Regular readers of my blog will notice that it has received something of a facelift! The new layout and design has additional pages and I have also made it easier for you to connect directly to my Facebook page (be sure to ‘like’ it if you want to keep updated with the latest news and events in the area) and Pinterest (for photos). There is also a search box where you can enter any key words, such as ‘The Julian Alps’, and you will find all posts from the archives related to that, plus a ‘Follow‘ box whereby you can opt to automatically receive new posts every time they are published. I hope you like it!

One of the great things I’ve discovered about writing my blog is that it has also helped me to discover some of the great things on offer in Radovljica and the surrounding areas that are right there under my nose but I have, thus far, neglected to see and do. It’s so often the case isn’t it, that we become blinkered and fail to stop and appreciate what is on our doorsteps. For example, when I was working in London I rarely, if ever, took the time to stop and admire the architecture, to appreciate the diversity of the culture on offer and to visit the many sights that are so appealing to tourists. Now however, when I visit the UK as a tourist myself, I see it from an entirely different perspective and revel in feeling like a tourist once again. This could so easily also the case here in Slovenia, but despite having lived here for 7 years now, I still find myself with an unquenchable desire to explore, to find new places to hike, cycle, visit, eat and to meet more interesting people. Writing my blog is also a driver of this as it gives me the impetus to ‘get out there’ and discover and make the most of what surrounds me.

And so it was, that after 7 years of having driven past but inexplicably never been inside, I visited the restaurant and guest house Gostišče Tulipan in Lesce. Having done so, I simply cannot understand why I hadn’t been before, more fool me, since after visiting for the first time on a surprisingly busy midweek evening, I then found myself there again 3 nights later with a friend visiting from the UK, and once again during the following week. I’m in no doubt that I will be frequenting their establishment in the near future again too – what a revelation!

Gostišče Tulipan consists of a large main restaurant, the smaller Hunter’s Room, a winter garden, terrace and 6 guest rooms. What I particular noticed was the warm welcome I received and the complimentary aperitif received whilst perusing the menu was a nice touch. In fact, despite the long and comprehensive menu, the decision was made easy for me as I discovered that due to the success of the menu specially prepared for the week of the Radovjlica Chocolate Festival, they had decided to continue offering the menu for the entire month so I plumped for that with no hesitation.

The speciality of the restaurant is that everything that is used is either home-grown, in their own garden, and/or sourced locally and only the freshest, seasonal produce is used. They offer a wide menu with a variety of house dishes and specialities including game, fish, meat, pasta and a salad bar laden with choice. The menu I chose consisted of the following and was excellent value at 13 euros for 3 courses:

• ‘Chamois’ Soup with a pheasant dumpling and vegetables

• Roast chicken fillet with teran sauce and strawberries, homemade chocolate strukelj with prunes, asparagus cream

• Chocolate cake (known as hind of deer due to its shape) with greengage jam and tarragon ice-cream

Gostišče Tulipan is also one of the 7 restaurants that participate in the Taste Radol’ca project. I have now added an entire section of my blog about this – see the ‘Taste Radol’ca tab above. More about Tulipan can be found here – http://www.tulipan-azman.si

This past week there were 2 public holidays as well as it being school holidays all week. I had quite a few things planned but the weather was rather unpredictable all week, with heavy afternoon showers every day, which somewhat curtailed my plans but nevertheless I still managed to get out hiking and cycling every day and on the 1^st May holiday I visited the mysterious world of the Babji zob cave and also visited Vila Podvin to test out the new kind of potica, which is a traditional rolled filled cake ‘potica iz naših korenin‘ – more about both of these next week.

Meanwhile, this week on Friday 9^th May a ‘European Village‘ will be created in Linhart Square in Radovljica’s old town. This now annual event sees pupils from schools in the local area setting up stalls representing each of the different EU countries and presenting their culture, food and other traditions. The ‘village’ will be open from 9am – 1pm and entrance is free. More information about this and other events can be found here – http://www.radolca.si/en/what-to-do/

In Bled the International Cocktail Competition will take place on the 6^th and 7^th of May at the Panorama Restaurant and the 46^th International Writers’ Meeting will take place from the 7^th – 10^th May with this year’s theme being based on 1^st World War literature entitled ‘Faces of Peace – A Farewell to Arms’. More information about both these events can be found here – http://www.bled.si/en/

© AdeleinSlovenia 2014