Straight across Italy

Tuesday, May 6

We picked up our brand new Peugeot lease car at the airport and headed east along the Mediterranean coast.  In 45 minutes, we'd been in three countries -- France, blink-of-an-eye Monaco, and Italy. 

Most of the day was autostrada (freeway) driving from the western border of northern Italy to Trieste, which is almost encircled by Slovenia on Italy's northeast corner.  The first portion of our route was through a seemingly-endless series of tunnels through mountains that reach right to the sea.  Lots of terraced agricultural land and pastel villages spilling down the mountainsides.  Then, through the interior of the top of Italy's boot, which was a mix of small towns, green farm land, and industrial areas.  As we bypassed exits for places like Bologna, Milan, Cremona, Padua, Mantua, Verona, Venice, and others, we were quite happy that we'd had other opportunities to visit them; as it was, the temptation to detour was great! 

Our car is equipped with the best (and the best English-speaking!) GPS we've ever used, and it delivered us to the Rose and Berries B&B, in the hills above Trieste, without a hitch.  Our hostesses, Cecile and her mother Jana, greeted us warmly, made espresso for us, and made us feel very welcome in their lovely  suite.  We picked Cecile's brain a bit about Trieste and decided to head down the mountain to check out the city.

We parked along the Riva in front of the Piazza dell'Unita Italia, the largest sea-front square in Europe.  On the three landward sides, the piazza is fronted by monumental governmental buildings, hotels and cafes -- ornately decorated, and  very beautiful.  Behind and adjacent to the square are the streets of the Old Town, mostly pedestrianized and lined with shops, bars, and restaurants.  We strolled through them and along the harbor before stopping for a seafood dinner al fresco  in a Riva-front restaurant recommended by Cecile.

As we finished our meal, the sun was setting over the sea and the lights in the piazza were beginning to glow.  It was enough to make a day's freeway driving fade into a tiny blip!