We caught a plane from Catania, which stopped in Naples and then headed north to Trieste. My window seat meant I could take great photos of the land below.
Monfalcone is on the Adriatic Sea, close to Trieste and my home away from home. My mother and father met there and my mother’s family still live there. In planning for this trip, I was very much looking forward to giving my mamma’s love to her big sister Vice (91), big brother Livio ( 89), her sister in law Dina and brother in law Mario. When I was there last year I wrote a story about zio Livio and his breakfast (which has remain unchanged for about 85 years!). His health has deteriorated quite a lot since then, but I will be so happy to see him. Vice still goes shopping every day – taking care not to walk “quando xe la bora” (when a wild wind is blowing from the Adriatic Sea) as it will surely blow her over (or take her to Kansas – Dorothy style), she is so tiny and frail!
We are staying with the ever generous zio Mario who has insisted in taking us out for lunch each day at a fantastic restaurant in nearby Sistiana called Ai Sette Nani. The photo below is of the gregarious Antonio, the owner plus some of the home made pasta we had today with fresh porcini mushrooms – delizioso!
We rented a car and drove into Trieste on our second day. The car in a Fiat 500L and I love driving it (I have got used to driving a manual car on the wrong side of the road). Trieste is a grand town with many beautiful edifices built by the Austrians when it was their only city on the Adriatic Sea. The streets are clean, the buildings look quite Austrian and a wild wind blows there most of the time.
There is a medieval fortress on the hill overlooking Trieste and it has a church San Giusto that was on the site of a Roman temple. Such amazing history.
Tomorrow we are driving to Istria (in Croatia) to the hilltop town of Motovun (Montona d’Istria), crossing two borders to get there.
italyontheroad 
Vice looks the best of the lot!!! She’s amazing
She is good apart from her walking – she sort of walks sideways and quite badly. Apart from that, she is great x
Great post Paula!!!
Thank you Tabea xx I am close to your home land now
….and if you have time, try to get to Ljubljana. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.
I went to Ljubljana many years ago – we don’t have time this trip – so much to see and do!! All I want to do at the moment is look at the view from the top of the hill in Motovun, eat truffles and drink local wine :))