Italy 2014

August 18, 2014

Trieste is a port town with hillsides that end not far from the water, whose hills as a result are part and parcel of the city.  Buses and a cable car tram take you up and down, although the inclines are certainly not too steep to walk in most cases.  Near the port are many large buildings from the turn of the century and earlier, including both public and private structures, which help make walking about quite pleasurable, as do the broad boulevards and narrow pedestrian streets.

The bay is a wide natural port and a gorgeous one to view from high points in town and on the nearby cliffs, which allow for panoramic views from the windows of the trains and buses.  It has been a port since at least Roman times and many ships load and unload here.  Trade has produced some tremendous fortunes, reflected in the luxurious palaces scattered about the town.  At least two now house museums show casing the owners’ collections as well as temporary exhibits:  Civico Museo Sartorio (see the previous entry) and Museo Revoltella  (below).  The interiors are fabulously decorated from floor to ceiling.

The Piazza de la Unita d’Italia overlooks the port area, flanked by beautiful and large public buildings, swank restaurants and bars lining one side.

 

 

The population is a mere 200,000 and this being August, many are elsewhere for holidays.  Getting around is easy unless you are out late, as buses stop early.  There is comparatively little traffic for such wide boulevards.  Pedestrian zones are a plenty, lined with attractive shops and lots of outdoor seating for a cappuccino or a glass of wine.

 

There are five grand cafes around town, where you can have coffee and a sweet in a luxurious turn of the century setting, at very reasonable prices.  Above is Caffe San Marcos.
Summer weather is fairly comfortable.  Temperatures range between 13 and 30 centigrade (48-85F).  It can be a bit humid so in the sun it can be rather warm, but shade is not usually far away, making Trieste an excellent summer destination.  You need not worry about huge crowds, either, as there are not many tourists.

The restaurants will not disappoint and the prices are reasonable.  A few nights ago we went to a place near Piazza de la Unita, definitely a local place though.  We had mussels, a pasta and a meat course, desert and liter of wine for €45   for two, the local wine just 8 euros of the total.   You can find many places for less, say a tavola calda (literally a ‘hot table’, but these vary from what they are in Rome), and really enjoy the food as well.  We had pizza at a restaurant on XX September with wine, and it came to €26.  There is plenty of local wine, mostly white, light and served well chilled, super for this time of year.

We have not found any street markets.  Although there is a municipal market, it is indoors.  There are few ‘panificios’ (bread bakers), but there are many pastry shops.  All the grocery stores sell bread and it’s pretty good and crusty.  Cheese is plentiful and quite reasonably priced.  We just bought some mozzarella de bufala (Italian water buffalo) for just a euro for about 125 grams, on sale.  In the US it would be 10 times that.  There’s a wide variety as well, including old favorites like scamorza (smoked and otherwise), ricotta and various hard cheeses in the Parmigiano (Parmesan) family.  I’ll do a bit of a write up soon on the cheese, as we’ve just bought some interesting ones.

People are quite friendly, willing to talk, and will stop to help us on the street whenever we have the map out.  There are friendly crowds at the many outdoor concerts near the Unita, which the city offers free of charge.  It’s a lovely venue and we’ve enjoyed some good jazz peformances, one of  which included several dance groups.

Slovenia is very close by and Croatia not much farther, but we have not visited either yet.  You can go by bus, train or ferry.  There are other ferries to nearby destinations, and you can get to Venice this way as well.

Trieste is a little known treasure of a town.  Come and spend some time here.    There is plenty of interest in these pleasant surroundings.

 

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August 10, 2014

It’s just a 10 or 15 minute walk to the docks from our place on the hill.  There you can take ferries to various destinations in the Trieste area, as well as some in Slovenia and Croatia.  Today we went to Muggia, just 30 minutes on the ferry.

It’s a small town with a tiny beach, so tiny in fact that some people laid out blankets on concrete pads prepared for that purposes.  The water is crystal clear, and with temperatures in the low 80’s you’ll get plenty warm, hot even in the sun.

