Sometimes all you can muster is meandering. This is especially true when any destination you may have in mind may not have you in mind when its proprietors establish its hours of operation. Such has been the case of several destinations we have tried to patronize here but have met with all manner of frustration. It almost makes one wonder if Candid Camera is still on the air.
Anyway, we attempted for the second time to see the local botanical gardens, which are set high on one of the hills overlooking Trieste. (Did I mention we came back here to Trieste for the last few days of our trip?) We were distracted by a couple of unexpected tangents on the way up the steep climb to the gardens.
Nathanael's distractions involved shiny objects with 2 - 4 wheels:
I found a gap in a wall that wasn't marked private so I just had to investigate.
It was a park called Villa Engelmann that started out small then opened up to reveal a very large public space that included a meadow-like walkway,
A large bandshell,
And several secret entrances/exits, flowers and bathroom facilities. If you want to learn more, A says this is a website on the public parks of Trieste: retecivica.trieste.it
We continued on to the botanical gardens. I thought this was an interesting building ahead but we walked by it too quickly to investigate further.
Finally we got up to the garden...but this was not the entrance.
We had to climb higher for that. Here is a view of it from behind the entry gate. We were 9 minutes late. It was already closed.
We decided to walk back down the hill to get something cold to drink. So many buildings have incredible detail...enough for a blog of their own. In the meantime a here's an example of an ornate building we passed on our way down to the center of town:
After some gelato and drinks, we walked around the old city and passed this newer construction. I love the optical illusion these columns create. Maybe it's just me but doesn't it look weird to see buildings close up in the two outside squares and the distant hilly landscape between them?
Eventually we got closer to our dinner destination but had a little while to kill before it opened. N and I sat and waited for A to buy some pastries. The idea was to fill up on dessert appetizers so we wouldn't spend too much on dinner. Not the greatest plan plus, fortunately, it didn't really work out the way we planned.
We ate at Trattoria Dalmata Trieste, an amazing place. This is a seafood antipasto. Indescribable.
An unbelievable spaghetti seafood marinara.
Risotto with shrimp. N ate most of this sans the shrimp.
I'm now going to attemp to relax with a glass of sparkling H20.
yum! (not the hand)....on the other hand....?
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