Ljubljana to Trieste
We all slept like logs and the next morning went down to our quaint breakfast area. By 10 we were out exploring the town, actively avoiding anything that had stairs!
Sue and Evie did some boutique shopping while Tom and Tyler had an in-depth discussion about the major religions, their affect on society, and the 19th century philosophies that came into existence as a reaction to them. Everyone reconnected around noon and somehow we decided to walk up to the castle for the views. This did not make us popular with the children!
The walk down was even worse but the promise of ice cream kept us going. Back at the central market we had a light lunch, some rollup ice cream, before setting off to find an optometrist to get Sue a new pair of glasses as she had somehow left hers at the mountain two days prior.
Amazingly, we managed to find a place that not only had affordable, attractive glasses but with an on-site doctor was able to verify Sue‘s prescription and get glasses made in under 30 minutes! Three cheers for Sylvania!
Evie bought herself an adorable yellow leather jacket at the absurdly low price $25! By 3 PM we were in the car heading to Trieste.
Around 4:30, we arrived at our epic, luxury hotel with our Seaview rooms. About 6 PM, we set out to explore Trieste. Tom had selected the hotel for 2 reasons; first as a reward for completing the mountain trek which he knew would be challenging and second because of its convenient location near the Piazza d’Uniti Italiano. Tom finally found an affordable iPhone case and then we stopped for a sushi snack and power us through to our dinner for later.
Trieste is a fascinating town, much bigger and more grand than the tiny size Ljubljana, but it was cool to turn the corner from the narrow alley and find yourself looking at a 2000-year-old Roman Colosseum. Amazingly, the Colosseum was only discovered 50 years ago when construction unearthed an amazingly well preserved venue. In its day it would have hosted 3000 to 4000 spectators.
We once again split up as the girls wanted to shop and the boys wanted to walk. The pedestrian section of Trieste was lined with the cafés and churches and regal buildings.
Around seven we reconvened at the hotel and decided to do a spritz for screens trade. Sue and Tom went out for a spritz in the fading sunlight while the kids got to screen their faces off! Everyone was happy.
And hour or so later Sue and Tom strolled along the waterfront back to our elegant hotel, gathered the kids, and walked through the narrow streets to find a recommended restaurant. We sat outside in the warm evening and enjoyed a classic Italian meal with our congenial host.
Trieste is certainly worth more than a half day but tomorrow we have big plans, Aquacolors waterpark!