WPC: Dinnertime, children

There was the subject of cook for another challenge not so long ago, so today let me concentrate on the places where we also eat when we don’t eat at home, even though there are some photos from there as well. More info in the captions. Buon appetito!

First Slovenia: a fish canteen in Portorož.

Bosnian restaurant in Piran named after the Olympic Games 1984.

The restaurant at the beach in Piran.

The best restaurant in Piran. Above the stove there is magnet saying “My family tree is full of nuts”. I bought it.

Here we eat in Piran if it’s not too hot (ok, or too cold).

Another restaurant by the sea in Piran.

This fish restaurant is in Ljubljana with the view of the greatest Slovenian poet and his muse.

Croatia follows: This is al fresco in camp Škrila, island Krk, Croatia.

Here we didn’t eat, looks lovely, Grožnjan, Croatia.

Back to Italy: Here Niki de Saint Phalle was making her barbecues. Il giardino dei tarocchi.

This is in Lucca and we didn’t stop and eat no matter how lovely it was.

This was the wedding on the beach in Ostia.

And this was Oktoberfest in Tuscany. Pub “Porta gialla”, Borgo Carige.

For my birthday they + dad took me to Orbetello and we had a great time.

And when you stroll around Pienza, this surprises you. Slow Food for Burkina Faso. Something sounds off here.

To return home: Did you know that in Italy it’s believed that one person eats 125 g of pasta? Slippers by UrsaNina.si

This happens when I ‘cook’ for myself.

I love eating on our terrace, whereas some others are afraid of flying bestias.

His father brought this. Five kilos of lamb. It fed us (and Bestia) for weeks.

His daughter made this: apple cake. Takes after father.

Ooops, this is not us. But they have dinner too. Buon appetito!

Photo: a © signature mmm production

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: Dinnertime

SL-WEEK 38: Yellow WordPress

Sylvain said that he would be gone and we had two weeks to deliver our yellow pages. And I thought, ahh, that’s a long time.

Alas, just like in school, even the longest time passes. He is back with a new theme, and I’m stuck with so many yellow photos gathered! Let me post them anyway, even if late.

I think this is the longest gallery on my blog. Yellow is my blog’s background colour, after all, and the colour of the wall in my bedroom. Location info is in the captions.

Burano Lake

Burano Lake

Orbetello

The Pantheon, Rome

Capalbio

Nika’s colour scheme

Piran, Slovenia

Piran, Slovenia

Piran, Slovenia

SRC SAZU, Ljubljana, Slovenia

In archaeological park Vulci

Oktoberfest in Tuscany

Roma

Local volcano (nah)

Roma

Roma

Portorož, Slovenia

By Lake Burano

Il giardino dei tarocchi

Il giardino dei tarocchi

Orbetello

Orbetello

Roma

Golden light off Capalbio

Photo: a © signature mmm production

For Sylvain Landry’s SL-WEEK 38: Yellow

In fact, I’ll keep it!

It was two years ago today that I posted my first Manja Mexi Movie blog post. I can’t believe it’s been two years already.

(I know this, even though WordPress has stopped informing me about the number of posts or anniversaries and things like that a while ago. I don’t know what happened. – ADD-IT: The notification came at 11pm. WordPress never forgets, thank you!)

To think that the main impulse for starting the blog was lack of feedback from my family and friends upon sending them heaps of emails with photos from my new life in the new country!

To keep us company in this post, here are some of my favourite already published photos:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Obviously the world is indeed big enough to find a variety of people who are not too lazy to tell you when you make them smile, busy schedule notwithstanding. Thank you all so much for that! I know how precious this is: even I with all the time in the world have trouble following everybody I’d like to. There are just too many brilliant people around!

It’s not just laziness, some friends back home are saying they don’t understand my blog because it’s in English. Hmmm, as little as I write? Photos are in English as well, are they? Whining like some Italians! Aren’t Slovenians known to brag how good we are at English? Because, compatriots, no matter how much you whine, this blog is NOT turning Slovenian any time soon.

And lest we forget, at the beginning, for much of the first year really, there were just about 7 followers, all family and friends. Only after I started joining photo challenges, many more of you came over and some stayed. Among the challenges that have achieved this are (in each line three links lead to three posts for every challenge):

• Weekly Photo Challenge
• Norm’s Thursday Doors
• various Cee’s challenges
• Sylvain Landry’s SL-WEEK

and the latest I have joined:

• Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness.

Soon I will reach the upgrade limit for this one and will start another WordPress blog. Nothing much will change (other than the theme), I quite like it as it is. I hope – I always hope – to do more writing, but just like the rest of the world I’m getting lazier in this regard, posting more photos and less words. They are easier on the eye, it seems, or is it brain. It’s not that words are lacking, I always have a bunch, they are lurking JUST behind the corner. Beware.

Here is a recap of my writings that I posted last June. I find it very telling that only father, Snow Somewhere Else and Badfish commented. Well, I do say it’s for the organised and the mad ones. 😀 (Love you!)

