stepping into the rest of the summer

This is my final day in Italy, the end of my vacation. I plan to spend a good deal of it sitting in a cafe reading my bible and journaling/processing. And of course, drinking lovely Italian espresso:)

Its been great to spend time with my family on the mainland, and refreshing to rest and explore with a good friend abroad. Now its time to step into the rest of summer, picking up my responsibilities as SBFM staff and outreach leader as my team arrives in London on my heels. I have spent quite a lot of time (you wouldn't know it from the pictures:) on my laptop coordinating different logistical aspects of the outreach during this vacation- but its not been too overwhelming. I got enough of a break to feel rested and that was the purpose. Now even though its been tight on a few things (visas, for instance- since we are business visitors to the UK, not tourists) everything seems to be in order- praise the Lord!

I will continue to update on my life in London and the activities of my team as we see what God has in store for us in England. Posts may become a bit less frequent... not really sure of some aspects of our schedule yet. Please keep us in your prayers as we arrive in England and get settled with our host church. Please lift up my team regarding jet lag since they have a long haul to get over to Europe. Thanks!!

Ciao from Italy!

hello and goodbye

Goodbye, Sarah! (And hello, one last day in Italy before I fly to London to meet my team and start a summer of Olympics outreach!) 

beauty at every turn

Verona is a lovely city. It seems there is something beautiful everywhere I look. I could almost point my camera at random and have the lens fill with something picturesque. Throughout this trip, I have had the added delight of having a traveling companion as photogenic as the locale; every time I turn around, there she is being beautiful. Some people seem to get in the way of the view- she is instead always a delightful part of it:) Sarah is a precious friend, easy to travel with (surprisingly not always the case with good friends- some people are agreeable friends but terrible travel companions) and always beautiful when she falls within the scope of my camera lens. And today she is leaving- back to her very dear husband, her dedicated work and her life in general.... but away from her friend liz. 

Sad day. I'll miss you, Sarah~ thank you for everything, a hundred times over. 

The she goes again... being beautiful:)

soaking it up

walking, walking and more walking

Its true. Wherever I go in the world, i tend to roam around a lot. More than necessary. I just like to look. To watch people, observe places, put the pieces together... to learn. And I guess i do that by walking around. Often I don't have a destination, just setting out to savor a general sense of atmosphere. Well, it turns out that this pastime can drive travel companions batty (ask my sister). But this time around, I am in luck; before our trip, Sarah just signed up for a fit summer challenge at her work- and one of the goals she has to meet is to walk six miles a day. So she's game for my roaming. She wears a pedometer to track her activity, so we have have an account of the miles we're putting on: yesterday we walked over eight miles, and today we were just shy of nine. So while we are definitely taking time to relax (gelato, cafes...) we are certainly on the move with our perpetual walking. Happy to be roaming freely- and even be encouraged to do so! Loving it. 

Walking and talking

Roaming on the castle ramparts

treading the city bridges

at home in Verona

We are safely installed at a little bed and breakfast on the riverbank in Verona, Italy. The city (setting for Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet) is beautiful and brim full with charm. I like the bridges over the river and the heaps of medieval & renaissance art and architecture - with Roman ruins strewn throughout for good measure. Today was hot and to beat the heat we did everything from eating gelato to sticking our feet in the river. Its great to be back in Italy... and Verona is like a welcome back kiss.

outside our Bed & Breakfast- next to an old church

Cooling off :) 

let them eat cake

On our first day in Ljubljana we somehow ended up at a bistro with an extensive cake menu. We kept joking about returning there, since the piece we had shared that day was so remarkable. When we got home from our day trip today, we went to an early dinner at an indian restaurant (yes, we ate indian food in Slovenia) which was great, by the way, then decided that we wanted needed deserved cake. So it was back to the swanky looking (but surprisingly reasonable) cake bar for dessert. So we ate cake. And it was amazing. 

Cake! Cake! Cake!

Yay!

return to sender

This morning after the usual morning coffee at a riverside cafe, Sarah and I set out on a day trip- taking a train just a half hour out of the city to the small hilltop town of Kranj. We planned to stay from noon until six. The weather was a bit cooler, and it was windy with occasional sprinkles of rain. Unfortunately, it would seem that today was something of a national holiday... and so we arrived to find the already quiet locale quite boarded up. Really you would think they had gone for the season, not just the day... it was nearly a ghost town. We saw scarcely two dozen people on the whole of our wanderings. 

The town was small, just a couple lanes of shops and a couple small church squares... but was said to have nice hikes and walks off into the surrounding hills. Finding town to be a very brief affair, we decided to amble down a trail wending down from a scenic bridge we'd roamed out to. So we rambled through the shaded lush greenery alongside a perfectly delightful woodsy stream for a stretch, then looped back up into the town when another bridge and trail afforded it. I enjoyed the view of old villages and church spires nestled down between steep cloudy hills. We then sat at one of the couple open cafes and drank lemonade, passing another hour... bringing us only to about two o'clock. We finally decided that our best recourse would be to return to the train station down the hill and see if there was a timetable posted- and hope there was an earlier train back to the capital. 

