An Italian detour: exploring Trieste

Today’s adventure took me all the way to Italy - a day trip to Trieste, just 75 kilometres southwest of Ljubljana. I hopped on the morning bus, and before I knew it, we were rolling into the city with the Adriatic Sea gleaming in the sun nearby. Not a bad way to start the day. 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

Thanks to a bit of late-night research, I already had a loose plan: the Castle of San Giusto, the Roman Theatre of Trieste, the Arco di Riccardo, and the Unity of Italy Square. But first, since the bus stop is right by the Canal Grande, I wandered over for my first look at the Adriatic. 🤩

I grabbed a cappuccino outside Piazza Sant’Antonio Nuovo, sipping it in true Italian fashion before setting off properly. My route took me up the Giants’ Stairway and into the Parco della Rimembranza - a gorgeous climb through trees and grassy slopes - eventually delivering me right to my first major stop: the Castle of San Giusto. I spent about an hour exploring the exhibitions and soaking in the views over Trieste, which were completely worth the climb.

After that, I headed back downhill to the Roman Theatre of Trieste, then continued weaving through the little maze of streets to find the Arco di Riccardo. There’s something so fun about wandering around with a destination in mind but no real rush to get there. 😄

My final big stop was the Unity of Italy Square, which turned out to be very, very lively - thousands of motorbikes were riding through as part of a charity event. The noise, the beeping, the chaos… it weirdly reminded me of South East Asia. 🤣🤣🤣

By then I was starving, so I did the only sensible thing one can do in Italy and ordered a margherita pizza. Early dinner, zero regrets. Following a day of exploring, it disappeared embarrassingly quickly. 😅😂

After the bus ride back, I arrived in Ljubljana well after dark. I went for a short, slow walk through the evening streets, enjoying the Saturday night atmosphere - a great way to end another incredibly happy day in Europe. 🍻Read more