Jelenov Greben

On a ridge at the foot of the mysterious Rudnica mountain, just ten meters above the monastery with the third oldest pharmacy in Europe (here), is Jelenov Greben, farm known as Deer Ridge.

A unique place, in the green hills of Olimje, where time seems to stand still. Immersed in the beauty of nature now with autumn colors and enclosed in the charm that gives the wood.

After a gentle awakening at Terme Olimia (here) and a visit to the monastery Olimje, upon our arrival we were immediately greeted by deer and wild sheep, which graze freely over 8 hectares of fenced meadows, ready to be pampered with a handful of corn for all their.

In Jelenov Greben the days are different than elsewhere. Here nature, in some ways, is like there enveloped in a warm embrace. Breathe the pure air of the morning, stroking a flower, listen to the vibrations of a stream, sipping a steaming cappuccino with a colored wool blanket on the legs, warmed by a warm autumn sun, and with a panorama so bewitching and comforting to act as frame. Happiness is being with nature, see her, talk to her, touch her.

A long time ago in this place was a farm that dealt with viticulture and livestock breeding. The young Borut Jezovnik, just eighteen, became the master of this farm, which with so much effort and energy created a colorful history.

After selling all the cattle, he bought 75 deer from the Brijuni islands in Croatia. Later he began to cultivate, preserve and recreate mushrooms.

Today, in this place that seems straight out of a fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm, there are two guest houses that bear the name of the daughter, Rebeka and Karolina, a restaurant where you can enjoy home cooking with specialties of game and mushrooms, but also cheese, salami and wine, and a shop, Zlata skrinjica, where to buy and take home the goodness of the place.

Slovenia: il Monastero Olimje

Not far from Terme Olimia (here), to Podcertrtek, lies the ancient Olimje monastery. Set in a bucolic landscape, green fields, orchards, gardens and fields, the monastery was the castle of Pilstein counts, then moved in 1663 to the Pauline monks Lepogiava, it is inhabited today by the Congregation of the Friars Minor Conventual of St. Francesco d'Assisi.

The exterior facades and the courtyard have frescoes in the Baroque style, with gray geometric decorative boxes. The church has a nave with a barrel vault, it is also in the Baroque style with blacks-gilded altars and a beautiful statue, a half-length, of Blessed Anton Martin Slomsek.

The room on the ground floor of the south tower conceals the old pharmacy of the Pauline monks, famous for its beautiful frescoes dating back to 1780, work of the master Anton Lerchinger, which narrate the paths that lead to the salutes and luck. The frescoes, in fact, portray famous physicians and healers, medicinal plants and Biblical scenes related to the history of medicine.

Even today, the Friars Minor Conventual have preserved the tradition and create herbal teas, tinctures, ointments, and other medical preparations, on sale at the monastery, and which are made from herbs that cure in the botanical garden right outside, where there are more than two hundred medicinal herbs.

Olimje is a peaceful haven in an increasingly hectic world. Here the religious find peace in silent prayer in front of the picture of the Madonna, and nature lovers enjoy the scenery while sitting on benches outside the monastery and let the beauty of nature, the creation of God, speak to them.

Terme Olimia: il benessere in Slovenia

There is a Slovenia made of nature and well-being of mind and body, away from the city and from the hectic pace of everyday life; it is the Slovenia of Spa and wellness centers, where the centuries-old tradition, the experiences of spas and experts who are dedicated to the health of body and soul, are intertwined.
These centers are part, in fact, of the prominent tourist destinations and offer many opportunities for sports activities, culinary delights and luxurious accommodation and excellent quality. But the Slovenian thermal tourism has not developed by chance some, especially in the eastern part of the country, where millions of years ago stretched the Pannonian Sea, numerous thermal springs have remained. The beneficial waters were, in fact, discovered by the ancient Romans, and in the Middle Ages recalled the nobles of Europe.
Surrounded by unspoilt nature of Slovenia, in the hills of Podctrtek, on the border with Croatia, there are Terme Olimia: the best Spa in Slovenia, where nature and relax make this a really wonderful place.
A downtown in harmony with the environment that surrounds it, characterized by the presence of two hotels, Sotelia and the Breza, a structure made up of apartments and a campsite for nature lovers.
Wellness Orhidelia, the most luxurious complex of Terme Olimia, is able to awaken love for our body and mind.
The diversity and the wide spaces of the spa Orhidelia allow each guest to find their own place of peace.
Here you can be lulled by the heated waters of the indoor or outdoor pools, enjoy the magic of a starry sky or warm colors of a romantic winter sunset nestled among the vapor and rhythmic bubbles of an outdoor jacuzzi, or even, according to relax lying of soft water beds listening to classical music, or stretch out the nerves and warm up with a nice sauna or turkish bath.
Have you ever tried a "sweet" chocolate treatment? At Wellness Orhidelia it is possible, too: sprinkle the body with melted chocolate, massaging it like a cream, while sitting inside a turkish bath. After 20 minutes, during which the heat will melt the chocolate and perfumed the atmosphere, you can rinse in a chromotherapy showers and already from the first touch, you will notice that your skin will be softer immediately.
The purple and blue lights of the swimming pools, the spices that perfume the air, the surrounding atmosphere, the luxurious details and the elegance of the place are a poem for the eyes and soul. Everything speaks of relaxation, from the welcoming ritual to the gong therapy that, thanks to the skill of a master, will help the body to relax before accessing the following spa treatments, taking you into a world of vibrations that will make you lose track of time until you fall asleep lulled, gently, by this melody.

