Trieste

We went to Trieste with Barbara, a local, and our friend Morris. The city is in the east corner of Italy. It is right by the Adriatic Sea. We parked by the water and walked to the main square that proudly opens and faces the sea; a great piazza. The city feels like a different country given its strong Austrian past. The day we went was around Carnival and the piazza was full of kids in custom and confetti. It was a bright blue sky, crisp winter day. After a quick stop at a Trieste porccheta sandwich eatery and a beer, we walked around town. We checked out the old Roman amphitheater, walked up the hill to the old part of town up to the castle and beautiful very old church. Then we explored the alleys with quaint shops. We bought coffee which is very good in this area, and just wandered the streets.
To crown the afternoon we went to one of the luxurious Austrian style coffee houses and had divine espresso and chocolate cake.
Our friend Barbara needed to buy some tennis shoes so we walked all over town to the new commercial district to get the shoes. Once the shoes were bought we went to a bar to meet some of her friends and started to drink the local wine. Many bars serve also the most sumptuous hot chocolate drinks which are a staple of the area.
Once ready we left to eat in a humble restaurant where we had a variety of local appetizers and a pasta for dinner. That is always a safe bet. Talk to the waiter and tell them you want a plate with a variety of appetizer or house specialties and the pasta of your choosing and you will enjoy the exploration. That is of course if you are an adventurous eater. The dinner was very fun as Barbara’s friend proceeded to give us a drunken class about insulting Italian hand expressions; very, very funny.
We then headed for a bar in the young clubby part of town, squeezed our way into a bar packed to the point of fire evacuation hazard and sat at a table for some after dinner drinks. Tables are open given that most people prefer to stand. There I tried a wine called fragollino which is a relatively sweet white wine made from Concord grapes, although it can be made from other grapes. The wine was very delicious and we chatted until 3:00 am when we decided it was time to go to bed. Lovely day in Trieste.