Frilui-Croatia-Slovenia
 

My wife and I are thinking of staying in Grado, Rovinj, Ljubljana and Bled in July 2005. Anyone have any experiences with this places?

We were in Rovinj in September and loved it. Small, Italianate town great for roaming and sitting in cafes. Good for a couple days at best, though it could be a base if you want to explore the Istrian peninsula.
We were only briefly in Ljubljana. Seemed interesting but hotels were a bit overpriced, IMHO.

We liked Ljubljana and Bled (not been to the other two) and would return to both. Both were interesting and picturesque. The market in Ljubljana is fun as is their art nouveau architecture. Bled is a place of great natural beauty. The lake with its little island (the only island in all of Slovenia) is picture perfect.

There are lots of beautiful places around this area. I haven't been to Grado but like Rovinj, and Bled. I live in Ljubljana so am a bit biased, but I think it is a very nice city. With the new easyjet flight, we are getting more popular here! Other areas around that you might be interested in: Piran, Bohinj, the Goriska Brda (jsut over the border from the Friuli region). It is very beautiful.
Cheers,
Jan

We've stayed in Grado. It's very interesting- lots of German tourists, and the hotel staff and waiters tended to speak German rather than English.

Don't miss the little town of Aquilela(sp) nearby. It has a very old cathedral- 3rd or 4th century with a beautiful mosaic floor and interesting archeologic excavations of the earliest part of the building.