I'd never been to Slovenia before - but it's definitely somewhere I want to return to! I flew into Venice on Monday morning and caught a bus to Ljubljana where I met with a friend who brought me to where I was staying and we had a beer and caught up.  It was roasting..... way hotter than I'd expected and had prepared for! I took a short wander around the city grabbing some food and some much needed ice-cream before trying to sleep in the heat! 
My gig was Tuesday evening at the MGLC - the International Centre of Graphic Arts, so I had the day to wander and take the city in. I left the apartment at 12 (not the greatest idea to be fair!), slathered in sun screen and went in search of coffee!  I found a gorgeous little place run by a Colombian, so I caffined-up before walking up the hill to the castle.  What a joy! 

I wandered about for another while before heading back to get ready for the show and walk over to the venue. I would be playing outside the stunning Tivoli Mansion in the park.  The gig was gorgeous and I got to meet lots of lovely people afterwards, and then headed onwards to Magda's for a late night pint!  

Then it was onwards to Vienna - a trek and a half, with a mysterious stop off on the motorway for a period of time, but an eventual arrival 3 hours later than expected.  I got to hang out with friends and have great chats, food and then a late night swim in the dark at the Alta Donna!   Thursday was spent trying to keep cool while hanging with Maria and Dave ahead of the Arte Hotel gig that night.  We decided that since the swim was so great the night before that we would go again after the show!  Vienna is another one of those cities that I could really spend a lot of time in! <3

When I played in Germany in April, I was asked to return as a surprise guest performer for a  wedding in July!  I was delighted to get to play at Bente and Max's big day!   Their celebration took place in the grounds of a gorgeous school, by the sea near Kiel.  

I snuck in before the speeches and grabbed some dinner, sitting with her friends, hiding out down the back of the room.  Dessert was finishing ane everyone went outside to listen to the speeches and I hide in the toilets, no less! Bente's mum announced me to the crowd (the majority of them knew there was a surprise!) and I kicked off with my wedding song, causing tears all around!  I performed for about an hour before the dancing and games kicked off indoors.  There were a few gorgeous traditions that I'd never seen before - the first was the presentation of gifts on the corridor - mostly gifts containing money - but each note was folded into a shape or character and presented in a unique way!  Before the first dance - there was a pass the parcel sort of game.  Every time the music stopped, the person holding the box would take out a piece of paper and read what was on it - each time an instruction for a gift to be given to the bride and groom within the first year of their marriage. The gifts were generally spending time with them in one fashion or another - a totally cool idea! 

On this trip I also got to play in the Spieker in Eckernfoerde and a lovely little house concert in Leezen, outdoors on the patio! I also got to swim in the Baltic, which contrary to how that sounds, it was glorious!