Caves, Ruins, and Venice

In front of the ancient forum of Aquileia:
The foundations of the port of Aquileia:
Jonah loved this Slovenian play ground...
At the exit to the Skocjan Caves in the Karst region of Slovenia:
Descending from the high point of the cave path:
Inside the silent caves:

We really didn’t have enough time to enjoy the five star luxury of the Grand Hotel Toplice. Some suggested that we just stay here and lounge around the pool, enjoying the champagne breakfast day after day and living like the wealthy do... They actually did put champagne out at the breakfast drink table! I guess the other 4 guests in the hotel enjoyed that. More adventurous spirits prevailed and we left the pampering and luxury of Lake Bled and headed for the south west corner of Slovenia to visit the Skocjan Caves. These were a big hit with the group last year, so I booked a tour again, and they didn’t disappoint. The caves have two distinct sections – the silent caves and the river caves. In the silent caves, the stalagmites and stalactites create an unearthly landscape which enhances the slightly creepy atmosphere. Some of the caverns here are small, some are quite large. Then you enter the river section, and the cave becomes enormous, with a bridge far above the river that cuts through the cave and the echo of flowing water (and chattering kids) surrounding you.

After leaving Slovenia, we visited Aquileia, a small village on the way to Venice. Two thousand years ago, this was the 9^th largest city in the world, as it served as a major Roman Empire port. Now, after having been wiped out by Attila and his Huns, you can put a shovel in the ground pretty much anywhere and dig up ancient Roman artefacts and ruins. In the official digs that are on display, there are a few standing columns, and lots of foundations and piles of broken stone. During the barbarian invasions, people in places like Aquileia, on the north coast of the Adriatic, ended up fleeing to a collection of marshy, barely inhabitable islands in the lagoon – this of course became Venice.

We walked into Venice after a delicious meal at an Italian truck stop. Italians love good food, and their truck stops are very different from the road stops common along North American roadways. One of the biggest “chains” is called Autogrill, and they provide seasonal, regional cuisine for a reasonable price to the travelling public throughout Italy. No two Autogrills offer the exact same menus. This is refreshing when coming from the land of Tim Hortons and McDonalds where everything is the same no matter where you go. McDonalds actually tried to buy the Autogrill franchise and convert them all the McDonalds. The Italian public caused such an uproar that McDonalds backed out, knowing that this was not the market for their prefab meals. Not that there aren’t McD’s in Italy – just that the Italians don’t want to lose all the traditional options.

After arriving at the hostel, we went for our first Italian gelato, and I took the group on an adventure through the dark and foggy alleys of Venice at night. Eventually, we found the hostel again. Was I lost? l don't think so.