Amazing restaurant Veduta Bernardin, Slovenia

I was never a big fan of seafood. When I was little, my mom was usually quite upset when we went to a restaurant at the seaside. Everyone at the table ordered something sea-like, at least the seafood pizza if not a fish or calamari. I on the other hand wasn’t much of an experimenter so I simply went with the Wiener Schnitzel and fries (and I’m not even such a meat eater, haha).

I’ve grown up a bit since, but I’m still not a big seafood fan. However, every now and then I let myself be seduced by the things I usually don’t really like. This is how I got to eat the best calamari ever during the holidays at the Slovene seaside with my boyfriend.

Morska hrana nikoli ni bila moja najljubša hrana. Ko sem bila mlajša, se je moja mama na morju pogosto jezila, ko smo šli v restavracijo. Vsi so naročili nekaj morskega, vsaj morsko pico, če ne rib ali kalamarov. Jaz pa nisem želela biti razočarana in sem enostavno naročila preizkušen dunajski zrezek s pomfrijem (pa sploh nisem neki strastni mesojedec, haha).

Zdaj sem malo večja, ampak še vedno nisem velik ljubitelj morske hrane. Vsake toliko pa se vendarle rada pustim presenetiti. Tako sem med počitnicami s svojim dragim na slovenski Obali jedla najboljše kalamare ever.

Restaurant Veduta in Bernardin, just a few steps away from Piran and hidden from the hustle and bustle of Portorož, treated us really great, not only with the great food and impeccable service but also with the beautiful location, overseeing the sea and offering us the much needed shade in the hot lunch-time.

We hit it of with the seafood tris. On a beautifully prepared plate, we had quite a few bites of delicious octopus, enjoyed the tuna spread and mixed it up with sardines with pine nuts, onions and raisins. A blend of sweet and salty, creamy and slightly crunchy. A bit of olive oil and lemon juice to make it just perfect and voilà!

Restavracija Veduta v Bernardinu, ki je samo korak stran od Pirana in hkrati skrita pred bučnim Portorožem, naju je res odlično pogostila. Ne samo z odlično hrano in super strežbo, temveč tudi s čudovito lokacijo z morjem v ozadju ter senco, ki sva jo v tem vročem času za kosilo še kako potrebovala.

Začela sva z morskim trisom. Na lepo pripravljenem krožniku sva imela okusno hobotnico, tunin namaz in sardine s pinjolami, čebulo in rozinami. Čudovita mešanica sladkega in slanega, kremnega in hrustljavega. Še malo olivnega olja in limoninega soka in voilà!

The main dish? One word: calamari. I’ve never had my very own plate of calamari in my life. This time, the owner of the restaurant offered us a mix of grilled and fried calamari with fries. The smell of salt in the air, the hot weather and a bit of wind in my hair made me realize I felt ready to indulge into the sea atmosphere and take a leap of faith. It was amazing!

Glavna jed? Z eno besedo: kalamari. Priznati moram, da še nikoli v življenju nisem imela čisto svojega krožnika kalamarov. Tokrat nama je prijazni lastnik restavracije ponudil mešanico ocvrtih kalamarov in kalamarov na žaru s pomfirjem. Vonj soli v zraku, vroče vreme in malo vetra v laseh so me spodbudili k tej morski spontanosti in zaupala sem lastniku restavracije. Kalamari so bili odlični!

When you are at the Slovenian seaside, it is sometimes difficult to decide which restaurant to go to. They often seem rather similar to each other so at the end it is not just the meal that convinces you.

Great food aside, our lunch in Veduta was a very pleasant experience. From the moment we arrived, we felt as if we came to a friend’s house. The owner has welcomed us very warmly and discussed our wishes with us. The staff was very kind too and always served us with a smile. We will sure come back the next time we’re around. I think I’ll try one of their delicious seafood risottos then…

Ko prideš na slovensko Obalo, se je včasih kar težko odločiti, katero restavracijo izbrati. Pogosto vse ponujajo precej podobno ponudbo, tako da na koncu ni samo hrana, ki pomaga pri odločitvi.

