Today

Determined not to be disappointed again, last night we devised a new scheme for today.  A better researched and well thought out plan. We again checked the requisite websites and were secure in our knowledge of the correct bus route.  (A quick aside: the one upside of staying on this major thoroughfare is that all the major bus routes stop literally in front of our apartment building.). Having risen early we were determined to seize the day.

We were headed to Duino, the town and castle made famous by the poet Rilke.  The bus as I mentioned, passes in front of our building so we did not have far to walk to catch one.  The bus we caught was very crowded with all kinds of people-shoppers, students, sun bathers headed to the tiny beach near the marina.  Eventually many of these hopped off at the small towns we passed on the way to Duino and we were able to sit down and enjoy the views. 

At last we reached our destination and just to make sure we had the fortification to make it through whatever arduous climbs were awaiting us, we stopped for a bite in a shady cafe. 

That done, we headed across the street to the castle.  And...it was closed!

So guess where we went?  Back to the cave.  It was open this time and omg.  What a crazy experience that was.  Here are some illegible pictures.  N has better ones on his camera.  All those tiny lights you see are steps.  I cannot even begin to tell you what this experience was like.

Tomorrow we go back to Duino.  If today was any indication, the castle should be open.

Yesterday

These last couple of days have been strange.  What should have been maddening has caused us all to relax more into this trip.  

As you all know, we've made no plans other than to show up at our rented apartments on the days we've been expected.  So, other than A's conference, we have just been meandering, trying to get a feel for the cities we've been visiting.  

The other day we made a list of the places we wanted to see while in Trieste.  One of those was a large cave called Grotta Gigante.  A checked the bus schedules and we looked over the website and headed out there.  We took a little old fashioned bright blue tram that's like a funicular and trolley combined.  It was very cute and fun to ride with wooden seats and even little curtains.  Actually now that I think of it, our plan was to go to Opicina, the small town at the top of the hill here.   

When we got up there and walked around a bit we realized it's just a more affluent area for people who work in Trieste.   Basically it was a little dull.  It was then we made up our minds to go to the cave. 

To shorten a kind of boringly long story, we determined there was another bus that would take us right to the Grotta.  We asked about it at a ticket counter where we bought the bus tickets and at a good little bakery where we stopped to have a quiche made with ricotta instead of eggs.  We even doubled checked with the bus driver who eventually showed up.  You would think one of these people might have known...

The ride out to the cave was relatively short but we were dropped in what seemed the middle of nowhere, or jebip, as some might say.  There were a few walled and gated estates here and there planted with grapes and stray cats sleeping in the shade with their kittens.  Across a parking lot there were some out of place abandoned looking apaprtment buildings.  

We followed the signs to the Grotta and walked down a gravel path to some other indeterminate old buildings and a quiet cafe where a few geezers were sitting under an arbor.  Further back there was a more modern looking glass building with a low fence around it.  That was the entrance to the cave and small musem. As we approached it we could see it did not look open and another befuddled traveller confirmed this for us when she turned around and left shaking her head.  All that way for nothing!

So back to Trieste we went.  Here we are waiting for the bus back into town.

All was not lost.  A and I did some laundry, some shopping and we took that beautiful walk where I snapped the pictures you saw in the previous post on the stairways and the canyon just behind our apartment.

City of endless stairs

There are just a scant few secret stairs in San Francisco when compared to the endless steps here.  And the narrow walkways and the secret cut throughs.  Labyrinthine is the only way to describe this city.  

Here is one we have yet to use.  It's down the hill from our apartment and may just be the detour to the other side of the urban canyon that we've been seeking.  

In the meantime this well trod stair takes us down to the street below where we can do some food shopping.  This is the top of the steps.

If you were to continue along this busy street here is a view of the staircase as seen from the ridge.

This one is going in the opposite direction, towards Opicina, from our apartment and leads to the most beautiful hidden but kind of funky neighborhood.  The backs of the buildings look out into a ravine with neatly tended gardens all overlooked by the neighborhoods on the hill across the canyon...so hard to explain and so unexpected.

Here's the walk into the ravine-like area.

Who knew this was down here? 

I'm so sorry the pictures can't show you where we walked.  And I am not good enough with words to describe it, but if I could have taken more adequate pictures and were at all eloquent, I'm certain this tiny corner of the world would charm even the most travel averse.  As we ambled along what I can only say might be akin to a nicer Sacramento alley, you could hear the sounds of the evening meal being prepared.  We even passed a family sitting around the table in their yard finishing dinner.  

The next few pictures are us as we wended our way along this tiny road.

Yes there were views of the other side of the urban arroyo.

Eventually we made our way across or through to the other side, had a gelato and headed back to the apartment.

Look for the cat sitting closer to the top.

Just a picturesque street.

Adam wanted me to take a picture of this very small garden made up of grapes and figs.

Some nearby stairs.

These are so steep I cannot imagine having to carry groceries up there but people here do.

The lights were just beginning to come on but I couldn't resist this last picture.

Late afternoon in Trieste

Some have asked, "why Trieste?"  And I say, why not?  It's off the beaten Tuscan path so it's not crowded with lots of people enduring the heat just so they can tell everyone they saw the Coliseum.  It's not crowded at all here and we've been told most of the population is of an older generation. But I think that makes things richer and more like a real place, not some cookie cutter city that must keep up with all the world's craziness.  No one here is attached permanently to their cell phones (except me and my blog).  The architecture is completely unpretentious, maybe a little run down at the heels but still very beautiful.  Trieste has a little bit of everything.  Here are a few examples:

An unexpected rainbow

A little bit of Venice in the old town

A hint of Bologna's arcades

A small Roman theater

Incredible light quality

And the port (right before the rain and before all the lights came on)

There are also many car-free piazze with places to sit and rest....as I write it's started to rain.  And here is one last photo with a glimpse of the moon.

Trieste

I'm so very tired but in the interest of consistency I'll post a few photos taken on the bus ride from Rijeka and then of Trieste itself, sans words.