Trieste, Italy

May 24

Today a few of us were going to Trieste, Italy. Not many people go here when they come on vacation or to getaway, but I thought it was a cool city to walk through and explore.

Taking the train in I think is easier than driving, especially the day we went because they were also having the Color Run going on. We probably would of never found parking. Plus taking the train it was only about and hour and half ride. I thought it actually went by pretty fast too. I loved watching the scenery go by, so many interesting things to look at.

We finally got there and now to decide on what and where to go to first. I was in awe of how pretty all the different buildings and architectures were. None of us really knew where to go so time to start exploring anywhere and everywhere!

There was some type of festival/market going on when we got there. They were set up all along the Canale Grande. There were all different types of things they were selling.

(Canale Grande)

The first one we saw was a tent for Nutella crepes and other Nutella topped things. (Nutella is huge here!) I looked and smelled really good! But then again so many other tents did too! We all stopped and got HUGE pretzels to share with each other. They were soo good!!

(Giant Pretzel)

We wandered through a few more stands and then found one with so many different types of pastries! I just had to stop! We got 3 different pastries, they had a 3 for 5 Euro, I couldn't pass that up :)

After wandering through a few more stands we all sat down at a spot that was like a "food court" to have a snack and a drink or two ;) There was actually a lot of German food where we sat. It all smelled so good! But instead Preston and I started to try some of the pastries we purchased. Plus, I needed a drink, so I got Sangria from one of the stands while Preston got his usual Coke. (Italian version)

(Nutella Pastry)

(My Sangria)

(Preston with a huge donut)

(Preston's Italian Coke)

We walked over to the Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia, which was pretty amazing. All the detailed architecture of the buildings was breathtaking. But that another thing I love about Italy, all of the old architecture is pretty spectacular!

(Fountain)

While walking towards the water, we noticed they were doing the Color Run race. I didn't know that it was an all over the world "fun run". We all decided we wanted to find one somewhere in Europe and go to it. We googled and found one on a beach in Italy! We were sold and plan on signing up for the August 8th Color Run in Rimini! 

Another thing that I'm not sure that USA Color Runners do is, stop at all the different bars along the road for a drink then go back and keep running/walking. We stopped in a "bar" to relax for a minute and to get a drink if you wanted. While we were in there groups of color runners would come in get a drink, drink it then go back out to the race. Or also, I saw a group of people meet someone on the sideline at a certain spot and their friend handed them beers to take with them while they finished the race. I thought this was no 5k race I've ever seen before. Must be the Italian way. But I'm excited to see if its like this at the one we want to do in August!

Back to exploring!

We had no idea where anything was or where we even wanted to go. So just started walking. First we found an old Amphitheater. It still looked well preserved to me after all those years. 

(Teatro Romano di Trieste)

Next, we found this pretty bridge and decide to see what the view would look like at the top. Definitely a good choice! The views were amazing!! You could see almost all of Trieste. 

We cross the street to head up another set of stairs to see if the view gets any better.

I can't get over how beautiful the views are. And almost everywhere in Italy you will have a breathtaking and beautiful view.

We decided to keep going up and see what we would find. We actually found some cool stuff. We first saw a wall that used to separate the cities back in the day, that was still left. Then kept going and found and old fort. Not sure the name of it, but when you get to the top outside of it you had some more amazing views. You can see one of the castles in the distance. (One day I'm going to go see this castle. The only bad thing about taking the train is, it drops you off in the main part of town while the castles are another 5 miles or so back the other way)

Also, outside the fort was a statue, not sure of the name, that was really detailed and there to honor the fallen soldiers. (The soldiers are carrying one of their fallen)

Starting to get late, so time to find somewhere to eat! And time to find our way back down to the main part of the city. More great views going back down the mountain. 

We ended up going back to Canale Grande to try and find somewhere to eat. There were still all the different stands to get food at but also lots of ristorantes and pizzerias we could choose from. We just randomly picked one. It was called Fratelli La Bufala, which ended up being a really good choice! I tried another new pasta dish. It was called Tortiglioni alla Nerano, which means it had Nerano style tortiglioni pasta with courgettes, cream and provola cheese (smoked mozzarella). It was delicious!! Oh, and you can't forget the glass of wine I had with dinner. Today I had a Pinot Grigio.

(Tortiglioni alla Nerano)

Time to head back to the train to go home. Another fun and adventurous day!! Can't wait to go to Venice on Monday!!!