As you get older there seems to be an ever decreasing circle of things that can actually return you to the magical kingdom of your childhood. 

Pop songs and genius authors can do it, like Harry Potter, for example..

Well, we know a terrific place for you to search out in little old Slovenia, that you just have to go in and have a nose around if you are passing!

It is a supermarket called FAMA and it will immediately take you back to the 1970's as soon as you walk through the door!

Maybe you thought you never needed some of this stuff, but cuddly toys and glue are opposite the coffee..

FAMA is a very local Slovenian supermarket chain that first popped up in the uberstunning Vipava Wine Valley with 2 bigger stores in Vipava & Sezana in the Red Karst and then lots of little, cute village mini markets seemingly crammed into the front room of a big house. 

How could you expect anything but a little bit of cheeky fun when you see the cheerful smiling Fama Sun logo and as soon as you go inside you will enter another world of organised chaos with items piled high, bargains galore and tempting special offers at the check out!

Expect to see cuddly toys next to lollipops next to boxes of pasta, fresh fruit and olive oil..

The winking sun appears in TWO villages near the 17 Disappearing Lakes of Pivka..

The main store in Vipava also has a kinda side shop area inside the main store absolutely FULL of stuff for the home.. tables, cupboards, plant pots, plates decorative stuff, cooking stuff, it's got the lot!

We even thought this was a different shop on our first visit and it took a while for us to realise we needed to take our purchase to the main supermarket till to pay there! (How you carry a sideboard or a chair to the till we haven't quite worked out)!

This theme is also carried into the smaller shops with at least a few shleves filled with what might be described as "bric a brac" AND you will ALWAYS find a fresh bread counter AND a meat counter in every shop, big or small!

Entering Fama Mecca, Vipava is the Jeruzalem of the Fama world..

Indeed the nearest supermarket to the Lodge is a tiny Fama tucked away in the little village of Bukovje, on the way to Predjama castle, the biggest cave castle in the world, a six min drive compared to the 6 bigger supermarkets, just ten mins away in Postojna!

Slovenia has lots of different supermarkets, which are really good, by the way, but nothing else quite like Fama.. 

You will find a lot of mini Mercators on your travels, which are also cute, but they tend to be like smaller versions of what is one of Slovenia's biggest supermarkets.

A whole treasure trove of a shop inside a shop at Fama HQ in Vipava..

The concept of customer service as you know it, is still something that is developing slowly here in Green Slovenia with the younger generation pushing through, but you will also notice a very friendly difference in the Famas, especially the littler ones! 

There is a strong Italian feel about Fama, which most of us will love, so expect a fantastic choice of pastas, meat & cheese and olive oil, but not a lotta crisps!

We didn't really take much note of where each Fama was, but always made a point of stopping off when we were passing one, even the little tiddly ones, especially to pick up some of the lovely bread, tomatoes, meats and cheese for our breakfast table!

But here is the thing.. It doesn't matter what you might go into a Fama for, we are pretty sure you will end up finding something really useful that you had no intention of buying before you went in!

A fantastic Italian feel to each supermarket and always a separate meat and bread counter..

We have ended up with some really useful metal dustpan boxes for sweeping rubbish into, glass jars of anchovies, an electric orange juicer, some really handy pots & pans and pretty much anything else you could NOT imagine getting there!

It is all a bit like winning a gameshow on TV!

So we challenge you to go into any Fama anywhere, any shape or any size and try NOT to buy anything.. It is impossible!!

We challenge you to go into a Fama and not buy anything.. it is impossible..

When you go into a "standard" supermarket, you start with the fruit & veg and follow a pretty boring familiar route, but any kinda higgledy-piggledy adventure can happen when you step into a Fama! 

Fama is maybe a shop for times gone by, but thank the Lord, not gone completely. It is a place where kids can get wacky toys and adults can get a vase to take home with their fruit juice, yoghurt, bread and oven gloves!

We just love the place, we should treasure it and long may it last..

the pasta on the top shelf there is very very good, by the way..

OK you convinced me, Where on Earth can I find a Fama!

We now realise Fama is a small chain based just around here in sunny south west Slovenia in a circle around Vipava, (20 mins from the Lodge)..

However it does have a pretty extensive coverage, located in many of the very best places to visit in Green Slovenia, which are also within an easy drive of the Lodge, so there is more than a good chance you will be in range of a Fama..

We already mentioned the Fama near Predjama castle ..

Let's hope you know that the uber epic Skocjan cave is an absolute MUST SEE too and there is a Fama just around the corner from there in Divaca!

Even the smaller shops have a few shelves of crockery and household items you never realised you needed today..

If you go to see the Lipizzaners at Lipica you are just around the corner from Sezana, so you could totally blow your mind going to the supermarket sized Fama there!

If you visit any of the 17 Disappearing Lakes of Pivka, then you can buy your bread, meat and cheese for a sandwich in TWO, yes two villages along the way in Zagorje and Knezak.. Both villages have some of those 17 different lakes really close by..

Always an empty space to park up and go explore a Fama..

If you go to Cerkno to see the fantastic secret WW2 hospital museum hidden in a mountain gorge, (currently closed for major repairs, so please check first) there is a little Fama in the village AND another one near Idrija in the pretty village of Spodnja Idrija if you go visit the Mercury Mine or maybe go for a swim in the Bela Idrija river..

You have totally missed out if you do not spend a day out exploring the beautiful Goricia BRDA wine region and there is a Fama in HUM right at the start of this mini region too..

There is a fab hike to a huge stone window on an alternative way from the Lodge to the Vipava Valley and you could stop off in the beautiful little village of COL to get supplies for the walk..

Stunning view up to the mountains, where the WW2 Franja Partisan hospital is hidden, from the cerkno branch of Fama..

Lodge guests also make the most of our sensational location to whizz up and explore lots of amazing Green Secret Places on the Soca river and just an hour into the journey is the stunning little town of Kanal, which is a great place to have a coffee or gelato and admire the views of the bridge over the river and.. 

Guess what, yep, there is a Fama there too!

A little Fama half way up a mountain in Col.. on the way to the Natural Stone Window Okno hike..

Maybe you still remember that little sweet shop you stopped in on the way home from school or Sunday afternoons browsing the high street gift shops.. Maybe you even still have a village shop nowadays! 

Well we think Fama is real throwback to those days and Slovenia is lucky to have it..

So you should get plenty of opportunities here to go visit a Fama and step back into your childhood, long may it last and we sincerely hope you find that little something you didn't even know you were looking for!