We Arriving in Croatia happened pretty fast actually. I had just dropped off my hitchhiker and my car and rushed to catch the bus to Zadar which would take me via Zagreb. I planned to rent a car here too originally but then changed my ,mind and decided to take the bus instead. My first stop to Zadar was amazing, It was a long drive but when I arrived to the bus station, I had a short walk to my hostel where i was greeted with a beer by the crazy owner. I sat down, sweaty and tired to join a group of people who had all arrived and were handed beers too. It was fun! I quickly changed and headed into the old town which was a short walk away. I enjoyed the evening there walking around the beautiful cobbled streets and had the most amazing (recommended by Trip Advisor) pizza and red wine at Pizzeria Tri Bunara. There was a great atmosphere there, the location was great and the service was so genuine and welcoming.

​The next day I explored the town again during the day and then met my friends Jonny and Rebecca who i had met wine tasting in Vipava, Slovenia. We had a beer whilst watching the sunet and a traditional dance while the famous Zadar 'Sea Organ' played beneath our feet, with the help of the big waves. I took them to Tri Bunara restaurant again and we had a lot of laughs and good chats before parting ways. It was so nice to see familiar faces in Zadar. The next day i checked out of Accomodation Horizon despite them wanting me to stay longer, and headed to the bus station to take a bus to Sibenik. My friend Ela had so very kindly arranged for me to stay with her best friends in Sibenik for two days and even though she was away working, she assured me they were more than happy to have me there. When i arrived, Diyana and Franco's friend, Zelko picked me up from the station and took me to their place. He was staying there too for his short vacation from another part of Croatia. We spent a lot of time exploring the old town, walking around amazing fortresses, chilling at beach bars, eating delicious ice cream during the days, chilling on their boat on the beautiful ocean while at night we all attended a local festival, had a family feast with Francos parents, walked to 'Hitlers Tunnel' and an abandoned fortress at night. It was amazing how welcome i felt and how much I didnt want to leave this place. Here I was thousands of miles away from home or anyone i know yet i felt like part of the family. They were the most genuine people with big hearts and a zest for life just like me. I only wished i could have extended my time there. Unfortunately I had to go to Montenegro and start work ina  few days and I was still planning to meet a friend on the island of Hvar and go to Dubrovnik.

​On the last evening we shared hugs and I promised to return some day to continue the adventures. Zelko took me to the bus station and off i went to Split, a promising town full of tourists, a palm fringed promenade and overpriced drinks. I was only here to take the ferry to Hvar but luckily i had one night there and a chance to catch up with the amazing Ana Pekoc. We had worked on the ships together and here we were reuniting in her home country. She was passing through and we had planned to catch up for food, some drinks and some microblading. Ana is the most talented when it comes to Microblading eyebrows and she had transformed mine on the ship on two occassions. We headed to the hostel and set up a mobile microblading station in the common room, much to the staffs surprise, and she transformed by brows yet again. We spent an amazing evening hanging out, catching up on life events and drinking on the promenade. The world felt even smaller when another fellow shipmate who lived in Split happened to be close by and came to join us for a short while. Split was turning out to be pretty amazing.

​The next morning I headed off to take the ferry to the party island of Hvar for some beach time... what was i thinking? I had planned to meet a girl called Melissa from the popular facebook page 'Girls Love Travel' or GLT. Our first day proved that our friendship would be lasting and also that this weekend would be full of shenanigans. After we had gone back and forth to sort out her accomodation and laughed our heads off at the crazy situation, we finally met up again that evening for dinner with a group of people she knew. We had dinner at Restaurant Dalmatia with 8 other people and drank copius amounts of the cheapest red wine in Hvar. It was the most amazing, most affordable feast with incredible people. Over the next few days we alternated between beach time, day drinking, being hungover and for me it involved changing room in the hostel almost every day i was there. In the evenings we met with some other travellers, Mai from Australia, Nick from USA who was at my hostel, Annaline an American and fellow GLT member and two turkish guys we met from couchsurfing hangouts. At night we hungout at cocktail bars, danced at Pink Champagne and many other places, sat by the boardwalk watching the superyachts, pre drinking in the hostel like teenagers, drunkingly took a ferry to Carpe Diem the most famous club on its own island. Our last night was amazing but needless to say our hangovers beat us down the next morning as we tried to tuck in to a delcious breakfast at Fig Cafe. I had skipped a day in Dubrovnik to stay here with this group i had met and i had absolutely no regrets, even if i didn have to put up with some drunken assholes at Hvar Hostel, it was still a great place to stay.

​We all went our seperate ways but vowed to meet again some day and relive the crazy Hvar adventures. I took the ferry back to Split, spent the short afternoon with Ana again who was passing through and took my bus to Kotor to start my new adventure teaching yoga at Pallazzo Radomiri Hotel for two months. I was so excited.

