Windy, rainy Trieste

Mid-November may not be the be the best time to visit Trieste which is about and  as far north as you can get in Italy and has the weather to prove it.   At least we missed the bora (100 plus mile per hour wind) which was blowing the day before we arrived.  We did get rain and 'normal' wind (which blew my husky umbrella inside out but the sturdy umbrella recovered) which, coupled with my very annoying cold, limited our expeditions around town the first day and a half.

Our hotel room is great, so it was pleasant enough to spend some time resting and recuperating .  We have  a studio apartment, with a little kitchen with the world's tiniest microwave (and a stove, fridge, etc.),  a large main room with a curtained off area for the bed, a desk, table & chairs, and a large (by Italian standards) bathroom.  It is on the 9th floor (10th american) but fortunately, there is an elevator, unlike most of the places we stay.

Bedroom corner of apartment above and little kitchen below

The little box under the cupboard is the microwave--holds an espresso cup, but not a full size cup

View from our room

Our first full day here we ventured out in the rain and wind to see the Piazza della Unita di Italia which would be spectacular in good weather as it opens up on the sea and is reputed to be the site of beautiful sunsets.  Trieste was part of the Austrian empire for a couple of centuries, which is reflected in the buildings which are more like those seen in Vienna than Venice.

 fancy doors in the fancy building

Hi from Tom

Many fountains, many piazzas

After wandering around the shopping area--many bookstores, antique shops, and upscale stores such as Gucci and Armani, we scuttled back to the apartment to dry off and warm up while watching Italia's got talent, always highly entertaining and apparently always attempting to prove the falsity of the title.  Today was sunny and dry so we ventured forth to  walk up the hills to Castello San Giusto and Cattedrale San Giusto, through the medieval section of Trieste.  We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed wandering around the castello, which has been well restored and contains the Museo Civico with bits and pieces of roman ruins, an armory, and furnishings and paintings original to the castello or to the time when the castello was occupied.. You can walk all around the castello on the ramparts, and then go into some of the rooms which are still furnished as they were 500 years ago (although the chairs probably didn't have "don't sit on me" signs back then).  The Cattedrale was built on the site of ancient roman ruins, and was originally two separate churches which were joined together in the 14th century.

View of Trieste from the castello

First century AD roman courtyard in front of castello

On the castello walls

View of the Cattedrale, built on the site of ancient roman ruins

Mosaic in 14th century apse

We returned to the apartment after this outing just in time to talk with Kelly on Skype--first time we have seen her beaming face since we came to Italy.  Tomorrow we head to Rovinj in Croatia, just a 2 hour bus ride away.

Ciao a tutti!