In the middle of the square is a statue of Slovenia’s greatest poet, France Prešeren. 








Leave the square, walk a short distance up Wolfova ulica and you’ll find a terracotta figure of a woman looking out from a ‘window.’ She’s Julija Primic and she’s gazing lovingly across the square at the poet’s statue, although in fact the look should be in the other direction. He was the admirer, she never fell for him and he never got over the rejection.


Presumably the restaurant where I had my very Slovenian dinner that night (pork knuckle) was named after her – Julija.

Ljubljana felt remarkably stylish and well off, an impression confirmed in a ‘post Berlin wall’ article in The Economist for 7-13 November, Slovenia has the highest GDP per person amongst the old Soviet bloc countries. Which still leaves it at only just over 60% of the Western European average.

After my visit to western Ireland the next stop in my November travels was the Italian town of Trieste, on the Adriatic coast, right up in the north-east corner of Italy. Trieste enjoyed a visit from a notable Irishman, James Joyce lived here for a spell before WW I.

It’s a city with a long and convoluted history. The town features one of the finest town squares in Italy, the Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia, crowded in on three sides by impressive buildings and lots of elegant statuary.





Statue on Piazza Dell'Unita d'Italia

There are plenty of churches, museums, bits of Roman ruins and a solid old castle to distract you. The imposing Serbian Orthodox Chiesa di Santo Spiridione has colourful mosaics. I was passing through Trieste on my way to a literary festival in the town of Udine.


Chiesa di Santo Spiridione

Maureen and I paid a short visit to Inishmor, the largest of the three Aran Islands. The weather wasn’t very cooperative, but I did manage to walk out to the south coast to appreciate, once again, what a wild and wonderful stretch of coast the southern edge of these rocky islands presents to the fury of the Atlantic.

Offerings at the door of a shop on Monkey Forest Rd in Ubud. Because these daily offerings are left at ground level it’s clear they’re not intended for the gods. These are pay-offs, bribes, to evil spirits or demons. To ensure they stay outside, don’t enter the shop and cause mischief. Or poor sales.

Coming back to our room one night a little frog hopped on to Maureen’s foot in the courtyard outside the room. And then hopped lazily away.

It’s 730 am and these school kids are about to go into school near the Campuhan Bridge in Ubud, Indonesian schoolkids always look so neat and tidy in their uniforms.

Walking on a footpath between Sayan and Ubud that morning I passed this noticeboard in the village of Penestanan. Clearly foreign visitors staying in Penestanan are very interested in psychic healing and other new age pursuits. My favourite sign on this board was from a lady who announced she’s been working with ‘many Ascending Masters and Archangels.’ No wonder she could offer    ‘x-ray clairvoyance.’

James Price Point

Unfortunately it’s under threat from an assortment of developments and my visit to the region included a foray with the Wilderness Society up to James Price Point, north of Broome, where there are plans to establish a natural gas hub, right where a recent whale survey has found huge numbers of humpback whales. We saw whales from our light aircraft as we flew up the coast. The Wilderness Society website has information about these threats to the Kimberley.

Admiralty Gulf, near the Kimberley Coastal Camp

Need proof of the dangers facing this wonderful region? Well check the stories on the recent Timor Sea oil leak to the north of the Kimberley. A well leak far below the ocean floor has been leaking oil from the West Atlas rig into the sea since 21 August 2009 and it’s far enough offshore to have escaped serious media attention. Capping the well has required drilling a relief well and the equipment for that has had to come all the way from Singapore. Slowly.