I’m going to include: a quotation (instead of my usual Pic and a Word poem) and thank Patrick for it, a whole lot of photos from my recent travel back home and then back home again on top of a giant (such a luxury having so many homes!), and a short video of a Slovenian giant having fun in Dallas.
First a gentle another-kind-of-giant warning. She sounds like she knows what she is talking about. But she often did:
People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.
― Ursula K. Le Guin
Now, let’s have a look from the top of a giant. After having arrived in Slovenia with two normal-sized Flixbuses from Rome, on return I spent four hours on the top deck of a double-decker bus, which is how long it took us from Ljubljana to Venice. I sat on the right, just behind the windscreen, and for a while the view was able to distract me from my book.
After that, in Mestre, it was another switch back to the smaller-sized bus and my book (His Dark Materials, Book II) that accompanied me till Rome. There might not be giants and dragons in there, but there are talking (and fighting) Polar bears, witches, angels and daemons. And much courage, beauty and love. And Dust.
More info in the captions. Bear in mind that these photos ain’t gonna win any prizes. Post worthy or not, this was my travel.
It started at 6.30 am at the Ljubljana bus station.
I hopped on and chose myself an excellent and high lookout.
As we were leaving the Ljubljana basin, it got brighter with stylish fog passages.
The first sun. It soon became evident that if you’re a giant, things bump into you and leave a mark. Mind the sleeper.
The view to the right was cleaner.
One of the rare wind farms in Slovenia. The lobby is unsupportive.
For some reason we swerved off the highway for a while – due to road works, I presume – and sped on this little country road that seemed too narrow for this giant.
As if I’d asked the driver to visit Podnanos and its cemetery where some ancestors on my mother’s side must rest. Father was drawing the family tree just the day before.
Slovenia, just like its neighbour Italy, is a wine-growing country. The only reason why our wine is not more well-known is that we drink most of it and don’t tell. 😀
The stop in Nova Gorica or Gorizia, which is the same town on the border between two countries.
One hour and a half later we were already crossing the lagoon into Venice.
It would take longer with this giant with all the boarding.
A good view of the killing screen.
It felt as if we were descending into the belly of a beast.
Where many were being devoured yet.
Venice scene spotting from the bus was fun. Not many made it into photos.
The Venice lagoon colour and crossovers.
We made our stop and were returning the same way. Next stop was Mestre where I changed buses (with an almost two-hour stopover).
A little island in the big lagoon.
The only photos I took in the second part of my journey. Our dragon-green bus was hiding among other giants.
Imagine another deck on top of this one. That’s how my previous giant looked like.
What giants eat.
At 7.45 pm I was in Ostiense train station in Rome waiting for the train to Capalbio in my Tuscany, where amore and bestia were waiting. I reached them at 10 pm.
And finally, talking about giants, looks like somebody was having some Bull fun yesterday. 😀 The 19-year-old Slovenian Luka Dončić, NBA rookie playing for Dallas Mavericks, in his third NBA game drew a gasp from the crowd, and then did some other stuff too. Okay! Great things in store and all that.
13 thoughts on “Lens-Artists PC & Pic and a Word 158: Up on a Giant”
I like bus trips. I’ve done a few myself. This was really interesting because it showed me a view of your part of the world that doesn’t get shown often. I have not tried a double decker bus yet, here it’s called Megabus, but I’ve drawn one…
Thank you. There have been ups and downs in the last few months but I keep on going along (like those buses). I think you were really brave to be upstairs and at the front on that bus, I would be scared, but what a view!
Thank you for sharing this trip, Manya. …it’s so wonderful to see your images made through the window. I love to do that… …on trains, on busses… …in that moments I have alway this pure feeling of travelling… …and your photos reminds me of that in a wonderful way. Thank you!
One and a half hours is almost right next door! I remember in ancient times when an intercity night train from Rome would take you down to Venice, Trieste, and on to Ljubljana and eventually to Zagreb. I wonder whether that train still runs.
Well, that’s only half way, if you start in Ljubljana, which is my town of birth. It’s 3 hours from there to Venice if you stay on the highway. This intercity still runs but it stops in Trieste, unfortunately. Only this year the train connection between Slovenia and Italy opened up again (but I think it’s actually a bus that replaces the train). Thanks, I. J.
I haven’t made a bus trip in a million years. Thanks for taking us on your’s. I laughed at the part about Slovenian wine 😆😆😆
That’s a long day for you to travel from home to home. I’m guessing that by the time you walked in your front door, you were more than happy to be back!
I like bus trips. I’ve done a few myself. This was really interesting because it showed me a view of your part of the world that doesn’t get shown often. I have not tried a double decker bus yet, here it’s called Megabus, but I’ve drawn one…
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Thanks, Claudia. Drawing one is the first step. Then you can board it. 🙂 I hope all is good in Claudia land.
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Thank you. There have been ups and downs in the last few months but I keep on going along (like those buses). I think you were really brave to be upstairs and at the front on that bus, I would be scared, but what a view!
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Thank you for sharing this trip, Manya. …it’s so wonderful to see your images made through the window. I love to do that… …on trains, on busses… …in that moments I have alway this pure feeling of travelling… …and your photos reminds me of that in a wonderful way. Thank you!
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Thank you, Markus, you’re kind. 🙂 Pure feeling of travelling sounds good and just what we’re after.
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Enjoyed the trip very much and thanks for taking us along 🙂
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Thank you, Hammad, very kind. Welcome to my blog!
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One and a half hours is almost right next door! I remember in ancient times when an intercity night train from Rome would take you down to Venice, Trieste, and on to Ljubljana and eventually to Zagreb. I wonder whether that train still runs.
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Well, that’s only half way, if you start in Ljubljana, which is my town of birth. It’s 3 hours from there to Venice if you stay on the highway. This intercity still runs but it stops in Trieste, unfortunately. Only this year the train connection between Slovenia and Italy opened up again (but I think it’s actually a bus that replaces the train). Thanks, I. J.
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I haven’t made a bus trip in a million years. Thanks for taking us on your’s. I laughed at the part about Slovenian wine 😆😆😆
That’s a long day for you to travel from home to home. I’m guessing that by the time you walked in your front door, you were more than happy to be back!
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Thanks, Joanne. I was indeed happy to be home, but also happy when I arrived on my visit. 🙂 It’s glorious to hop like this!
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