Day 36 Put ashore at Trieste
We had to be at our assembly point for disembarkation at 8:30 am and soon after we were heading down the gangplank, whistled through immigration and were standing on the side of the road with all our worldly possessions.
Siri reckoned our hotel was only 4 minutes walk away so we set off. Rolling bags on rough pavement is never a great experience but we were soon where the hotel address was but there was no sign of our hotel.
I walked around the square asking waiters in the outdoor cafes if they could tell me where our hotel was but no one had ever heard of it. I was wondering if we had been the subject of an internet hoax then I saw Jeanette on the other side of the square waving. She had found it. In a list of names next to a door in the middle of a large apartment building was our hotel’s name.
Jeanette pressed the button and we were let in. The rooms in this building have 20 foot high ceilings and our hotel was on the third floor and there was no lift. So while Jeanette was negotiating with the proprietor I hauled our bags up seemingly endless flights of stairs.
After we had recovered a bit we went off exploring. Jeanette of course zeroed in on the nearest cathedral which was located up numerous flights of stairs.
We wandered back to the main square just as a major event was ending. Fortunately we were able to see a Bersaglieri Regiment Band marching off. These are a very unique unit of the Italian Army with broad brimmed black hats covered in a mass of black feathers and their march pace is a fast jog. To see a band run past while still playing their trumpets, trombones and tubas is really amazing. Unfortunately I was at the back of a large crowd and didn’t get any decent photos.
It is quite hot and humid here at the moment so we found a little restaurant that had a breeze blowing up an alley from the waterfront and rested up with a couple of Aperol Spritz.
There was a large orchestra performing nearby but the interval between numbers was about 5 times as long as each piece they performed. After two numbers at this glacial pace they stopped for a proper break and left the stage. The wind then came up and sheets and sheets of music were blown off their stands.
A few conscientious types raced back onto the stage, collected the loose music then started the painstaking process of figuring which stand they came from and what order they should go back. I reckon the performance after interval might have been very interesting but hunger drove us on in the search for an evening meal.p
We found a nice sushi place and had dinner, then walked down to the wharf and watched Queen Victoria sail away.
Hardys’ Travels 