Travel Photo Blogging: June 2011

Monday, 20 June 2011

Jump to Portoroz!

Slovenia - a small country in the centre of Europe is still waiting to be discovered. It is squeezed among Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia and a visitor can easily feel the influence of every one of them at least in food and architecture. If you haven't considered Slovenia as your next vacation destination before, now is the perfect time to do it.
Every year more and more people discover it and trust me on this one - you want to visit before the crowds start flowing in.

This interesting video caught my attention the other day... it is promoting tourism in Slovenia's coastal region. The video is focusing on the town of Portoroz and its surroundings. It is a great collage of interesting activities this town has to offer. The country as a whole has much more in store for you.

In my opinion great diversity is definitely one of Slovenia's strongest points.

The title of this video is "Jump to Portoroz!" It is fun to watch and a song provided by a local musician called Magnifico gives a great vibe to it.

If you want to learn more about Slovenia, I suggest you visit The Official Travel Guide by Slovenian Tourist Board. There you can find all the relevant info about things to do and places worth visiting in this little gem of a country.

Have you ever wished for a personal vacation advisor? Now is your chance!
You can use this opportunity to ask me a thing or two about Slovenia in the comments section. I'll be glad to help.

You should also not forget to share this with your friends, still looking for this year's vacation destination (you can do it easily with a click on one of the buttons bellow this post).

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Idrija Lace Festival 2011

Summer is the time for festivals and when it comes to this Slovenia is no different. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood this weekend, you should visit the 30th Idrija Lace Festival. It is an ethnological, cultural, educational and entertaining event. This year it is taking place from Friday June 17th till Sunday June 19th.

Idrija is a small town in the western part of Slovenia. It has over 500 years of history heavily related with mining of cinnabar ore, from which 13 percent of world's mercury was produced. It was the second oldest and biggest mercury mine in the world that had closed in 1995 due to commercial, geological and ecological reasons.
Technical heritage from that time is well preserved and a visitor can take a close look at many interesting technical achievements from the half of millennium of history. Besides the mine museum and the largest preserved water wheel in Europe, one of the highlights is definitely Anthony’s Shaft - the oldest part of the Idrija Mine which belongs to the oldest preserved entrances into any mine throughout the world.

This weekend is the perfect time to visit Idrija. Besides many permanent exhibitions the town literally breathes the lacemaking tradition during the annual festival.

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Wordless Wednesday: London in sepia

Thursday, 9 June 2011

Central London details

We rarely take time to admire details surrounding us. This is true for both - nature and urban areas.

When walking in old city centers it usually isn't too hard to spot some true gems. Central London is no exception.
Both of these photos were taken during a short stroll down the Oxford street.

Usually stopping for a moment is all it takes to notice an interesting detail or two. If the lighting is right and you happen to have your camera within the reach, you are very close to making some nice photos.

I think we should all stop, take a deep breath, and enjoy the moment a bit more often. This is not always very easy to do, but trust me - it is usually well worth the effort.

Monday, 6 June 2011

London Markets

One of London's best experiences is definitely visiting a few of the cities famous markets. I suggest you visit at least a few from the list bellow.

This is a London market shortlist with opening hours (a much larger market list is available at Wikipedia):

Borough market - Fruit wholesale (04:00-08:00 Mon - Fri), Farmers' Market (12:00-17:00 Friday, 10:00-16:00 Saturday).

Camden market - Weekends from about 09:30 to 17:00.

Columbia Road flower market - Sunday: 09:00-12:00.

Covent Garden market - Great atmosphere, but not for shopping. Open every day 10:00-18:00, atmosphere: all the time.

Greenwich market - A series of small weekend markets selling antiques, arts & crafts, clothing and books. Open on weekends.

Portobello market - Loads of antiques and various unusual items. Saturdays from about 06:00 to about 16:30.

Spitalfields - Fruit and vegetables (Sunday: 10:00-16:30).

To sum it up - the best time for a visit is during a weekend when they really burst into life. You should however expect most of them to be pretty crowded.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to visit all of the mentioned markets. Besides many bargains waiting for you, there are also food stalls to be found in some of the mentioned markets or nearby (e.g. Camden Town). Food is usually fresh, tasty and quite affordable.

If you do not have time to visit them all and can't decide for one of the mentioned markets, I suggest you go to Camden Town, where there is a little bit of everything on offer. Camden Market is just one part of it.