Piran

The coast line is puny in Slovenia. There are only a few towns along the way and we picked Piran because it comes highly recommended. 120 Km from Ljubljana is the very small coastal town, a jewel among Slovenian towns. Founded by the Romans, it is today still a lovely place. Compare it to Venice without the canals, some people say. A wonderful, large Piazza, coffee tables, lively folks from all over the globe come and visit. Children play their games on this plaza, like in ancient times, only now they use roller skates or small bicycles or high tech bouncing balls. Yet they still play catch or tag, just like always. Carol and I sat, had our coffee and watched. Only local car traffic is allowed inside the town. Enough history abounds to stay here for weeks if you want to study deeply. Carol and I spend 3 days in this lovely place. The sun shines, the temperature is around 27 degrees C. and while it has tourists, it does not feel too touristy. All or most of the houses are very old. One could believe that life is very good walking the ancient streets. Wash hangs out the window on lines hung by the owners; the streets are a mere 4 or 5 feet wide. The shadows of the 3 or 4 storied buildings give shade in the hot summer and protection from the fierce winds off the Adriatic Sea in the winter. Boats anchor peacefully; a few scooters add the needed noise to make sure everybody is awake. The town lives a peaceful life today and lives off tourist Euros. In years past it was under the protection of the City of Venice, Italy. Its main product was the sea salt harvested in the Salinas, now a tourist attraction and part of the living history museum. The streets are steeply carved into the hills with some ruins of a former castle on top. Old city walls have been partially restored just so you can experience the size of its former glory. A lighthouse marks the spit of land this town stands on. Locals swam in the ocean near a pebbly beach where divers got dressed to search for archeological treasures or ecological curiosity.
All foreign traffic is stopped at large parking lots before the actual town limit begins but motorcycles are exempt from this ruling. We arrived and immediately found a small hotel, a 5 minute walk away from the center of town that served us well. “Miracolo di Mare”, a B&B, has all we need. (www.miracolodimare.si) Good internet which could get us on line to post all of these reports, a sufficient breakfast, quiet location and a room with new air-conditioning were all provided. We paid Euro 60/night for 2; there was no leeway for bargaining. Our bikes are parked in the alley in front of the B&B. We are having a fine time. The restaurants are plentiful and first class. Fish is the main dish on every menu and the personnel speak English fluently. We lucked out. We could not have asked for a better place if we tried. Carol and I visited spots by walking up and down the narrow laneways; we felt safe and enjoyed ourselves being among the locals. Piran is a 3 Star on my list of places to visit. Nothing is in the extreme; it is a great, quiet, enjoyable seaside port. Piran is small, old and elegant and the dilapidated housing is just part of the charm of this place. Come and see for yourself.