Getaway: Portopiccolo, Sistiana

My lovely readers! It's been a while and I'm sorry, but my mind was fully overbooked and I needed some time for myself. All good now, ready to take you someplace nice. Portopiccolo lays surrounded by some of the most attractive sightseeings in Upper Adriatic - Castello di Miramare and Duino Castle among the Falesian cliffs. The city is statued among the famous marine looking at beautiful former quarry. It's nice, soooo quitet, there's no noise, pollution, traffic. A perfect place to get lost.

It's luxurious, it's quietness makes you refill your energy at it's fullest, there is no noise, the locals are so friendly and funny and I just want to spend a week there reading my books and enjoying that marvellous pool at the Beach spa looking at the Duino castle and dreaming about the wrong time I was born in :)

How to get there and how to get around

Arriving to Portopiccolo is almost best with the car. There's is an enormous underground parking garage under the biggest part of the city. It's around 40 minutes from Koper, Slovenia or 30 minutes from Trieste. No crowds, a highway leads you right by the seaside and than you just follow the marks. Arriving there the best way is to leave your car in the underground garage, which costs 1,50 euros/hour. You can get around by foot because it's tiny and you can explore most of the city. If located in a hotel, there are those little Flinstones veichles availible and of course your private chauffeur - we mustn't forget it's luxurious - therefore, it's a bit on the pricey site.

Make sure you wear something fashionable, try their gelato and don't worry about the money - it's the money well spent and there are memories that count.

Love, M.

10 things to pack in your travel health kit

It's been all about health these days. I'm "studying" for my next blog post about sunbathing and preparing great tips about that, so I came up with the idea of showing you what's inside my travel health kit bag. You know you shouldn't leave your house without it, right? Now we are all thinking about vacations and maybe some of you don't think you need some medicine, but take this as a first aid.

1. Patches. You can use them to prevent blisters or to quickly stop a small bleeding. Razors are the enemies :) I have regular ones and waterproof ones as well. If you can find patches for blisters that's also great because they contain some creme that helps calming skin and get rid of blisters.

2. Urine test strips. I had so many problems with my urinary tract and was also hospitalised because of an infection, so those little strips are so great to take them wherever I go. Basically it's a quick test that all emergencies have. That's why when I'm in "trouble" I don't need to go to the hospital every time, I just take the test at home. You don't need any medical knowledge to see if you have an infection, it's all written on the box. Check the segmentation (if you have any blood in your urine that could be a sign of an infection), but you can also see the PH and some other stuff. Great thing, great!

3. Remedies for stomach-ache. Oh, I hate that. I have a full natural pharmacy with me on the go, because my stomach can cause me so much trouble. I have the homeopathic remedies if I'm sick, to prevent vomit, some pills and granules for aching. Those one saved my life a few times, so they are my BFF's.

4. Bach essences. They are not really helpful with my anxiety but their Emergency cream is great for (bug) bites, mosquitos, aching, redness, etc. It's really good.

5. Treatments for pain or high temperature: some paracetamol could do the job. Aspirine, Lekadol, Diverin are some great medicines from our country. I also have those for cramps or headache. You never know.

6. Treatments for digestive problems: I usually have some tea prepared on the go because I'm natural remedies freak, so anise, lemon balm, mint and some digestive mix. I also have Waya probiotics for digestion health.

7. Sore throat pills. I was actually on the holidays two years ago when my throat  started to hurt. Without pills I would been quiet all week! :)

8. Aloe vera gel. For sun burns, mosquito bites, anything really. Aloe vera is mother of the relief.

9. Anti motion sickness: medication if it's really bad, I use the Sea-band bracelets on the acupressure  point on your wrists and they work great. You can buy them in DM or pharmacy.

10. Supplies: anti-bacterial gel, wet wipes, condoms, ear plugs, healhy-care documents, etc.


Here's what my fellow bloggers have in their travel health kit bag:

Polona from Uniqapoly says she always puts her patches and patches for blisters, Rutacid for stomach pain, Ranital, paracetamol, treatments for mosquito bites and probiotics in her travel bag.

Kristina from La dolce vita isn't really a big fan of pills. Anyways she takes with her patches, some microporus tape, herbal pads for pain (I love those too!), Aloe vera gel, natural remedies for mosquito bites and shea butter.

Ajda from Ajda-tjasa-beauty   can't leave for holidays without antibiotics (just in case), paracetamol, WAYA probiotics, carbon, remedies for stomach pain, mosquito bites and things for curing injuries (anti-bacterial gel, patches,...)

Tell me, what do you take with you on holiday? 

Love, M.

