Arrivederci Milan! We left at about 9:30 AM and arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the next leg of our Italy and Croatia trip, at approximately 2 PM. Our hotel is inside the Old Town, a pedestrian-only area and dates to the 16th Century. We were upgraded to a suite, basically a huge apartment with two bedrooms, a kitchenette, two baths, two flat screen TVs and other amenities.

After checking in we decided to take a stroll through the Old Town to get our bearings and to find a place to eat. Based on recommendations from the hotel staff, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Valvas’Or. We drank a delightful Slovenian white wine and ate home-made Istrian pasta with truffles and panceta. Dinner was wonderful and our young waiter was extremely helpful and understanding of our ignorance of his language (I have never felt so unprepared language-wise as I do here).

On the way to and from dinner, we stopped to take some pictures of some of the city’s main sights. Ljubljana Castle looms over the Old Town and can be seen from numerous vantage points.

Ljubljana Castle above the Old Town

On Preseren Square, we stopped at the Franciscan Church, a symbol of the city with its striking pink color.

Franciscan Church

Lee spent some time browsing through the Emporium, a high-end department store on the square.

The Emporium

While she was otherwise occupied, I took the opportunity to check out the city’s main square, which contains the Robba Fountain (fountain of the Three Rivers of Carniola), which, unfortunately, is undergoing a refurbishing.

Robba Fountain

Also on this square is the charming Town Hall, with its adorable clock tower.

Town Hall

As we returned to our hotel, we passed Congress Square, a large space and park which is anchored by the main building of Ljubljana University.

Ljubljana University