Če o odlični hrani sploh ne govorim, je bilo najino kosilo v Veduti res zelo prijetna izkušnja. Od trenutka, ko sva vstopila v restavracijo, se nama je zdelo, kot da bi prišla v hišo prijatelja. Lastnik naju je toplo sprejel in se pogovoril o najinih željah za kosilo. Osebje je bilo prav tako zelo prijazno in naju je vedno postreglo z nasmehom. Zagotovo se bova oglasila naslednjič, ko greva na Obalo. Mislim, da bom takrat poskusila eno izmed slastnih morskih rižot…

INFO
Veduta Bernardin
Address: Bernardinska Reber 5a, 6320 Portorož, Slovenia
Webpage: http://www.veduta-bernardin.si/

Travel to Tel Aviv

Sončni dnevi, kot je bil današnji, me namesto v božično decembrsko vzdušje popeljejo nazaj v poletni (čeprav koledarsko jesenski) Izrael. Pogosto se vprašam, koliko dni je dovolj za krajše potovanje, in skoraj vedno se zdi, da nikoli ni dovolj časa za odkritje vseh kotičkov. Ko potujem v eno mesto, se mi vendarle 5-7 dni zdi fino, ko pa obiščem več krajev ali potujem po državi, pa rada dodam še par dni več. V Izrael sem tako odšla za 11 dni, se na koncu kar dodobra znašla v Tel Avivu, obenem pa odkrila kar nekaj ostalih čudovitih mest (Jeruzalem, seveda, pa Tiberias in več), parkov, puščav in oaz. Tudi na palestinska ozemlja sem šla za kratek čas in tako dodobra izkoristila svoje prvo potovanje v Izrael, kamor se bom gotovo še vrnila.

Tel Aviv ni bil moja ljubezen na prvi pogled, a sem kmalu vzljubila hebrejske napise, čudovite ulice Neve Tzedeka, hrano (oh, hrano!!), Bauhaus arhitekturo, tržnice, mestne grafite, hipsterski Florentin, čudovite sončne zahode in, seveda, obalo. Najboljši začetek seznanjanja z mestom? Sedi in jej. To sem prvi večer sfalila, ko sem hodila po bolj kot ne zapuščenih ulicah enega predela mesta in se spraševala, če je to res Tel Aviv. Naslednje jutro sem začela ponovno. S hrano.

Humus, tahini, falafel, kruh, ki se kar topi v ustih, okusni paradižniki z meto, čičerika in siri, zraven pa kozarec limonane (izboljšana verzija limonade) ali soka granatnega jabolka, za konec pa še sladke slaščice - heaven!

Sunny days like the one we had today don't put me in the Christmas mood but rather take me back to summery (although according to calendar autumnal) Israel. I often wonder how many days are enough for a shorter trip and it almost always seem that there is never enough time to discover all the little places. When I travel to one city only, nevertheless, 5-7 days seem somehow reasonable. When I visit several cities or travel across a country, I like to add a few days more. I travelled to Israel for 11 days and it resulted in my rather good orientation in Tel Aviv, nice exploration of some other beautiful cities (Jerusalem, of course, and Tiberias and more), parks, deserts and oasis. I also went to the Palestinian territories for a short while and thus made the most of my first travel to Israel, where I will surely return.

Tel Aviv wasn't my love at first sight, but I soon got to love hebrew signs, charming streets of Neve Tzedek, food (oh, food!!), Bauhaus architecture, markets, street art graffiti, hipster Florentin, beautiful sunsets and, of course, the coast. The best way to get to know a new city is to sit down and eat. I messed this up the first evening when I walked the deserted streets of one part of the city, wondering whether this was the real Tel Aviv. The next morning I got it right. With food.

Hummus, tahini, falafel, bread that melts in your mouth, delicious tomatoes with mint, chickpeas and cheeses, together with a glass of limonana (better version of a lemonade) or pomegranate juice, and to end with sweet pastries - that's what I call heaven!

Moji prvi občutki Tel Aviva so se ves čas spreminjali. V enem trenutku sem bila navdušena, v naslednjem presenečena. Mešanic vseh vrst je ogromno v tem mestu. Staro in novo Tel Aviva se tako prepleta, da sprva lahko kar malo zmede. Čas je zelo relativen: ko stojiš na vrhu Stare Jaffe pred srednjeveško krščansko cerkvijo in se sprehajaš po tlakovanih uličicah, v daljavi vidiš Bauhaus hiše, hotele in nebotičnike. Z eno nogo si lahko na dinamični tržnici, z drugo pa na umetniški hip ulici. Pa vendar je temu vsemu skupno to, da ti hitro zleze pod kožo.

My first feelings about Tel Aviv were all the time changing. One moment I was excited, another moment surprised. Mixtures of all kinds are infinite in this city. The oldness and the newness of Tel Aviv is so overlapping, that it can almost be confusing. Time is very relative: when you stand on the top of Old Jaffa in front of a Christian church from medieval times, you can see Bauhaus buildings, hotels and skyscrapers in the distance. You can stand with one foot on a dynamic market and with another on a hip artsy street. And yet - you get to take fancy to this all very quickly.

