Having been picked up with the BBC crew and some other hacks we were ferried to the hotel by the embassy. Once we had dumped our stuff, and with nothing to do as Liz arrived tomorrow a tour of the town beckoned. Rose had some friends there and they took us for a walk around Ljubljana.
Absolutely stunning and despite being late October, a golden sun shone down through the late afternoon sky warming the square and riverside cafes where the locals where hanging out having coffee and drinks.
I love their bollards.
Makes a huge difference to the normal concrete monstrosities you usually see. And they fit in very well with the buildings, cobbled streets and cyclists.
Having found ourselves a little cafe, well when in Rome, we enjoyed the crisp fresh air and good company. Rose is Sarah's producer, Vicky's an editor and came to take the strain off me - which was a very welcome relief, and Sarah of course. You couldn't ask for a better team to be honest.
Our cafe is nestled somewhere by the trees over looking the Ljubljanica. As the whole of this part of town is pedestrianised, the only traffic being cyclists, it is very tranquil. The building are all original and it has a very serene feel to it. Somewhere to sit and watch the world go by.
Back to earth with a bump we had to do some work the next day and made our way to a castle just out of town for the Presidential reception. When I say a castle - I think it was a castle in name only as it appeared to be more of a chateau.
Having gone through security with a new bunch of pushing and shoving snappers - not our for a change the local Slovenes we waited by the red carpet. Like everywhere with red carpets someone always gets annoyed when you walk on it. I just want to know -how you're supposed to get across if you can't walk on it.
Military precision at its best. On my command everyone look at their shoes - - - now!
Part of the privilege culture in the Slovenian army is that only officers with swords can hold the string. Everyone else must look away for fear of being turned to stone. Hmmm perhaps that's how they get their bollards.
The Queen and Prince Philip safely and warmly welcomed they did their usual thing of meeting people and shaking hands. While this went on through out the afternoon we filmed bits and not others and then settled down by the river to do lives. Opposite the Cathedral - which was useful when the bells rand out - but as the city has a huge castle (proper one this time) on a hill just to the right of the photo, lots of narrow streets with tall buildings, this was the only place I could see the satellite from.
It was somewhere around this time that Vicky mused on how Liz and Phil spent their time while waiting for things to happen. We just sit around, chat, make phone calls, and drink coffee. Presume they do the same. And then it got dark.
Rose tries out her camera - again.
As far as back drops go - not bad at all. The rivers giving off a strange green glow though.
The next morning we visited the Lipica stud farm where the Queen was presented with a horse. It all did seem very familiar looking at the bumpf we had been given on the way down. Then 'doh' it suddenly struck me I'd been there before - the year when we had a school trip to Venice. We popped into Yugoslavia to visit some caves and a stud farm. Slovenia was Yugoslavia. Such an intellect. Sadly we didn't see the caves this time but saw half of the dancing horse show. The first half before they start dancing that is. That's all Liz & Phil saw too. Why they didn't start the warm up before they arrived I don't know as dancing horses is a lot more impressive than trotting around in formation... but what do I know.
Before we got back on the coach to Ljubljana we happened to pass some local produce stalls, that the Queen had been shown. Now as the day was over it would be a shame to leave good food to waste. Salami bread and cheese haven't tasted so good. Journo's really are a bunch of locusts - as soon as we caught up with the other stragglers they turned around and made a dash for the remaining scraps.
Back in town and after lunch there was a 'walkabout' across the three bridges and back to the hotel. To say the crowds turned out was an understatement. It was packed with serious flag waving going on. This was bigger than the biggest thing that had happened in Ljubljana. Given its fairly laid back and sleepy atmosphere its not hard to believe. Very good to see.
And within and hour of the royal party walking through - all the barricades had been taken down and the square back to normal again. Cyclists rule!!
"The day the Queen came"
This is definitely somewhere to come back to for a weekend visit. Everyone was friendly, and welcoming and a stunning place to explore a bit more.
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