos. I did an internship for Mercator in Ljubljana in college in 2001. It was a crazy, incredible experience. I can’t say enough good things about Slovenia and what an amazing place it is. Truly hope I can make a trip back there someday. In the meantime, I think this winter I will make it a project to get all those old photos out and Project Life them!
Sue Alg says
Awesome trip and such beautiful photos. What a great memory.
Leora henkin says
Inspiring as always! Thanks for sharing!
J3SS1C4 says
Looks like this was such an amazing trip, with plenty of amazing food! Glad you guys were able to spend the time away together! And I have to say, the bride has amazing taste for her wedding, the photos here look amazing! 🙂
Madel says
Long time lurker, first time commenter. Just glad to see you’re back and that you and hubby had a great time. The pics are lovely! Looking forward to your album of the trip 🙂
Lida says
So enjoyed your vacation photos, the photos really showed how beautiful Slovenia is. Glad you had such a great time!
Vigdis says
Looks like a wonderful vacation. Haven’t been there, but to Prague and Montenegro. Which have some of the same type of enviroment.
Wanted to share what I do: When I have a special event that I have tons of photos from – I have the weeks in PL with some of the photos I love the most so the weeks are not missing from the PL story, and some short type journaling to tell about what we were doing. The rest of the photos I use in an own photobook which tells all about this event 🙂 This will also happen with the trip I got home from today – from the Island of Majorca, Spain.
Jennifer says
Thank you so much for sharing…my paternal great grandparents are from Ljubjlana and my dream is to go there some day and experience life in Slovenia!!!! Thank you again 🙂