From Mali Burek to the Adriatic: May 18-24
- kristineturko
- May 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 3
This week started in Ljubljana and ended on the Adriatic coast, which is not a bad way to spend the second half of May.
The beginning of the week was still very much business as usual. There were long walks on the east side of the river, quick stops for mali burek, and plenty of time spent working at Stow. One of my favorite things about spring in Ljubljana is seeing the city become an extension of the classroom. As soon as the weather cooperates, teachers move lessons outside and it is completely normal to see groups of students learning in parks, along walking paths, and in public squares.
This was also the final week of social skills groups at the Institute for Autism. The Tuesday and Wednesday groups wrapped up, bringing another part of the project to a close. Quiz night continued as usual, along with the chance to catch up with friends before travel season began.
By Thursday, my attention had shifted from autism intervention to packing for Italy. One of the great advantages of living in Europe is realizing that flights to another country can sometimes cost less than the Uber ride to the airport. I headed to Trieste for an evening flight to Bari and was treated to beautiful views of the eastern Italian coastline as the sun set over the Adriatic. The night ended the way many good travel days do, with pizza.
Friday morning I headed straight to Polignano a Mare and immediately understood why people love it there. The town sits dramatically above the Adriatic with incredible views in every direction. The wind was relentless, but the scenery more than made up for it. One of my favorite parts of traveling is talking to locals, and within a surprisingly short amount of time I knew all about several people's children and grandchildren. Some things seem to translate across every language and culture. Dinner at Jamante was another highlight of the day.
Saturday brought more wandering around Polignano a Mare before taking the train to Monopoli for the afternoon. I also made a stop to see the statue of Domenico Modugno, the singer behind Volare and one of the town's most famous residents. By the end of the day, I was once again wondering why I had never spent more time in southern Italy.
The week ended with the arrival of my sister Jeanette and her husband Dan, who managed to find me via tuk tuk after arriving very early in the morning. The trip marked the start of Jeanette's 50th birthday celebrations, and I felt incredibly fortunate to get to be part of it. One of the unexpected gifts of living abroad this spring was the opportunity to meet family in places we might never have visited otherwise. Spending time together on the Adriatic coast while celebrating such a big milestone felt pretty special. We escaped the wind for the afternoon at the hotel pool and officially kicked off birthday week in Italy.
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