Our Pula exit-strategy was flawlessly employed today; a bus ride to Rijeka paired with a train heading north did the job nicely. We we're greeted in Ljubljana with a significant climatic change, losing about 15 degrees in the process. However, we were happy to learn that the Slovenian people are an ingenious lot as we discovered many street vendors offering steaming cups of mulled wine to help ease the transition. I can't help but wonder where they were when we l...

A day-trip from Pula today, catching a bus north up the coast to nearby Rovinj, an idyllic seaside town perfect for soaking up the last bit of warmth in the mid-November sun. Locals told us that such calm, warm weather was somewhat unseasonable, so we felt very fortunate to catch some rays while the getting is good. A lazy, sunny day: the perfect way to say goodbye to the beautiful Croatian coast.

A relaxing day in Pula today; that is, until we realized that buses to Ljubljana only go on Mondays and Fridays. It turns out that Pula is a much better transport hub in the summer, and since we are booked here until Monday night, we spent a good portion of our afternoon trying to arrange bus and train connections to arrive at our next booking in Ljubljana on Tuesday evening. Luckily we found a nice Irish pub with great Belgian beers (you follow that?) where we t...

We said a reluctant farewell to Venice this morning, catching a train to Trieste near Italy's eastern border. There we ran into James Joyce, an old pal from my book learning days. After a brief catch-up and photo opportunity with Jim, it was off to catch the bus to Pula. Our curiosity got the best of us once again as we simply had to visit Istria to see what this region of Croatia has to offer. Did we mention that we like Croatia?

Upon arrival in Venice, we noticed a number of platforms that looked like tables stacked in many of the main squares. I assumed they were used for setting up markets, but today we saw their purpose firsthand. When high-tide comes in, many of the low-lying areas flood and the platforms become raised sidewalks used to keep the main thoroughfares open. Crafty Venetians! We were on the water again today, but this time we opted for a water-taxi. More cost-effective t...