Viandante sul mare di nuvole

I saw slip away things I thought unforgettable. I saw slowly fade the memory of looks and moments. I also saw off things never happened when I hoped so. The mind is a big war machine, it builds diabolical devices for safety. But there is a pattern that can not reach. Incidentally there is what remains.

We are strange, undefined, comedians, abused by pain, by the many faces encountered the same heart and above all always looking for what is not there.

We can not lose what you never had but that we have never experiencedit can fail us forever. Yet the joy hates running and climbing. Why dint to go, to run, to not look carefully, time passes and you choose to live constantly waiting.

To go is emotion, emotions are incredible moments but understand when to stop is a real talent.

For this I would like to tell you: run everywhere, more than you want to live and as you can but then stopped with the person who will make you feel all without touching you. Because, in the midst of all the world's people, it will only be that what you need. You will thank the remnant and farewell greetings will be enough to recover your freedom, as always.

Resta così come sei

Never change. Retain the innocence, insecurity, shyness and confidence in dreams. They are the best parts of you.
Do not stop chasing happiness, even when everything will seem unnecessary, even when will be months, years that you do not find it anywhere.
Believe in love, even if they will let you down, stepped on, used, betrayed. Love the rain, the clouds and the sun in the same way and do not stop to be moved.
Embarrassed, blushing, still belting out your favorite tunes, continues to emphasize the most important sentences in your books.
I like to think that when I will reunite, now white hair will have replaced all the color, you'll still so: sweet, real, sensitive, immersed in everything you do and say.
I like to think that the world will not ruin you, that pain will not ruin you. I like to think of you a bit wiser, but always reckless.
Never change, even when they will say that it is absurd to be like you, you will find you sick, they shall devour you. Do not listen to them. Make a difference, stay as you are.

Autumn in Lugano

Lugano and the first days of autumn. Lugano, like a picture painted by some kind of great Master.
Lugano, with the rain and the sun, came into my heart. On tiptoe, like a ballerina on the sweet and graceful notes of "Swan Lake".
The city of parks and flower gardens, villas and religious buildings, alpine current and famous chocolate, squares and arcades of the Mediterranean charm of the city center.
A town on a human scale, where getting lost in the streets of the old town, with its many buildings in Lombard style and its exclusive museums, such as the LAC, the cultural center devoted to artistic production and the meeting between the various arts. But Lugano is also the largest city in the Ticino region, as well as being the third largest financial center and the center of conference, banking and business in Switzerland.
From the two closest mountains to Lugano, San Salvatore and Brè, you can admire the magnificent panorama over the city, the lake and surrounding mountains, where you can enjoy the sun of Ticino and daydreaming.
Every corner of the city is a discovery, from the roadside markets, among the luxury boutiques, where delight the palate with typical products or buy local crafts, to those most romantic spots, accessible by boats or cruises, where you can be enchanted by the beautiful landscapes that reveal precious pearls before enjoying great seafood, served in the various restaurants and grottos overlooking the shores of the lake.
Lugano is beauty, nature and marvel in a setting that recalls one of those "007" films. Lugano is a lakeside promenade, lined the Belvedere Gardens and numerous red benches ready to welcome sighs and hugs, to cherish kisses and thoughts, where losing the eyes and heart in such splendor. An invitation to rest, interior and mind tranquility and, yes, even love because, in the world, there is nothing more magical and romantic than a sunset by the lake.

La felicità in un viale di cipressi

It takes seventy-two muscles to sulk but only twelve to smile. So they say, but what does it take to be happy? Sometimes a lot, sometimes nothing.

A caress, a flower, a hug. A ray of sunshine, a kiss, a gentle word, a kind look. A dream that has done it and one in the making.

You look for happiness. Find, pursue, run after it, just like we run after the life, and then grab it. Look in the most hidden places, you can find it everywhere. Sometimes we do not realize it is there, hidden, under our noses, just a step away from us.

It can hide everywhere, as when as children we played hide and seek. Behind a smile, in the little things of every day. Sometimes it can just be hidden in an avenue of cypress trees in Tuscany, between the scent of resin and that of parched earth of August.