Best Western Hotel San Giusto Trieste

Over 150 traditional or nautical-themed nativity scenes displayed in the streets, squares and churches of Grado and Barbana Island. Christmas markets spread festive season colours, perfumes and lights across Grado. Children’s parties with St Nicholas and Father Christmas. Live music, plus fireworks over the sea. Grado prepares celebrations for children and grown-ups in its atmospheric lagoon setting.

Christmas in ...

... the day leaps and bounds) into upgrading our room to a junior suite, and OMG!!!!! ITS FAB! We have this massive room bigger than half our flat in London with a balcony view overlooking the ocean. Life doesn't get much better than this. Had a really nice fish dinner last night and are about to embark on a bit of culture during our ...

... We did have some lunch out I had ham and eggs and Ian had a vegetable lasagne mine was nice but Ians was tasty apart from the mushrooms in it yuk!

Did not do much really to talk about the place is like Llandudno with some great hotels and a sea front and a little harbour but the weather was terrible so we just chilled back in the room its really cold but I had the biggest bed ever with the fluffiest pillows just what I ...

... to make en route.

It took about an hour and a half to reach Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. From the highway, there were not clear signs pointing towards the center of the city, so, once again, it was kind of a **** shoot. After about thirty minutes of lucky guessing and a little backtracking, I finally spotted the castle and the pedestrian-only center of town. I lucked into a place to put my car (I hesitate to call it a parking spot ...

... to the heart of the city. On your way, a stop at the the Miramare Castle is an absolute must, not only because of its historical value, but because you will be able to admire its beautiful park filled with tropical tree and plant species.

Once you enter the city, enjoy a relaxing, slow-paced stroll through history and modern times, just like a local would do! The Borgo Teresiano with its Canale Grande, the Ghetto and the Old Town, Piazza ...

... invest in the <istrian economz there.

Dropped the car in Opatija, which sounds like a wonderful seaside resort in the books but looked big and noisz to us. Very glad our sobe (room to rent) was just outside in Volosko, there was a bus stop across the waz and stairs down to the water, you can walk 12 km to Lungomare, look at all the Adriatic version of Newport villas. And we had brodet! At night in a Volosko street, with a cat asking for ...

So I took about 5 days off work (yeh cos I am working so incredibly hard, haha) and jumped on the train destined for Trieste. The town I have heard about ever since growing up as this was the place my Nonni (grandparents) had lived before moving to Australia 50 odd years ago. So a train ride from Milan to Trieste takes around 5 hours, but because of how great the train system is here, it took me about 6-7 hours there and on the way back!! Stupid train ...

... of Italy and brightly-colored windowboxes filled with geraniums were also scattered around the city center.

The water was a deep teal green and looked so clean, even in the middle of a busy shipping port with 6-7 large container ships in port.

The Adriatic was a beautiful place to sail. Rolling hills covered in grape vines rose out of the water & were met by short mountains (foothills of the Julian Alps) on the Istrian peninsula.

... ciao" I checked out of the hostel with a little more dignity then the day I had checked in. With a ferry departure time of 2pm and it now being 11:35am I was giving myself plenty of time to rectify any unforeseen problems that tend to follow behind me like some kind of lost puppy. For once, I was in town and heading for the ferry terminal without any dramas what so ever. When I got there though the condition of the ferry terminal didn't fill me with confidence that I was in the ...

... Croatia well on its way, it could easily reinvent itself as a regional hub once more. At the southern end of the harbor sits an old train station that looks like it hasn't seen any real use in decades. Undoubtedly it once served all sorts of destinations in Istria and further inland - Slovenia, Austria, etc.) - but now it lies nearly moribund. Why they can't simply try to work on re-establishing connections to the growing tourist destinations just ...