We packed up and said goodbye to Lisa and Sean for 2 days as we are going to a Trieste and they are visiting Ljubljana.

It was an easy drive to Trieste – just over half an hour. The Italian border was easy to get through. They reduced the traffics to a single lane and then waved us through – only checking trucks.

We were too early for check in so we stopped in a car park nearby and had our van lunch.

The campsite is up a narrow steep road amongst trees. It has a spectacular view of Trieste.

We got settled in and then walked down to get the bus. However the first thing to arrive at the stop was the old tram so we took it. The tram only just restarted running in February after an accident in 2016.

It was very interesting as the tram has its own route down the hill and there is a funicular section where it gets taken down by a funicular tractor – attached to the other one bringing a tram up the hill. You can see the white support here stopping the tram running too fast down the hill.

We arrived at the bottom and I used my GPS guide app to do a walking tour of Trieste.

Trieste was actually in the Austrian Hungarian empire until 1918 – so not very Italian at all. Its streets are wide in a grid pattern with stately pale buildings with carvings everywhere.

The Catholic Church looked like a Roman temple at the head of the Grand Canal – with a Greek Orthodox Church decorated with mosaics on the side

The grand canal used to be the main port for the empire where boats loaded and unloaded but is now cross crossed by bridges. Trieste is now known for its coffee and Viennese patisseries – yum!

We found an arty fashion display down one street – crochet must be back in!

We then went to the Unity of Italy Square which is a major attraction. It opens onto the Harbour and is lined on three sides by the Hapsburg City Hall, the Lloyd’s Palace (Palazzo del Lloyd), the gold and the mosaic Palace of the Prefecture (Palazzo della Prefettura).

There was a big cruise boat with lots of people milling about so we avoided the seashore.

We checked out the Roman theatre. This was dug up recently. There’s nothing else Roman that is substantial still standing. The cathedral was built on the forum.

There were some old porticos and modern fountains.

We then went to the Cafe San Marco where James Joyce and many writers and artists hang out. Part of it is a bookshop with classics.

Nearby we found a street full of restaurants and gelato shops. There were chairs all the way up the middle shaded by trees. We decided to have an early dinner before heading back up on the tram to the campsite. We found a busy pizza restaurant and had the obligatory Aperol spritzes with our pizza.

We then got the old tram back up the hill – very relaxing.

When we got off the tram next to the Obelisco we checked it out. It was created to mark the route the Napoleon troops took from Prosecco, just North of Trieste to here. There is now a pleasant walk with good views. Here’s the one I took.

There was now a cool wind so I actually felt a little chilly when we got back to the van – a relief from the heat of the day.