You know it's Spring in Ljubljana...

...when thunderstorms and hail roll in around 1pm.

We're back in our snug apartment after two weeks on the road. The train from Venice seemed to take ages to get here and the policist shining his light in my eyes during a "random" 1am document check (no more borders in Schengen my eye!) didn't speed things along much, but we made it at about 2am this morning. The church on Roznik glowing like an orange beacon in the dark from the window of the sleeping train was a welcome sight.

It's a long trip from Rome (we left at 14:50), but one can hardly complain about traveling through the Italian countryside on a fast train! The Eurostar stopped in Firenze and Bologna but those beautiful cities will have to be explored another time, as we were ready for a bit of time at home.

The train to Ljubljana didn't leave until 21:30, so we had time for a couple of "sprizze" in our favourite little hole in the wall in Venice. It's only a short walk from Santa Lucia, but as there are no "sights" on that particular street, it's only frequented by locals. "Due sprizze, per favore" earns a smile from the waiter, and we are always sure of a comfortable seat beside the canal, sipping the amber or ruby drinks that are a Venetian specialty. After a walk up the nearby tourist thoroughfare, where sour-faced waiters in white jackets tout expensive menus in six languages and sunburned couples eat 20 euro salads and bicker in German and English, it's refreshing to sip the mixture of Campari (ruby and bitter) or Aperol (amber and slightly sweet), Proseco and soda, and listen to the sound of waves and the conversations of Venetians as they end their work day or begin a night on the town.

Today's rain is a bit of a relief, as everything from the Macedonia/Albania border onwards was sunny and hot (poor us!). It also gives us a reason to spend the day at home, resting and preparing pasta with sundried tomatoes from the market at the Campo dei Fiori. Contentment!