Greif Maria Theresia Hotel Trieste

... tourists can see as they stroll around town alone or in the company of a guide who will talk about the story of these charming exhibits, with the musical accompaniment of bagpipes from Val Pesarina. Guided tours (departure by ferry from Grado) have also been organised of the lagoon nativity scenes on the Island of Barbana, the site of a Marian shrine much loved by the people of Grado, who go on pilgrimage to the shrine every ...

... exploration today. Figured that since most of Italy is churches, we should go see the synagogue here as its one of the biggest in Europe. Not that either of us are religous, but sometimes we just get the urge to pray (NOT!, this is not some bible belt after school special). Jason is ready now, so we're off for the day, ttyl......

... I wandered back along towards the main square on the route along the water, then headed up the hill to the bell tower and churches. This area does afford beautiful views in both directions – one of the harbor, main square and town and the other of the hilly coastline that extends across the bay. I wandered around for a little while and then decided it was time for me to be on my way – I did have quite a drive ahead of me, and a couple of more ...

... tram in the city will take you uphill to the Trieste plateau ("Altipiano triestino"). Be sure not to miss a walk through the Napoleonica, a panoramic pedestrian route loved by locals of all ages; the Grotta Gigante (Giant Cave), the world's largest tourist cave in the world, and, last but not least, an easy lunch in an osmiza, each one open only several days per year. Be sure to keep your eyes wide open and look for a branch of ivy and a wooden ...

... 7 by this time, my wheels are rattling loud over the cobbles, and we swear they keep moving these Venice-like streets. So our host heard us in the quiet streets and called out to us, and thats how we found it. And we had the penthouse! 39 or 42 steps up, depending how zou counted, and I do mean up. The last leg was almost straight, like a shipćs ladder. One window gave us a beautiful view up the street and over the laundrz and past the ...

... br>Once again, here I am, stinking hot in my attic room, letting you all know how things are going here. I am sure I had a hundred more things to say...but they have completely slipped my mind, which I knew would happen. Haha.

Will update if I ever think of those things....

But for now...Ciao!! Peace out to all my Italian loving fans. I love you and miss you all lots and lots. And hope you're all doing well. Take care.

Olivia.xoxox

... ago. A very worthwhile stop.

It was about 500-600 steps down to walk through the whole thing and come out the other end.....where the elevator back up was broken, meaning 500-600 steps to climb back up outside the exit, lots of fun on this boiling hot day!

... 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.

... because the higher we went the more and more of the city we could see. It is amazing how the cities in Italy can be so beautiful, even when you are just looking at the roofs of the buildings. Riding the bus on the way home from San Guisto was probably the best experience of the day (besides Miremare) because right at the stop where we got off, we happened upon another CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL! haha, I don't know who does this to us, but ...

... clear, and definitely cleared a few cobwebs. After so much exercise, we were all starving, so we got the bus back to Trieste and stopped in for lunch at a little café. Marnie ordered the local specialty, gnocchi with a whole plum wrapped inside. It was a little unusual, tasting more like a pastry than a pasta dish, but it disappeared quickly none-the-less. In the evening, we trekked out to the local stadium to watch the mighty Triestina take on Albino ...