Being woken by roosters came as a bonus as our camp spot was near a school and we had been warned we could get trapped in if we didn’t leave early. So by 8am we had already arrived in the quaint town of Piran.
Parking proved a bit of a struggle but we eventually found a road space and walked the pups down the hill through the compact warren of houses. The view from the city walls and from the bell tower was beautiful.
Slipping through the quiet streets, it felt like the town was still asleep, but I could easily imagine it being a bustling haven in the summer. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes, and the waitress at Cafinho Piran was lovely bringing water out and laughing at Ernests desperate yelps to engage a snoozing old dog next door who duly ignored the tiresome puppy.
Izola
We next drove onto the smaller fishing village of Izola. The harbour was huge, with hundreds of boats and Slovenia is really geared up for campervans with free/cheap water/waste/electric stations. They request you use the aires provided otherwise risk a €40 fine. With 150 dotted around the country we were able to do our van chores for €1 and have downloaded the full list for future reference. Really welcoming attitude 😊
Kopar
Kopar is a larger industrial town and seemingly a key import point for new cars….there we thousands parked up by the docks! We visited the older part of the town to see Tito Square, Praetorian Palace and Stolnica Marijinega vnebovzetja. To be honest we didn’t like this as much as the smaller towns, but it was drizzling and deserted so perhaps better in summer.
We did however love the food at vegetarian restaurant Na stopničkah. They change their menu each day with a daily soup and 3 main tapas dishes. We had a taste of each and they were all delicious. The only odd thing was they don’t offer drinks…just bring tap water straight over. Happily full we then walked the pups around the nearby Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve. It’s a twitches paradise with plenty of hides, but also has long horn cattle, horses and a cafe.
Trieste – Italy
We had read that Trieste is a mini Venice with a main square that may even be better, so we decided to take a quick detour into Italy for a look.
Mark is keen to explore lots of Italy but I have memories of it being a driving nightmare. 10 minutes in, and I’ve been cut up 4 times, had lanes disappear, narrow roads, scooters dart out and I’d missed my turning for parking. Yep Italy…home of the nightmare driving 🙈
That said we found a space almost opposite the main square (more expensive but it saved my sanity trying to get back through the one way system).
Within 10 minutes we had gawped at the stunning Piazza Unità d’Italia, found the canal (bricked in with breeze blocks 🙄), visited the beautifully decorated Serbia orthodox church and discovered there was a chocolate festival on. I was a very happy lady clutching my bag of tasty truffles. Its certainly a beautiful city and no surprise many authors visited – there are quite a few sculptures depicting the more famous ones such as James Joyce.
As the evening drew in, the light was magical. I love a city at night, quite often the buildings look better lit up, and the inky blue sky and sea blended together seamlessly.
As we walked back to the van, we saw the first flashes of lightning. Tucked up by Miramare Castle we can hear the rain, feel the wind and see the lightning. We have that wonderful balance of being close to nature, whilst still snug and warm. I’m looking forward to the sunrise.
SofaWolves 