Udine

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and walked to near the railway station to catch the "Flix" bus to Trieste at 9.50 am. We had pre-purchased tickets. The almost 2 hour bus ride from Ljubljana was comfortable. There was wifi on board. We arrived in Trieste shortly before noon. We left our bags at the luggage storage and then changed some money. We bought some baguettes to share on the train for lunch. With a minute to spare we managed to board the train in time to Udine.

We arrived in Udine 1.5 hours later. From the railway station it is a short walk into the historic centre.

Udine is a city in northeastern Italy. Although it is a large city it is rarely visited by tourists. Surprising, given its splendid buildings. It was early afternoon. Most of the shops were closed and the streets practically deserted. We walked up to the hilltop Udine Castle which is home to several museums and an art gallery with works by Tiepolo and Caravaggio. From there we enjoyed the views of the city and surrounding mountains. The central Piazza della Libertà has Renaissance buildings, including the pink-and-white-marble Loggia del Lionello and a clock tower. We passed by several churches including the Udine Cathedral which has a baroque exterior.

It was only to be a quick visit. We headed back to the train station to catch the 3.08 express train back to Trieste.

From the railway station it was a 10 minute walk to our overnight accommodation. After settling we headed out for supplies including washing powder. Upon our return we loaded up what we thought was the washing machine with our dirty laundry only to discover in fact it was a dryer. Jeed spent over an hour cleaning up the mess and cleaned clothes by hand. Not a happy bunny. After happy hour we went to a nearby restaurant "ristorante pepenero pepebianci". It was a lovely restaurant in a restored 19th century horse stable. Food and wine were superb. The complimentary Prosecco was a nice touch.Read more