Weekend escape: Ortenia Apartments in Nature

My dearest readers! I know it's been a while, but here's what's been going on lately. I passed one hard exam and I have my LAST ONE tomorrow, so fingers crossed. I've been studying like crazy because I can't wait to finish my uni. I have so many plans for the future and need my degree asap!

This eve I really need some time for myself so I came up with the perfect blog post about my weekend retreat in Ortenia apartments in nature. Since dealing with my anxiety I never went to a spa retreat - they scared me so much, but I knew I would have to go out of my comfort zone once. And so I did. I booked an apartment in the middle of nowhere, packed my bags and there I was.

// Dragi moji. Mislim, da se tokrat še zadnjič opravičujem zaradi zapoznelih objav - pisala sem predzadnji izpit, ki sem ga opravila, jutri pa je na sporedu še ZADNJI. Komaj čakam, da diplomiram, saj imam v planu toooliko stvari, za katere mi bo tale papir prišel prav:) Kot pravim, se danes sproščam pred izpitom in kaj je najboljši način za to? Bloganje, itak.

Pokazati vam moram, kako pošteno sem se razvajala za vikend v Podčetrtku, in sicer v Orteniji - apartmajih v naravi. Kar sem vedela o tem je zgolj to, da ima bazene blizu in da je okrog ogromno narave. Pa o zajtrkih se je nekaj šepetalo. Pa o kvaliteti in odličnosti nasploh. No, ko sem prispela tja, se je vse to potrojilo.

*

What I didn't expect there is the best hospitality and kindness of the lady in charge. When I arrived there she kindly offered me a glass of home-made apple juice and a piece of chocolate from the local factory. At the time only one apartment was booked - mine, so I had the whole wellness, saunas and the pool for myself. What a day. It was rainy all the weekend but the jacuzzi was covered so I enjoyed it so much I can't even tell.

I took a walk to the castle and enjoyed the wellness a bit more. My room was very interestingly made - woody, Scandinavian and minimalistic. I just loved it. The breakfast in the morning was to die for. Yum, I never had so much food for breakfast :). My little one had one hell of the time too, exploring is overall the best thing to do in an unknown place. Just check out those photos:

// Nisem pričakovala takšnega gostoljubja in prijaznosti osebja. Valerija je čudovita gostiteljica. Ponudila mi je domač jabolčni sok in seveda pralino iz Olimijske čokoladnice - njam! Tistega dne je bil v celotem poslopju zaseden zgolj en apartma - moj, tako da je bilo savnanje in džakuzkanje še toliko bolj sproščujoče. Cel vikend je deževalo, tako da je bila regeneracija popolna. Tistih nekaj ur sončka pa sem izkoristila za pohod na grad, obisk Koče pri čarovnici in Jelenovega grebena.

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 *

 *

*

 // Ste videli, kakšen prečudovit dizajn? Kombinacija lesa, skandinavskega dotika in minimalizma v eko obliki. Uau, res priročno in udobno. 
Toliko o zajtrku. Toliko hrane na kupu ni niti za božič na mizi:

Note: Pictures marked with the * are used from the Ortenia site here, click. 

I want to thank Valerija and Danijela again to let me have my puppy with me. I had a pleasant stay and I'm coming back for sure.

// Izkoristila bom še priložnost in se zahvalila Valeriji in Danijeli, da sta mi pustili s seboj pripeljati mojo čivavico - je ocenila nastanitev z 10, jaz pa prav tako. Še me boste videli, prav gotovo.

Love, M.

Best beaches in Pula

Dearest readers! Like I told you in my Summer salad's post, here are my favourite beaches around Pula, Croatia. I was travelling there this year, exploring the great city I love so much, great places no one knows about, hidden spots and bars,... People there are so nice, they come and talk with you about anything (in my case well, my dog) and their stalls in the city offer a whole bunch of excellent home made goods. Yay, finally someone like me :) But most of all, I love spending hours on the beach, reading my books and smelling fresh summer's air. Those are the best beaches you need to see if travelling around Croatia:

1. Valbandon: It's about 10 minutes drive from Pula. You can leave your car around a giant football pitch and take a quick walk to the best and least filled beach I've ever seen. The water is pure, warm and you can swim long enough to burn some extra calories :)

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2. Punta Christo: Taking a walk from Valbandon's beach there is a (previously) Austrian fort, called Fort Punta Christo. Around there you can enjoy several lonely beaches that make you feel like you're on Maldives :) Extremely important: go diving! You won't believe what you can find. Also you can find me there this end of the month, where there'll be a giant festival, Dimensions.