Renting a car in Slovenia was not the original plan. I had planned to keep my trip on the cheap and take the bus. Renting a car was an idea that came to me on my last day in Sri Lanka and I never looked back. I arrived in Ljubliana and spent a day and an evening there with Deborah my Steiner spa girl who i had met last year during training in London. She showed me around this beautiful small city and explained all the amazing history the country and its surrounding countries had. It was the beginning of my history lesson in the Balkan countries. We explored the beautiful streets, Tivoli park and even tried a traditional iced coffee- with an actual chocolate ice cream inside (dream drink). My time in Ljubliana was short but oh so sweet. I couldnt wait to return.

​The next morning I checked out of Hostel Tresor and went to the car rental company a mere 5 minutes walk away.  I was given the cutest most girly car in the whole place, and I couldnt wait to drive. I figured i would be fine considering i had experience driving on the right hand side in america. It wasnt until I made my way out of the car park to the real world that i realised this was slightly different. In America we had an automatic car so it was one less thing to think about, whereas here i had a manual and it was a little bit tricky to concentrate on traffic, signs, GPS and gears. However there was no going back now. It was an adventure.

​The feeling I got when i reached the highway, turned on the tunes full blast and admired the most beautiful scenery in front of me, was indescribable. I felt freedom id not felt in a while and I was so excited. My first stop was Lake Bled, where I stayed at Vila Mangart, a long walk out of the town but a short drive. Luckily I had met a very kind lady on Couchsurfing who let me park at her place in town while i explored, to avoid hefty parking fees. I explored the lake, climbed to the castle which looked over the turquoise waters, I ate traditional 'Bled cream cake' and even took a trip to Lake Bohinj, the less touristy more quaint neighbour lake. In Bohinj I took the cable car to Mt Vogel (15euro return) which had stunnign views of the lake and the beautiful mountains which turned Ski resort in the winter. I was raging i didnt have my runners on and some shorts to go walking up there, too bad i didnt do my research, but I enjoyed the views and came back down to spend the day at the lake, swimming and sunbathing. Parking in Bohinj was also a nightmare although it was free at Mt Vogel, the rest was paid parking. Luckily on my way out of town, having given up, I noticed a gravel road by the tourist office with some parked cars, so i parked there for 4 hours hassle free.

​While in this part of Slovenia i also visited Vingtar Gorge which is close to Lake Bled and is absolutely amazing even if i had to pay 5euro to enter. The water in Slovenia is the bluest most natural Ive ever seen, on paar with New Zealand and Canada for sure. I met Cilka, the lady from couchsurfing in Bled for an evening beer and some wine tasting and she kindly set me up to stay with her brother in law in Piran, I was so thankful. Bled and Bohinj exceeded my expectations and Slovenia in general made me wonder why I hadnt come here before. I couldnt wait to see what was next.

​After Lake Bled, I planned to head off in the direction of Tragliv National Park and onwards to Bovec where i would stay a night. This was probably the most adventurous/terrifying/thrilling days of the whole trip, as i took 50 hair pin bends up the steep mountains to reach the top of the Vrsic Pass, known to be one of the most treacherous drives around. Once again, I hadnt researched...... Anyway, reaching the top, i took a deep breath and thanked my lucky stars for surviving, especially in this foreign car. With my breath back I looked aroudn in awe and couldnt believe the amazing scenery around me. The height of the mountains was incredible and I was so thankful to be experiencing this. I headed off downhill, to Bovec, one of the cutest alpine towns around, where i enjoyed visiting the fortress, wandering the town and the hostel was also a huge highlight- Hostel Bovec. The location was unbelieveable and the scenery from the dorm windows looked photoshopped, they also had a free breakfast and geat outdoor area to relax and watch the sun set.

​From Bovec I drove to Goriska Brda (the less touristy version on Tuscany) STUNNING! I did some waine tasting at Vinska Klet and then made my way (through italy) to Vipava where i would taste more wine and stay for the evening. After a stressful venture through Gorizia with road diversions in Italian, i finally got to Vipava and found myself signed up to a wine tour with Jonny and Rebecca my new english friends. The evning was amazing, and along with a canadian couple and our guide, we headed to two different family owed vineyards. Slovenia, little did i know, is home to some of the worlds best wine but its kept in Slovenia because the country sint big enough to export huge quantities therefore, leaving it for all of us wine lovers to taste as we travel around the region. It was one of the best evenings if not the best of the trip.

​After Vipava, I headed to Piran via Koper, a small coastal town, busier than Piran though. The old town was beautiful to wander around and I stayed with Igor in Piran, Cilkas brother in law, which was excellent. He took the time to show me all around Piran, took me on a hike, we went swimming in the ocean, he made some beautfiul fresh meals and even took me to a fashion show located in the main square which i really enjoyed. I was so overwhelmed by hospitality all over slovenia i didnt want to leave, but unfortunately I onyl had a day to get back to Ljubliana, return the car and head to Croatia for my next adventure.

​Overall, Slovenia was beyond incredible. The scenery was sp picturesque that sometimes it didnt even look real, the people were so friendly, the wine was cheap (1.50 a glass), the water was some of the best in the world, especially at the Soca River which i drove passed (known as the most beautiful river in the world), the pizza is just as good as Italy and the overall vibe from Slovenia was so positive and uplifting especially in these summer months. I couldnt wait to plan a trip back.

​sLOVEnia