Slovenia

Liam had his first extended time away from us, or I should say we were away from him. Mike and I headed to Slovenia over my April break. It was an absolutely fantastic trip. I cannot accurately describe how beautiful we found Slovenia. The mix of mountains (the Julian Alps) and hillsides covered with vineyards was at times breathtaking. We were visiting and staying with our friend Kay Raplenovich. Kay and her husband Bob have been living in Slovenia the last couple of years.
Our time with Kay was simply wonderful. It was filled with good conversation, laughter and having Kay share her surroundings with us. We were right on the border of Italy and Slovenia so we were able to explore parts of both countries. One of the highlights of the trip was hiking around in the foothills of the mountains on one bright sunny day. Mike wanted to take a picture as we were driving so we stopped on the road side. As Mike was taking the picture, Kay and I started to follow the sounds of water. As we looked across the road we noticed a sluice way of sorts, which lead to a series of man made terraced waterfalls leading up into the mountain. We followed it a ways and ended up finding this natural mountain spring, just bubbling out of the mountain. Kay and I decided that it must be the spring from the book Tuck Everlasting- and we all drank.
After that little hike, we enjoyed a great picnic lunch at a church high up on a hill with the mountains as a backdrop. Another highlight of the trip was attending a choir practice with Kay. Mike and I attempted to sing with the choir but our command of Slovene made singing along very difficult. It was a fun attempt though. Following the practice the choir always retreats to the wine cellar for some excellent wine made by the choir director in his wine cellar. Along with the wine there was much good homemade cheeses, salami (mike loved this)and bread. Periodically, the group would burst into song and it could literally bring tears to my eyes.
Slovenia is a beautiful country and the culture is so healthy. I was so happy to see how everyone cycled or walked everywhere. Kay also reported that everyone makes their own food. In addition, people apparently have just what they need and don't kill themselves striving for more then what they need. Excess isn't something they reach for. It was so refreshing to experience a culture in which these things were priority.
Liam did well while we were away, aside from coming down with a nasty case of the flu just hours after we left. My mom was great about taking good care of him though! He has recovered and seems to be back to his silly self. When Mike and I returned Liam eyed us for about 30 seconds before collapsing into our arms for a huh. I am pretty sure that he was trying to decide if he was mad at us or happy to see us. I guess he decided that he was happy as he really hasn't wanted us to be too far out of his sight since then.
So now we are back in Maine and looking forward to the forward march of spring (yes, spring is just now arriving in Maine). Shops and restaurants are beginning to open just as the trees are starting to bud. It feels great to have our town coming back to life. Slovenia and its lush green colors and beautiful flowers has me ready for that all to happen here.