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3. Hawaiian beach: No, I'm not ending my Hawaii or Maldives talk. Hawaiian beach lies behind Park hotel in Verudela. You can guess why is it called like that. If you can't find it, ask some locals for "HAVAJKA". And no, there aren't any sharks. Here's picture that say's it all:

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4. Medulin: The local sand beach in the heart of Medulin, on the left side of a theme park. Can't miss it. Could be crowded, but not in the evening. Try going there early in the morning to avoid a lot of people, or decide to go for a night swim, I adore that.

So, which one do you like best? Ever been to one of these?
                                                                         Love, M.

10 things I have learnt from traveling

Oh you know my travel bug. It's getting bigger and bigger. YES MY DEAR READERS, I FINALLY PUT MY ANXIETY ON SIDE AND WENT FOR TWO DAYS IN KRK ISLAND, CROATIA. *applauding* This is BIG for me. I'm happy and can't wait for my next trip to Pula, Croatia, Tuscany in September and Zagreb, Croatia in October.
Aside from my packing issue (I can't pack light and still haven't learnt anything here yet) travelling gives me a billion opportunities to learn something new while being abroad. I always leave and come back a little different than I was before. Here's what I've learnt so far:

1. People are strange, when you're a stranger. Apart from a little bitter experience with immigrants in Berlin washing your car on crossroads while you wait for the light to turn green and being extremely rude, people are nice. It's always better not to talk to strangers if you see no one is around (because they won't probably talk to you either) or on subways. Just put your headphones on and listen to music or just imagine it:) That way no one will bother you. If you want any info about how to get somewhere, ask in a restaurant (and buy yourself a coffee) or ask younger around you. I've been travelling for years but I've never had any bad experience with people.

2. Act like a local. That's how you'll avoid getting robbed, disturbed or bothered.

3. Never ever forget your medicines at home. Sickness, diarrhea, headache are just a few problems that sometimes you just can't avoid. Let your doctor know where you're going and he'll know what you need. Or just google it. Don't forget about contraceptive pills.

4. Being sick on a boat and don't have any medicines? Press your P6 acupressure point, two or three fingers below your wrist. It helps!

 Source

5. A copy of your documents is a must.

6. Learn to bargain.

7. You totally need to buy a good and comfy pair of shoes. When exploring a new city, I recommend walking. You'll be impressed how many calories you can burn. What are eating for dinner? Junk? Great!

8. ALWAYS trust your instincts. Your body and mind always know best.

9. Keep in touch with your family. Let them know where you are currently and how long you'll stay there. And yes, calling mom is always a great idea if being homesick. I'm homesick all the time when travelling, as much as I love it :)

10. Calm down, breathe in, capture moments. If you feel like doing nothing is a great idea, do it. Enjoy the place, explore the nature, eat and watch the sunset. A must.

I really can't wait your lists, what has travelling taught you? Ever thought about a fake wedding ring while travelling?

                                                                              Love, M.

Festival equipment

So I spent my weekend enjoying the Kvarnerfest in Rijeka, which is a well known festival, where tons of young people enjoy concerts and amusement park and that is pretty cool. I'm not sure if there is a thing like that in our city, but since I've got like 20 minutes to Rijeka from where my boyfriend lives, we decided to go take a look. It was fun. I finally saw the Beatles revival band, they were amazing. The prices are so cheap, I spent 30kn for one day's ticket, which is about 5$. I know, right?

The weather was not very pleasant, but during the day it was hot as hell, so I didn't take any jackets with me to the concert. But it got very cold in the evening. That made me think about this post about what not to forget if going to festivals. Anyway, if you are planning to spend the night there of course you'll take a jacket. It really get cold outside.

So like I said, during the day it gets so hot you can melt. That's why it's really important to take care of your skin. Choose an oil or a cream with SPF, and don't forget about your face. L'occitane has some creams with SPF, so that could be a great choice. Even if wearing cream, put on sun glasses (to protect your eyes of course) and a hat to protect your hair. I think you can now buy also a hair spray that protects your hair from the sun.

Wear a nice middle size bag where you can put all the things you'll need. Wet wipes are life saver on festivals. If you're going to eat something or if you go to the toilet, wet wipes are handy to wash your hands if there's no water nearby. Also put a big scarf in your bag so if it gets cold and you don't have a jacket, you can use your scarf to heat you up a bit. Or find a handsome stranger that will offer you his jacket.

Make sure you water yourself :) And not (only) with alcohol. Try to drink a glass of water after every glass of alcohol. That's also why you won't have hangover the next day, yay! Thanks Loving from Berlin! :)

Don't forget to take a camera and share your moment. Enjoy! :)

Tell me, what's in your festival bag? What are your must-haves if going to a festival?

                                                                           Love, M.