Piran, Slovenia

June 16, 2022

We left the apartment before five o'clock in the morning to see the sunrise. Surprisingly the first thing we saw was the supermoon hanging up high in the sky, which was beautiful. The sunrise on the Adriatic Sea was one of the prettiest and most complete sunrises we had ever seen.

Then we went to get some breakfast pastries from a bakery in the town. At the same square, there was a small farmers market selling small fresh tomatoes, vegetables, and other groceries. We were interested in small tomatoes and small pears. An old gentleman at the veggie booth was very friendly and enthusiastic but didn't seem to understand English. We tried to converse with him, and he responded with Italian words we didn't understand. We couldn't figure out how much money we should pay for the tomatoes and pears we wanted to buy, so we gave him a large bill that he didn't want, and then we simply let him take whatever he needed in a handful of changes. The tomatoes and pears cost only 1.6 euros, and they were very fresh and delicious.

After breakfast, we walked along the coastline to Portoroz, a Slovenian Adriatic seaside resort and spa town less than 3 miles away from Piran. Contrary to Piran, Portoroz is a modern resort town with large swimming pools, luxury hotel rooms, casinos, and spas everywhere. People were basking in the sun by the sea and sipping wine by the pools. We had a coffee break at the beach café and did a little bit of people-watching. It was a different scene in the small town of Piran, where we stayed, with almost no big hotels and just countless narrow alleys. From morning to night, everyone was leisurely drinking wine, drinking coffee, having ice cream, and eating endless seafood. Fewer people were basking in the sun and splashing in the water. We preferred Piran than Portoroz.

We took the bus back to Piran and had lunch at a small café in the neighborhood we stayed, specializing in street food, and the taste was as good as that of the popular café we had dined in yesterday. After a short nap, we went to the beach and enjoyed the slow pace of life there, a cup of coffee and a book, plus more people-watching and scenery. It was such a relaxing afternoon. Dinner was, of course, still seafood. While sitting outside the restaurant, one big truck came through the small alley and it was only about couple of inches away from our table. The waiter had to close the awning to let the truck passing through. we were amazed by the driver’s skill.

We didn't have much luck with the sunset yesterday. Today's weather was much better, giving us a second chance to see the sunset. After dinner, we went to the city wall and hiked up to the top. Tonight's sunset didn't disappoint us. Standing on the city walls, we graciously watched the sunset and the sky bursting into red and yellow over the Adriatic Sea. The view just couldn't get any better. There was nothing like a beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day. Tomorrow, we would return to the days of sausage and pork chops.

欧洲游第二十七天：今天五点不到就出门看日出去了，第一眼看见的是超级月亮高悬在天空，美极了。地中海上的旭日东升也是所看到日出中最漂亮，最完整的之一。镇里有个小小的集市，看到小番茄🍅很漂亮，还有小梨🍐。摊主态度非常热情，叽里呱啦地一通意大利语我们一句没听懂，搞不清多少钱，给了张大票子他不要，索性就让他自己在一堆零钱里拿，结果只收了我们1.6欧元💶，实在是太便宜了。早餐后，沿着海岸线走到了几英里外另一个渡假小镇。那里超级度假酒店遍地都是，人们都在海边暴晒太阳，典型的海边度假村。而在我们住的小镇（Piran），完全是另外一种景象，几乎没有大的酒店，有的只是数不尽的狭窄小巷。从早到晚大家都在悠闲地喝酒，喝咖啡，吃冰激凌🍦，当然还有吃不完的海鲜。相比之下晒太阳和戏水的要少得多。小镇上的海鲜店遍布各个角落，今天的午餐就在我们住的边上的一家小店，专卖街头小吃，味道不比网红店差。午睡后来到海边，享受这里的慢节奏，一杯咖啡一本书，再加看人与看景😜。晚餐当然还是海鲜，抓住最后的机会，明天开始又要回到香肠炸猪排的日子了。今晚的日落没让我们失望。站在城墙上，整个皮兰小镇尽收眼底。