We stopped for a coffee in one of the plazas.   There were plenty of people about, casually dressed if not skimpily so in swim suits.

It’s still a bit of a fishing village and we watched two men preparing to take their vessel out.  They were looping some string onto flags, perhaps for crab pots.

The short slide show will give you a good feel for the place.

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This is from our half day excursion via bus and the Delfino Verde (Green Dolphin), the local ferry.  It was a perfect day and a lovely journey.  The bus was quite crowded on the way out.  People were heading to the ‘beach,’ which is a narrow strip on the coast.  Sometimes they laid on platforms, other times on rocks.  They swam in public beaches and off the break water.

Lunch was one of the many restaurants that line the coast in the villages and resort zones.  It was the shell mixture you see plus a langostino or two.  The sauce was garlic, parsley, probably some fish stock which made it perfectly salted.  It was enough for two for only 12 euros.   The local white wine is quite good.  The bread was so so.

 

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August 5, 2014

 

These were taken mostly at the Museo Revoltella Gallery of Modern Art.  It is right near the harbor.  The gallery has some very good examples of Italian painters from the late 1800’s, and some from earlier as well but I find them less interesting.  The palace is itself worth a visit.  Pasquale Revoltella ran a successful import business and was active in insurance as well (Assicurazioni Generali).  This eventually led to his involvement with the construction of the Suez Canal, which he helped finance and was a member of the board of directors.

 

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July 31, 2014

We walked around near where we’ll be staying starting in September.  It ain’t beautiful, at least where we were, and I was a bit disappointed, but saved by the charm of our youngish hosts and later by the street life in the up and coming area.

Back in the 90’s, according to the restaurateur we’d meet later in the evening, he could not even come to the neighborhood.  Now subway line C has emerged from two thousand years of antiquities right smack in the middle.  First a poor artist or two moved in, then a few more, then young professionals, and pretty soon the area dominated by street dealing and prostitution finds itself with trendy but sill comparatively inexpensive bars and restaurants.

The house itself was designed by the couple.  She’s an architect.  It was a shop which they divided in two; their friends live next door and smiled as they walked by.  On the ground floor there’s a living room.  There’s large table at the sliding door (designated art studio), which is next to the single door entry.  There’s a full bath and a decent sized bedroom currently occupied by the 5 year old.  A steep but short staircase takes you up a level literally, but figuratively up several.

Here’s a gorgeous kitchen which flows to the dining table and then onto the large, room-for-a-pony outdoor terrace.  It flows seamlessly onto the neighbor’s.  The master bedroom is there with another nicely tiled full bath.

I think this will be a fun place to live while our landlords are in NYC.  He’s an economist doing some work at Columbia University.  Very down to earth with excellent English- hers is more hesitant I think- he was more than willing to talk to me about the economy, the loss of jobs to third world countries and the like, while Peg went to get her computer so we could complete the email fund transfer.

They told us where to find some good places for dinner, and we went looking, and came upon a Japanese restaurant.  This should have been a clue as to what we were about to encounter, as the Italians were not receptive to foreign cuisines last we heard.  An employee or one of the owners arrived on his scooter-  there are at least two per capita here  and ushered us in, whereupon we were given a complimentary glass of wine, a seat in the garden, and a recitation of what’s happening in the zone, which probably has a name, but I do not know what it is yet.  Stay tuned.

He sent us to several restaurants after warning us to stay on the main drag and shortly we were in a trendy pedestrian area lined with restaurants, bars, all of which offer outdoor seating.  Not a tourist in sight- the friendly restaurateur had inquired how in the world we found ourselves here, in fact.  He is Italian- very-, by the way, and you cook your dinner at your table with the built in wood burning cook top.  And not a sushi in sight, he proudly added.

Not only we were the only tourists, there was a dearth of the conventionally dressed and those of our age in general.  The upwardly mobile, I suppose is how you’d class them.  Young people with education, and a bit of an edge.  The ones with less money sat in doorways drinking whatever they brought with them, the others frolicked more comfortably.