What is alarming is that I’ve only added very few writings to Own Words category since.

Among them are:

• an amusing tale about peeing
• 100 words on why nobody is to trust
• a reason why sister’s mirror broke
• some musings on borders, limits and boundaries
• and a recent bunch of excuses as to why I am not a writer as such.

In short – nobody has a truly good excuse for not following me. But I cannot and don’t want to force anybody either. Everything I said on this day last year in my first anniversary post is still true: we have strawberries and if you don’t want them – your loss.

And as they say in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: “It’s a deal, it’s a steal, in fact…

…I think I’ll keep it!” 😀

Truly, from the heart, thank you all for every minute spent in my virtual company.

≈ Manja Maksimovič ≈

Featured photo: The header of my upcoming blog: MLK in Ljubljana. 

Photo: a © signature mmm production

Thursday Doors, March 24 – anniversary edition

Norm’s Thursday Doors photo challenge is one year old. My blog will be two in under a week. Celebrations are in order.

I thought it would be good for the occasion to have a look at what kind of doors I published in the first year of my blog before landing the perfect challenge for me.

The first time I participated was on May 1 with the typical title Thursday Doors on a Friday, wondering if this was allowed, but it took me a month to grow into a regular. Since then I think I only missed one Thursday, early on, it just flew by too fast. Door-spotting has become a family sport and a source of joy. Thank you for that, Norm, and to every contributor for making it fun.

The following photos have all already been published before I found Thursday Doors. I am too lazy to edit them up a bit and upload them once again with the watermark. They will have to do as they are.

Porto Ercole

Scarlino

Metelkova City, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Metelkova City, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Metelkova City, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Metelkova City, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Metelkova City, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Local invitation.

Scansano

Padna, Slovenia

Pitigliano

Pitigliano

“I’m by your side, however you decide.” Lucca

Future Double Helix Runaway’s room. Lucca

“I’m telling you the truth!” Lucca

Just a little confession. Lucca

Roma

Ex-casa

Casa, sweet casa

Koper, Slovenia 🙂

Magliano

Photo: DS / Posing in Orbetello

And this is a recent revisit to my favourite local door used for the New Year’s Day edition of Thursday Doors. I had to take some new photos because they are in bloom. Let our Thursday Doors bloom on too!

Photo: a © signature mmm production

For the anniversary edition of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors challenge.

SL-WEEK 37: Electrifying

Since amore is electrician, he approves of Sylvain’s challenge this week. He immediately produced a neat little wiry box for me to shoot – whatever it may be. As it is, I have plenty of related images.

Ljubljana New Year’s light jungle and an inspector.

For the hungry in Ljubljana – sadly, they were idle.

Cherry light fixtures in Lolita, Ljubljana.

This is how I do it.

Piran clock tower and cables.

A combinatian of ancient and electric in Lucca.

Mad scientist lab in Lucca (for instance).

Back to daily views: Capalbio stazione.

The view off Capalbio with a lone lamp.

And my favourite: I thought it was graffiti but apparently this is how here they warn people about electricity: “Who enters dies.” How Dantesque.

Photo: a © signature mmm production

For Sylvain Landry’s SL-WEEK 37: Electricity

Thursday Doors, March 3

Today, four brown doors and one gate.

From there, Ljubljana, Slovenia (1st image), via Roma (2nd and 3rd), to here, Capalbio (4th), and home (5th). Welcome, visitors, my two favourite women in the world. We’re going to have a wicked March 8.

Photo: a © signature mmm production

For Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors challenge.

MM 2-45: Monochrome Madness

Looking up, Ljubljana, New Year’s.

Photo: a © signature mmm production

For Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2-45

Photo: a © signature mmm production

Three tails of Ljubljana dragon

Today is the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, and conveniently, and surprisingly for me (even though apparently since 1991), it’s a day off work. (Another case of “If you live long enough.”) So I bring you three Slovenian tails, or better tales, or better raps, since in Slovenian “rep” = a tail.

Baroque Ursuline church and the Column of Plague

Congress Square

Golden statue from Roman times.

The first two have stuck in my memory after hearing them for the first time on the radio when I was last in Slovenia, whereas the last one is an old favourite. Love me some rap/hiphop.

First, a story about an actual elderly woman (in the video portrayed by a well-known actress) who lives in the same building as the rapper Rok Trkaj and who must walk the stairs without the elevator despite her osteoporosis, so he often carries her bags for her and he’d promised her to write a rap about old people for a change. And he did.

I’ll always remember him because he walked over half of Slovenia or more to promote one of his records, and by the line from an epic hip hop battle: “Ti si morski sadež in tole tlele je bla rižota.” (“You are a frutta di mare and this right now was a risotto.”) Can’t beat my feeding preferences. (Even though in this battle, and in many more, he was beaten by the king of Slovenian hiphop, N’toko. I’ve translated his song “I’m a Slovenian” here.)

