Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia

After a badly needed (though short) cooling break, we arrived at our final destination - Trieste!
After all our hardships we were relieved to finally be where we wanted to be, as the 400+ km of the last days were taking a toll on us. However, our joy was marred by the thought of what was still ahead of us: to get to the campsite in time, that was - how else could it be? - on a hill and even had a warning for cyclists on the website that it was a steep climb!
We enjoyed a bit of the architecture and after a misunderstanding in communication settled for a beverage, but the last distance yet to come loomed over us and we soon mounted up again. And what a run it was! It took us over an hour to cover the 10 km to the campsite, and despite the impressive view of the town and the sea (after all, there has to be some upside to going uphill!) it called for all of our endurance (at least mine, Giacomo made it look like just a normal bike trip). It was a continuous uphill battle and darkness eventually caught up with us; to offer us a bit more adventure, the last part (though level) was more of an MTB trail than a cycle path but we managed and reached the campsite.
Once again I was very glad to have a "native" with me, as Giacomo effortlessly took care of the registration, while I tried to catch my breath. Thankfully our tent site was not far from the gateway and the sanitary area - and the small ristorante, which we already had set eyes upon, as we were ravenously hungry! But first, we set up camp and took a shower that was badly needed (my jersey was soaked in sweat).
Giacomo inquired if there was still space for us to have dinner, and we were lucky, as there was - though they warned us, that there was only one meal option left, as it was already pretty late. We saw it as an advantage, as we didn't have the energy to choose between several options anyway, we just wanted something to eat - anything! And most importantly, we didn't want to go (or bike) anywhere, just to sit, eat and drink - and collapse into bed.
The "leftover" option turned out to be a delicious seafood dish with gnocchi, which left us wondering how to eat the crabs but otherwise satisfied - though we enjoyed our meal with a bittersweet feeling, as we knew that our trip was coming to an end and it was our last dinner together.Lue lisää