We had a fairly light breakfast and then got on the coach ready to go to Slovenia to see the horses. This was the highlight of the trip, at least for Lyn. We had got a note in the cabin the day before saying that some sort of horse demonstration wasn’t going ahead. Lyn was very disappointed even though up until that moment she had no idea that that was part of the tour.
Getting on the bus and listening to the various voices it sounded like we were on a charabanc (I had no idea that was how it was spelt) with the cast of Last of the Summer Wine. But fortunately it was a short trip across the boarder to Lipica.
Our guide who was Slovenian, gave us a potted history as we drove through Trieste and would punctuate it every now and then with the phrase ‘So anyway, that happened!’ I think every history talk should end with that.
The Horse farm wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s in the middle of a holiday park complete with hotel, golf course, frisbee golf, children’s play area and casino! There may be more to it but that’s just what I saw on the way in. Apparently this all helps pay for the horse farm. You can even stay at the hotel and get to ride the horses but only the ones that have been gelded because most people who want to do this need a calm horse. I've never understood this because if someone chopped my balls off I'd be bloody angry!
Of course the main attraction, at least as far as Lyn is concerned, is the horses and she wasn’t disappointed. There were lots of them, young and old and she got to touch them. She couldn’t tempt any into our rucksack despite trying. I’m not sure the tour was worth the money but then I spent most of my time taking pictures and videos so Lyn has lots of memories. I did learn that the horses are named after the Lime Trees which are all over the place. Every day's a school day.
There’s a small museum there which was virtually empty. There was even a life size model of a horse that I told Lyn she could get on. I don’t know if she was allowed, it might have been just for kids so after getting that photo opportunity we legged it quick.
The next most important location was the gift shop. I can’t recall ever spending that much in a gift shop before and don’t imagine doing it again unless we visit the pandas in China.
As Lipica was only half a day we spent the afternoon wandering around Trieste which is a surprising city. It’s the most northerly port in the Med and has a very Central European feel to it. It has some amazing buildings and I can imagine lots to see and do if we had more time and it wasn’t a Sunday. I had a picture taken with a statue of James Joyce who has a connection with the place. Something about leaving his wife in a park for 12 hours while he went on the piss. Apparently she was still there when he got back so you would think it’s her who deserves a statue.
We then went into a cafe and I ordered what I thought was a milky coffee and ended up with some strange ice cream thing that defiantly had coffee in it and gave me an almost immediate headache. This is probably why they served it with a glass of water so you can take some paracetamol. It was very nice so I didn’t complain.
San Marino tomorrow.
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