Posebno mesto na ulicah Tel Aviva ima umetnost. Ulični grafiti so vseprisotni, pa tudi sicer je v mestu precej manjših butikov in art tržnic z ročnimi deli lokalnih umetnikov.

A special place on the streets of Tel Aviv goes to art. Street art is everywhere and there are several smaller boutiques and art markets with crafts and handwork of local artists.

In tu je morje. Več besed ni potrebnih.

And there is the sea. No other words needed.

Seagulls in Paris - Galebi v Parizu

Despite the summer time, I don't really have holidays. Well, I had a month off in May, which is not too bad, right, but I have been working since June. And to be honest, I don't complain. I still have evenings and weekends to enjoy, and in August, I will have some longer weekends for shorter trips.

I miss the sea though. The Paris Beach has just opened last week along the Seine, but despite the sand and the palm trees it is not the same. I miss the smell of the salt and the infinite view of the sea. Strangely enough for some people, I am excited about the presence of seagulls in Paris. When I heard them for the same time, I thought I was dreaming. Seagulls in Paris?? An old lady later on told me that they sometimes follow the ships on the Seine and finally stay in Paris given that there is a lot of food they can find. Apparently they are very urban seagulls, I hear :D I probably wouldn't be able to distinguish between the sea and the urban seagull, but I simply adore the sound they are making when they fly above the rooftops of parisian houses. It almost makes me feel like I am somewhere at the seaside too.

Ne glede na poletni čas sama nimam počitnic. No, imela sem počitniški maj, kar tudi ni slabo, ampak od junija naprej delam. In iskreno rečeno se ne pritožujem. Še vedno mi ostane čas za poletno uživanje v večerih in med vikendi, v avgustu bom imela pa še par daljših vikendov za krajše izlete.

Pogrešam pa morje. Pariška plaža se je odprla prejšnji teden vzdolž Sene, ampak kljub pesku in palmam ni isto. Pogrešam vonj soli in pogled na neskončno morje. Nekaterim se zdi izredno čudno, ampak jaz sem navdušena nad galebi v Parizu. Ko sem jih prvič slišala, se mi je zdelo, da sanjam. Galebi v Parizu?? Starejša gospa mi je enkrat kasneje povedala, da galebi včasih sledijo ladjam, ki plujejo po Seni, vse do Pariza, potem pa kar ostanejo v Parizu, saj tu očitno najdejo dovolj hrane. Pravijo, da so ti galebi precej meščanski, hehe. Sam najbrž ne bi razločila morskih in meščanskih galebov, ampak jaz enostavno obožujem zvok, ki ga slišim, ko preletavajo pariške strehe. Skoraj se mi zazdi, da sem tudi sama nekje na obali.

Barcelona #2

If you are traveling to Barcelona by plane and take the bus to the city centre, you will most probably get to Plaça de Catalunya (the two photos above) and continue your way from there. It is a large and very busy square, surrounded by shops and restaurants and iStore and banks and everything else basically. It is dividing the city in two quite different parts, I would say. For me it was almost always the central point from where I got everywhere I wanted. To La Rambla (which was not at all full of tourists at that time of the year, yey!), to small and narrow streets of the old part of the city centre, or to the sea. Even thought it is a very busy place to be in Barcelona, it can actually be beautiful with its fountains and nice green areas. And in any case you can't really avoid it :)

Če potuješ v Barcelono z letalom in se z avtobusom odpelješ do centra mesta, najverjetneje prideš na trg Plaça de Catalunya (na zgornjih fotografijah) in nadaljuješ od tam. Gre za velik in zelo živahen trg, obkrožen s trgovinami in restavracijami in iStore in bankami in vsem ostalim pravzaprav. Sama bi rekla, da deli mesto na dva precej različna dela. Zame je bil skoraj vedno neke vrste glavna točka, od katere sem šla povsod, kamor sem želela. Do La Ramble (ki sploh ni bila polna turistov v tem času leta, jupi!), do majhnih in ozkih ulic v starem delu mesta ali do morja. In čeprav je res zelo hiteč del mesta, je v resnici s svojimi fontanami in zaplatami trave in nizkih dreves zelo lep trg. In v vsakem primeru se mu skoraj ne moreš izogniti :)

Barcelona differs very much from Paris. This can mainly be seen by the architecture. Barcelona is full of mediterranean flair. A lot of buildings resemble Arab rather than continental European world. Also, just a few steps from Horta and from the forrest, for instance, you find yourself passing the palm trees and in the city centre orange trees. The sea also plays a big role, having nothing in common with parisian Seine.

