While we were in Slovenia, we stayed in Škofja Loka. The place sported more cafes than I could count — but they only served coffee and cake, or ice cream, occasionally both. For food, we had to visit the exactly one restaurant in town, which served pizza or pasta.
Getting to the restaurant, which was in the old town, meant crossing the bridge of the Sainted Spiders.
We tried to count how many spiders lived in the Saint's shadow, but there were simply too many.
Now, I come from Australia. More, I grew up in Sydney Funnel Web territory. I once found a scorpion on my bed. By which I mean, I'm not in general alarmed or made squeamish by the presence of creepy crawlies, so long as they maintain a respectful distance.1
But one thing Slovenia taught me is that there is something deeply and innately shudder-inducing about spiders tolerating each other's presence.
- The distance required to qualify as respectful is related to legs. Six is the "sweet spot"; the greater the deviation from that number, the further away they have to be. [↩]