We were glad to find out that a train was coming through in just a half an hour- so we sat and waited... contemplating our abbreviated day trip and hoping our tickets would be good on this earlier train. And indeed they were. A train came and returned us to Ljubljana from whence we came. 

Day trip fail? Not entirely. We had a good walk, a good talk, a bit of adventure, and saw more of Slovenia... it wasn't what we had expected, but turned out good just the same:)

room to breathe

Did i mention that Ljubljana is rather uncrowded? (At least this time of year and on a weekend, anyhow, since thats all I have thus far observed.) Just one street off of the main riverside thoroughfare we found the scene change from pleasantly uncrowded to downright quiet! 

Like we had the whole place to ourselves if we so much as left the riverside! We had quite a charming walk all around the backstreets of old town this afternoon and really enjoyed it.

discovering Ljubljana

Hardly what comes to mind when you think of Capital cities, Ljubljana, Slovenia is rather small and charming. The further side streets evidence all the usual graffiti and unrest of youth in eastern/southeastern europe, however, the historic city center it all blends into is a heartsy, artsy, darling of a town. Lovely architecture, abundant riverside cafes, luxe wine bars, boutique shops of locally made goods, delightful flea markets, casual and friendly locals both young and old... its really a fun place to roam, people watch, and discover. 

Fresh blueberry gelato:)

good morning, Slovenia!

After a beautiful four hour train ride through the Croatian/Slovenian countryside starting around sunset (we couldn't have planned it better), and a few unremarkable border checkpoints, we arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was almost midnight, and we were tired and rather hungry; we had shared a package of dates and a kitkat for dinner:) We skipped eating and made our way several blocks to a hotel we had booked online the day before. We got a good nights sleep and woke to a warm sunny day... and quickly headed out in search of coffee and breakfast. 

We started the day at a riverside sidewalk cafe... with espresso macchiatos (espresso shot with a dollop of foamed milk). Its been my usual on this trip. Mmm. 

Spent the day roaming around the storybook looking streets of this small but charming Capital city:)

Really enjoying being in a different part of Europe and just watching people, listening to people... I always learn so much! Love it. 

leaving Croatia

We packed up to leave Croatia yesterday, and got to the train station to find it so quiet that we were not sure it was even open. However, one small ticket window in the sleepy establishment had its curtain open- and an accommodating gentleman issued our one way tickets to Ljubljana, Slovenia. He swung open a cabinet door and revealed the oldest ticket dispensing apparatus I have ever beheld. Sarah and i  turned to one another wide-eyed. It was like witnessing a piece of history. We were granted two little brown stubs with black type- the letters were impressed on the stock; I could feel them when i ran my fingertips over them. It was wonderfully old fashioned. 

Finally a train engine came into view to pull the couple cars that sat idle at the station since we had arrived. We boarded. Nothing happened. Departure time came and went. Still nothing. We disembarked. I asked another passenger "Problem?" He replied, "Yes. Problem." We waited. The late afternoon sun glared overhead. We sat on the platform and waited some more. Some teens sat by the tracks a distance away and played guitar and smoked cigarettes. We waited some more, chatting with a german girl and a slovenian girl who were waiting for the same train. At last, over an hour after we were meant to leave, another engine arrived and we boarded again...this time moving away from the platform immediately, finally leaving Croatia behind. 

Pula: a Roman arena and some ice cream

A morning of sightseeing in Pula- featuring a large roman colosseum and some other monument arches and ruins. And of course, some gelato style ice cream... a highlight on this upper-90ºF's day! 

Black cherry and chocolate. Mmm.

fun and sun....burn

A little too much of a good thing... after a lovely marina view breakfast in front of the hotel yesterday, Sarah and I were a bit too enthusiastic about the beach. I have a remarkably over-blushed stomach and part of my legs got in on the fun as well. Haha- we've made the best of it with a day of sightseeing in nearby Pula. And cold showers, followed by ibuprofen and lots of lotion:) I hate sunburns, but can handle it as long as its not my face. Happily, clothes cover everything thats burnt and my face is in good shape:)

Sunburns notwithstanding, we are still loving Croatia! 

can i stay forever?

Sarah and I arrived to find that the temperatures here in northern Croatia have been soaring into the mid-90ºFs... a rarity for this early in the season. I am loving it, of course. Its gorgeous for the long rocky beach stretching on the other side of the jetty at the end of the marina. We are settled in a comfortable hotel right on the marina here in Fazana...a tiny and charming town outside of Pula. Its all perfect. I couldn't ask for more. Goodness, I already have a tan! This place is the right pace for me right now- i need a couple days of this. In fact, within an hour of arriving Sarah and i were already talking about extending our stay here:) Haha. But i have to go now: the calamari just arrived. 

before and after

The flight from Paris, France to Pula,Croatia is an hour and a half long. What a difference a couple hours can make. 

 Before: Paris

After: Croatia

from Paris with love

Pastries for breakfast ...a little bit of shopping... coffee at a sidewalk cafe... Paris with my best friend:)

Love it.

Thanking God for a time to rest. So blessed.