Barcelona je precej drugačna od Pariza. To se predvsem pozna po arhitekturi. Barcelona je polna mediteranskega pridiha. Precej zgradb spominja bolj na arabski kot evropski celinski svet. Par korakov iz Horte in gozda, na primer, hodiš mimo palm in v centru mimo pomarančevcev. Morje prav tako igra pomembno vlogo, ki nima nič skupnega s pariško Seno.

What Paris and Barcelona have in common is the Arc de Triomf. Nevertheless, apart from the name they don't have much more in common. The one in Barcelona, though, is a very interesting way to a really beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella. They say it is usually packed with tourists but in my case the park was a calm oasis with a few joggers and mothers with strollers. The park which also accommodates a zoo is very diverse - form the lake, ducks and geese to the red carpets of flowers and diverse architectural styles. It is really worth visiting, even thought there are no Gaudi "benches" (as in the park Guell). Even more, on the way there from Plaça de Catalunya you can pass the neighborhood El Born, a really nice, a bit funky part of the city with small shops, galleries, tapas, of course and a special charm.

Kar je skupno Parizu in Barceloni, je slavolok zmage, barcelonski Arc de Triomf. Razen imena sicer nimata veliko skupnega. Je pa Barcelonski slavolok res zanimiva pot do čudovitega parka, Parc de la Ciutadella. Pravijo, da je park ponavadi poln turistov, ampak v mojem primeru je bila to mirna oaza s parimi tekači in mamicami z vozički. Park, v katerem je tudi živalski vrt, je zelo raznolik - od jezera, račk in gosk do rdečih preprog rož in do različnih stilov arhitekture. Vsekakor vredno ogleda, čeprav ni Gaudijevih "klopc" (kot v parku Guell). Kar je še boljše, je do parka prideš od Plaçe de Catalunya tako, da prečkaš El Born, res prijeten del mesta z majhnimi trgovinicami, galerijami, tapas, seveda, in posebnim čarom.

What I miss now here in Paris (apart from the sea) are Spanish colors. In Barcelona there is really a lot of colors, even in January. Houses are often colored, the washed clothes, which people even in not-so-summery January dry outside, are colorful, and I could keep going. Maybe Gaudi left more to the Spanish people than architecture :)

Kar pa zdaj včasih pogrešam tu v Parizu (poleg morja), so španske barve. V Barceloni je barv res veliko, tudi v januarju. Hiše so pogosto barvaste, perilo, ki ga ljudje tudi v ne-tako-poletnem januarju sušijo zunaj, je barvasto in še bi lahko naštevala. Morda je Gaudi Špancem pustil več kot samo arhitekturo :)

I could go on and on with my Barcelona, my favorite spots and my experiences. But if you ever travel there, you need to make it yours to enjoy it. Still - two secret tips that you cannot read in any Lonely Planet guide:

1/ Go visit Palo Alto
Its gardens have served as a backdrop for films, including Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It's a cool Spanish arty Silicon Valley and if you don't take the metro to get there, you will walk through a very untypical industrial part of Barcelona. I was wondering where I was going at some moments on my way, but it was worth it.

2/ Rooftop of the Hotel 1898
It is closed during the winter but if I go back, this is where I will go first :)

Lahko bi pripovedovala še in še o svoji Barceloni, o svojih naljubših kotičkih in svojih dogodivščinah. Ampak če kadar koli potuješ tja, moraš najbolj poslušati sebe, da doživiš največ. Ampak vseeno - dva skrivna namiga, ki jih ne moreš prebrati v nobenem Lonely Planet vodiču:

1/ Pojdi pogledat Palo Alto
Vrtovi Palo Alta so večkrat služili kot prizorišča v filmih, vključno s filmom Vicky Christina Barcelona Woodyja Allena. Je res super španska malce umetniška Silicijeva dolina, in če ne greš tja z metrojem, te pot do tja vodi skozi zelo nenavaden industrijski del Barcelone. Sama sem se parkrat vprašala, kam grem, ampak se je splačalo.

2/ Terasa Hotela 1989
Pozimi je zaprta, ampak če grem kdaj nazaj, bo to prvo, kamor bom šla :)

And last but not least… I actually enjoyed traveling with Ryanair. There it goes, I said it. I can’t really believe it after all my unpleasant experiences with this company, but this time I really can’t complain about anything. And the morning airport was just beautiful. What more can you wish for when you leave a city...

In za konec… Priznati moram, da sem v bistvu uživala v potovanju z Ryanairom. Evo, pa sem res napisala to. Po nešteto res neprijetnih izkušnjah z Ryanairom (in nešteto obljub, da z njimi ne bom več potovala), kar ne morem verjeti, ampak tokrat se res ne bi mogla pritoževati nad ničemer. In jutranje letališče je bilo res čarobno lepo. Kaj več si lahko želiš ob odhodu iz mesta...