Chicken's Arse

Map of Slovenia - with Chicken Outlined

Ben so accurately pointed out that Slovenia is shaped like a chicken and that holding true, Klavze 28 is in the Chicken's Arse (see yellow star).  So I've taken a map and marked up a few of the highlights of our stay there.  I'll be referring back to this frequently.

Hey, speaking of arses, Day 2 in Slovenia is when all hell broke loose.  Our meticulous schedule was shot to hell as well.  Upon waking up (rather late considering the number of bottles of wine we tossed back the night before) I had an incident in my bedroom that involved what was later to be discovered as a pinched nerve in my back.  It sent me to my knees in incredible pain and I wasn't quite sure 1. how i'd get up off the floor and 2. how i'd make it down both sets of stairs to let Ben and Luey know what was going on.

So i sucked it up and stood up...pain!  Then got down the stairs...more pain.  Downstairs I thought I'd move around a bit and see if the pain would lessen any.  It didn't.  We decided I needed help.  Ben started calling to see if he could find a chiropractor for me to visit.  One that was relatively close couldn't see me until the next day at noon (no good!), then there was an option or two in Gorizia, Italy just across the border.  We decided to head out and try to find someone there.  We found ourselves in a residential area and after talking to some neighbors were able to determine that there was a chiropractor....we called him and he was in another town and could try to get back that evening to see me.  At this point, I was going to have to opt for an emergency room if no one could see me.  I couldn't sit without hurting, laying hurt, everything hurt. 

We finally found a physical therapist via Ben's iphone.  This guy could meet us at 3:30 or so.  It was about noon, so we decided we would kill time waiting for him.  We had some lunch, of which i was standing up for a lot of since sitting in a chair hurt me.  Then we walked for some Gelato, but walking hurt me (get the idea here).  We got back in the car and drove around.  I decided to lay down at this point.  Luey and Ben found a castle and decided to tour it.  I stayed laying in the car.  It sounded like a lovely castle and a lovely town we were driving through.  The pictures I saw later looked like that too!

3:30 finally rolled around.  So we went to see the Physio (PT).  He was a really cute guy, and his office was very small.  He only spoke Italian, so Ben had to stay to help translate as best he could.  So before long he has explained that it's a pinched nerve because the pain is shooting down into my legs.  I have to lay on the table and drop my pants.  So here I am with my arse in the air and Luey and Ben are sitting in little chairs at arse level.  It was a practice in humility for this modest girl...however i was in so much pain that i was certain i'd get over the humility if this worked.  Cute Physio started doing his electric shock therapy on my back, butt, legs.  He did this for quite a while.  Much longer than my chiropractor at home would have allowed for.

It was magic when he was done.  I hopped right off the table (pulled up my pants) and was able to stand up completely...without much pain at all.  In fact, my back probably felt better than it had in quite a while.  Thank the good Lord!!  It was probably 4:30 or 5 before we finished.  I had officially derailed an entire day of vacation!  I felt so awful. 

Luckily Ben was able to recover some of it by driving us through the Brda wine region - which they liken to a Slovenian Tuscany. They aren't far from the mark there, or I can only imagine they are not. The landscape was breathtaking. Mountainsides of wine vines in their perfectly organized rows!

We stopped at a winery where we were able to taste some wines.  Ben bought a 10 ltr bottle of wine. And we picked him up a new decanter for wine at the house.




We drove a little more and found a lookout point that we could climb for panoramic views of the region.  I can't wait to get home to my photo software and stitch together some panoramic pics.


We listened to good music from Ben's ipod and enjoyed the crisp breezes blowing through the car on our way winding back down the mountains.  It was a great drive.


Kudos (many, many kudos) to Ben for helping me find a dr. and still recovering the day.  He truly is the perfect host!


We headed back to the house with promises of mushroom risotto for dinner and a ton of wine we picked up along the way - both at the Mercato and at the winery we stopped at.  Bottles of wine are so dang cheap there.  The bottle of Prosecco that we drank the most of was only 1.40 Eur/bottle!  I picked up an assortment of red wines as well - none of which were more than 4 Eur per bottle.

The risotto was delicious.  Luey and I took turns "helping" care for the risotto while it was cooking.  Ben used porchini mushrooms he had on hand along with an assortment of other mushrooms as well.  It was really good!

We dined outdoors again and enjoyed the food, drinks, company, and music again!  Another great night at the house.  Ben had a friend to call to set up a canyoning trip for him and Luey the next day.  I boughed out graciously given the back complications.