By the river of Ljubljanica

Maček café

Novi trg fountain

The second song is calling young people to

“…go out, even if it rains.
Go out, even if it snows.
I’d like to return to those times
when time was running more slowly
when in rough times nobody was reaching for their phones
because we didn’t have any
and yet we still connected
we shared good memories by talking to each other
sunny days we spent in the street, on the bike
images remained in our minds without a single like.
Technology has brought us together
but also set us apart
showing it all, concealing the soul
rules have changed
we make friends with a click
no need to say a word.
Look up, look me in the eye
shake my hand, have a beer with me
I’m here before you in flesh and blood.
Go out, that’s where life truly happens.”
(translated on the spot by Manja Maksimovič)

Trubarjeva, Ljubljana

And Murat knows what he is saying because a while ago he and Jose did the song Nazaj (“Back”) with a similar sentiment, in which Slovenian legend Benč repeats the words from his old song about how he wishes to return in time but knows it is not to be. And then Murat & Jose add:

So quickly that we can’t even see
in such a noise that we can’t hear a thing
on and on, as fast as we can
hey folks, by the way, do we even know where we go?

There is no doubt about the difference in quality of life back then and now. Never mind the holiday where there was none.

Photo: MM

Featured photo: Statue of greatest Slovenian poet France Prešeren, whose death was turned into the national cultural holiday. All the photos taken in Ljubljana this summer.

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Eat and drink

Three posts have lined up nicely and enabled my offering for today. Thank you.

First, Ishita posted a quote on Italophilia which, after almost three years living here, I can verify is nothing if not true:

Then I saw that Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge for this week is on the subject of food and beverage. It’s interesting to view black and white images of food because lack of colour tends to render familiar stuff inedible. My photos are not from Italy (except the first when amore made what they call prosciutto) but rather from my homeland, Slovenia. For some reason I seemed to focus on drinks. More information in captions.

As not a big lover of red meat, this actually looks better now.

The image of my childhood: the face of sun-spoilt Janževec wine (well, parents had guests over a lot), now in barrels – filed under “if you live long enough”. Slogan goes: “Since I am a tzar, I drink Spri-tzer!)

What one needs on a hot July day: jubilee booze, rosemary bread and cards. And air-conditioning.

Fish canteen and a glass of white, Portorož.

ŠpriCar advertised again, and the coffee served Bosnian style as I like it, in Daktari, Ljubljana.

Sarajevo beer in Das ist Walter, Ljubljana

And lastly, to balance it out , I just saw a post on My Food Odyssey about the book by Michael Pollan with the title “In Defense of Food” and the film based on it that answers the question “What shall I eat?” in a very straightforward, and catchy, fashion:

Eat food,
not too much,
mostly plants.

Lucky me. The beverages above are made from plants!

Photo: MM

For:

Right in the cat?

“We highly recommed you this product,” their website says. It would be comedy if it wasn’t so ugly, and someone needs medicating.

Fuck you, I say.

This is not an ordinary post. I don’t hope for any likes. But this is how the story goes, and it goes well with the Wolf from Wall Street from my previous post.

When I was last in my birth town Ljubljana, Slovenia, which was some three weeks ago, we went to its largest shopping centre. From a shopping window I caught a glimpse of this:

I lead a remote life. Mostly I don’t care about anything much that I can’t influence, which might be a part of a problem but so it is. So I guess it must be funny or cool for some to have a brainfrying drug adorning their chest, or leg. But this I’d probably let go. It’s obviously a trend a few steps removed from the marijuana leaf. People have too much money. They lead, or want to lead a “cocaine life”. Groovy. Used to be “heroin chic”.

But then I saw the small print. On the other thigh.

It started with Fuck. “Fuck her right…” Hm…. I took a few photos and happily forgot about all that. But today I found the photos, and checked their website to see what the hell. Do you care to guess how it continues? “Fuck her right in the…”

I mean, I don’t wish to spell it out, intrepid me! And they have it printed out and on sale for anybody to buy?

I’d give you the name of the shop if I remembered it. Somebody there made the executive decision to sell this garbage. I can only imagine an English-speaking mother, prone to reading, who finds this item in the laundry. I have no idea if this is a worldwide best-selling item, or something brand new, or if it’s hiphop-star endorsed, or what in the sweet hell. And I don’t wish to know.

It’s a sign of the times. We let the cat get so fat. I just hope a bunch of girls beat the crap out of the first jerk who comes into their reach wearing one of these. (Not really but you know.)

Location: BTC, Ljubljana

Photo: MM

Ljubljana. Above left: “…can really be lovely.” Below left: google for yourselves! 😀 I took the photo for the bicycle! Photo: MM

SL-WEEK 29: Snowed out

Snowing in Ljubljana and amore went out! Drama! But it was practically of free will, and he was almost smiling.

Photo: MM

For Sylvain Landry’s SL-WEEK 29: Snow