Update Update
Trip Start
Apr 26, 2010
1
21
22
Trip End
Ongoing
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Well since we've been living in our new place here in Ljubljana and have a kitchen I thought I should explore my cooking skills. Now you all know that I'm not much of a cook (except for when it comes to eggs.... I make great breakfasts) and unfortunately never picked up my mum's talented and most awesome cooking skills (and her recipes). But I did call her and asked for some recipes to see if I could perform it up to her standards... but of course no one can cook like my mum! Oh how I miss her food... and dim sum! So far I have managed to cook:
- Rosemary & lemon marinated pork chops with mashed potatoes
- Stir fried rice noodles with pork and sweet and sour sauce (the sauce was from a packet and definitely does not taste like the sweet and sour sauce you get from the restaurants)
- Pasta with broccoli, cheese, ham and sun-dried tomatoes (learnt from Pernille)
- Fried sweet and sour pork
- Fried honey chicken (which was a big FAIL... not trying that again and leaving that one to the experts)
- Chicken and sausage carbonara pasta (Gregor's favourite)
- Mum's fried chicken with rice and stir fried vegies (rice cooked by Gregor himself... I only know how to cook rice from a rice cooker... maybe I should learn how "not" to use a rice cooker)
- Fried rice (missing the infamous chinese sausage... love that stuff!)
- Mum's spring rolls (success!)
I have gone to see a few movies since living here. Movies are so cheap, it's only 5 euros for a standard ticket! and yes they have it in English with Slovenian subtitles, though those animated movies such as Shrek and Toy Story have Slovenian dubbing but they also show the English version so it's pretty good. The movies I've seen are: Step Up 3D, Saw 3D, Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Harry Potter 7. All great movies. What's next to see?? =p
Little things included making my first halloween pumpkin, spent many hours skyping to friends and mum back home... it's always nice to hear about things happening back home and even just to hear my friends' voices, ahhh it just brings me that little bit closer to home for that short period even though I am thousands of kms away... thank you skype! you are a saviour! Job hunting but yet to find anything.
Went to Bled for the Sport Citizens Forum (all expenses paid) where Gregor and I were put up in a 4 star hotel... talk about luxury. A nice room with a balcony, chocolates on our pillows upon arrival, nice bathroom with the toiletry goodies, comfy beds (though 2 single beds pushed together does not make a double!) and a pretty amazing pool centre with a slide and 2 jacuzzis! We didn't spend much time in the hotel as we were all day at the forum. It was interesting for me to listen to all the views about Sport for All in Europe, as it is very different compared to Australia. I also played an important role in this forum... I was kinda the "physical activity" person. There were presentations for hours and as you all know, sitting down for a long period can be tiring, so I was the person that got everyone up and got the blood circulating again, doing things such as stretching, moving around the room, testing coordination skills. It was fun.
The days are now much shorter and getting colder. It starts getting dark at around 4.30pm already and temperatures average about 5 degrees during the day... falls below 0 now in the evenings. I personally thought I would suffer in these cold temperatures but have so far survived. Whether I have gotten used to this cold or I'm wearing the right clothes, I don't know, whatever it is I'm glad it's keeping me warm =p
Went for my first run with Gregor on Thursday. Have been putting it off for a long time as I'm not much of a running person. My cardio really sucks and I know running will help it but my motivation never lasts. Whenever I start it lasts for like 1 or 2 weeks and then it's all too hard. Gregor being the running type (has run marathons) convinced me to do it with him even after all the excuses I throw at him. I bought a pair of Adidas running shoes (only 35 euros... bargain!) but that was a month ago! Anyways we geared up for the 2 degrees outside and ran to the park and around it and then back again. But with many stops. In total we ran 20mins... hey it was a start. Let's see how it goes next week! I'll let you know how long this one lasts for =p oh and yes the next few days after were a killer for my very sore thighs especially going down stairs!
Oh that same evening we decided to hit the casino to see what it was like and also because Gregor had these 2 receipts which offered 10 euros for the casino (on the back). Why not give it a try. So we went in and this particular casino just had machines everywhere. There were no poker or black jack tables with dealers. There were however 2 roulette tables but they were all machine operated so there were no chips in sight. The money you win were printed on paper tickets and you had to convert your money to these tickets in order to play. There were coffee/hot chocolate machines, soft drinks, juices and bread sticks and a chocolate fountain with strawberries and bananas for free! We also got a free drink voucher but I don't know if this is only for your first visit. Anyways Gregor and I went from machine to machine pressing buttons and using up our 10 euros worth. It was fun until I ran out of money and Gregor was still playing and ended up winning 30 euros! Then it was time to cash in the ticket for real money! haha we left soon after and walked home.
The day after running however it SNOWED!!! Yes Winter has now officially started and even though it was very hard for me to get out of bed due to running the day before it was beautiful to see the snow falling from the sky. It snowed so much that day (all around the country), at one point it looked like a blizzard outside but inside I was very toasty. I went to the window so many times that day just staring outside and watching the snow turn the city white. So pretty =D
We made the most of the snow today by going out skiing. It was my first time ever skiing. So we went to the slight hill next to Gregor's parent's house. It was where Gregor and his brothers learnt how to ski so now it was my turn. I borrowed his mum's boots and Gregor's old skis from when he was 12 or something! It was great that they managed to find the equipment suited for me. So we went out all suited up for the snow, I did not get cold at all! Gregor was my teacher and what he said was "just go down the hill, you'll be fine". I was like, what do I do?!?! How do I stop?!?! haha but surprisingly I did ok until I started learning how to stop. I was falling all over the place but it was all good fun. Yes Gregor filmed all my stacks and I'm sure they will soon be up on Facebook. We took lots of photos and made snow angels and handstands. Of course we had a snow fight and made a lovely snowman that was bigger than me! First lesson of skiing.... not bad. Looking forward to the next one ;)
Sorry this was supposed to be a short update but like always, I end up writing too much. Hope you managed to stay awake to read it all, if not, I fully understand!
PS. tv series I've been watching include: How I met your mother, SATC and Lie to me =p
Over and out!
xxx
More photos at the following links:
Sport Citizen's Forum
October Miscellaneous
November Miscellaneous
Snowness Adventures
