Dear diary… I’ve got some fun things to tell you !
Hi there, I’m Bella.
As I’m writing this I’ll be 16 next month. I’d like to share some of my memories of the week I spent in Ljubljana. A city that’s hard to pronounce and even harder to spell!
We arrived via Easy JET and greeted at the airport by two of Green World Holidays reps. The flight was short, less than 2 hours from England and uneventful. So you’d probably say, that was a good flight.
The transfer from airport to capital was also very quick, approximately 20 minutes, which was a very nice surprise. A great way to start the holiday. For some reason I thought we were going to be driving for an hour or two. But according to Jaka our driver, if we had driven for 2 hours we would have already left Slovenia and entered Italy or Croatia. Slovenia really is small country and there are plenty of joke’s about it! Ask any Croatian!
Our hotel was ideally located; right in the heart of the old town. It’s all pedestrian streets, meaning we could go out and explore everywhere on foot. My brother and I found an amazing Ice cream place within about 10 minutes called “Ice Wave”; where they custom made your ice-cream. Needless to say we went back quite a few times during the multi activity week we had signed up for!
On the first night the Green World Holidays team organised a small walking tour of the city to help us get our bearings. The city reminded us of the town Far Far Away from the Shrek films.
Ljubljana is literally like something from a fairy tale. Cobble streets & perched hilltop castle.
Pretty spires and bright coloured castle like buildings, it was super nice! And that is saying something, as we normally hate sightseeing! I lie. My Mum loves all the history and facts that come with it.
After the orientation of Ljubljana our guides took us for a welcome meal at a lovely restaurant in the old town. This was really nice and it was the first chance to really meet the other families. Everyone we met was really nice.
From the get-go it was a social group. With boys and girls our same age.
Straight away my brother and I were chatting to the other teenagers. I really appreciated the fact that there were actually families of similar ages. I thought my mum had just to drag us to some place we had never heard of.
I sat next to 2 sisters from Kent and we hit it off straight away. My mum was getting to know the other families as well. She also failed to mention in her Single Parent Blog article, that two single Dad’s were on the trip and were hanging off her every word.
Yes mum, we all noticed!
Our guides at dinner, told the group what we would be doing for the next day and what to expect; and that’s when it really sunk in. We were on a truly authentic family adventure holiday in Slovenia.The upcoming week’s planned activities were: river kayaking, White Water Rafting, Adventure Park, SUP Boarding, Crazy Olympics & Hiking.
I didn’t know which one I was looking forward to the most! I just knew I was very excited, maybe a little nervous. And I couldn’t wait to splash the hell out of my little brother (annoyingly he’s taller & bigger than me).
The first morning, Mum forgot to set the alarm. So it was a hurried start and a very hurried breakfast. We met everyone in the hotel lobby, feeling the shame of being the last one’s ready. After a short drive, we arrived at the river kayaking start point. Soon after the safety briefing we were on our way, cruising down the river. Watchout for the exciting waterfall drops. We loved everyone of them. Even better, my brother got soaked. Mum was having the time of her life. So all in all. A great start. You can watch the teenager adventure on YouTube, by following this video link.
After an epic activity we stopped for a late lunch and got to know the guides a bit more. All of them, were easy going and helped bind our group even tighter together. They taught us how to slack line. Gave us time to chill. We played cards, did mini jenga and just generally messed around in the river.
Mum said – it was a proper Huckleberry Finn moment.
I said – “Who’s that?”
Back at the hotel we changed, so we could explore the capital. There was lots going on in the city, as it’s the capital city of Slovenia. Every night we were spoilt for choice on what to do. In summer they have an arts festival running so lots of music, crafts, food markets and even an open air cinema in Ljubljana castle.
The 3rd day was definitely my favourite of the activity holiday. We went to an adventure park in the mountains. The day was full of different activities from high ropes to archery. The highlight for me had to be the mountain go-kart racing. Even better, I beat my brother down the hillside to the finish line. Hash Tag: #girlpower #eatmydust #dontbeasawlosersimon!
I have to acknowledge my brave mum here. She is normally terrified of heights but had a go on the high rope course. Simon and I were really proud of her. Go mum!
The next few days flew by. It involved white-water rafting, SUP boarding, visiting Lake Bled and visited an awesome city water park on our free day. See Atlantis Water Park’s website here. Its a huge place with slides for the teenagers; saunas and Jacuzzi’s for the oldies. Thermal pools inside and outside so something for everyone. Very good value, I think around £10pp entry.
White-water rafting was really good fun. Again our guides were brilliant. The boys boat tried their bests to be Alpha, but they know the girls basically soaked them all. We did have to work as a team. We had to paddle and steer the 8-man raft downstream through the rapids. It went a lot faster than I expected it to go, but thanks to the team leaders who explained what to do, we managed to navigate the raft really well down the rapids. I have to admit I was a little bit nervous before we started, but once the team leaders gave instructions, and once I had the helmet and life jacket on, I felt very safe. My mum, brother and I agreed we’d try and do this in Wales when we get back home.
The last family activity day was spent doing Stand-Up Paddle Boarding. This is one of my favourite water sports activities. Easier than I imagined. The river was calm and clean, offering the perfect answer to the sun’s heat. We played various games. Linked our boards together. One mum even did a few yoga poses. Needless to say we all got wet by the end though.
After Sup boarding our tour guides organised a really nice BBQ for us. While waiting for food, we played some basketball, football, swam in the river and chilled in the shade.
It was kinda refreshing not to be near my phone. Ssssh don’t mention I said that to my mum pls!
After the BBQ we played parents vs. teenagers. Of course we skooled them! The sun was low in the sky by the time we left. I remember eveyone being so happy as we waked along the river back to the hotel.
I really enjoyed our time in Ljubljana. Slovenia is super safe, green and clean. It’s truly a beautiful country. I really do have to say; ‘Thank you Mum and Green World Holidays’.
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