Still in Trieste......but loving it.

Monday 12 August 2013

The days are starting to mingle into each other and to our amazement it has been 12 days since we last posted the blog. It's not from want of trying and we have touted our computer all over the restaurants and cafes in our location desperately trying to do it. The longer it goes on the more difficult and longer it takes to to down load. it is a real issue. 

We did have a tip off that there might be one hope so at 12 noon we arrived at the door of a Pizza restaurant to be told the password was too long for numpty foreigners like us to get our heads around so forget it. We returned to Bertie and put all our stuff away again. Tomorrow we will have to go into Trieste city centre to see if we can have more joy there.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, reading and sunbathing by the sea. 

Tuesday 13 August 2013 - Friday 16 August 2013

Things have settled into a bit of a routine here in Trieste. We get up, do our jobs, go sunbathing etc.  But today we decided to take the Ferry to Trieste central, partly for the pleasure of the ride and also to look for a bar with WiFi. The Ferry is a very stylish sleek white boat with the look of a super-yacht. It departs from the pier alongside our car park. We had a fabulous sunny day to enjoy the trip around the bay. The ferry pulled away to start the journey and after only a minute or two returned to the quayside to let a couple of older ladies get off the boat. Probably a mother and daughter. They had politely allowed all of us boarding to climb upstairs to the sun deck before descending themselves. We sat on the top deck and it was interesting to see our familiar surroundings from a little way out to sea. In Trieste we quickly found a small friendly bar with WiFi and uploaded the blog and photos. Rather time consuming as usual but satisfying to get it done. 

We then had a walk round the shops paying special attention to those with air-con. We just had time for some pizza for lunch before catching the 14.30 ferry. We had admired a huge private yacht berthed in Trieste and asked the crew if he knew whose it was. He said it came from UAE and was worth €400 million. Wow! 

Later that evening as the sun was going down, a big black cloud came over from the north and sat obscuring half of the sun (vertically) as it went down. The contrast between the glorious and the foreboding was quite stark but spectacular to see with the vivid red sun bursting through the crack in the cloud. Then came the wind. It huffed and it puffed and rocked the van at times. One thing for sure out at sea was not a place to be tonight and pity any poor sailor stuck on a yacht out there. The wind would build up to a fantastic force then suddenly pass and all was quiet, then without warning another huge gust would slam into the van like an express train going through a station. Needless to say we had another restless night as the wind did its best to give us a good old shake down. At 02.30 it was so bad we got up to take the bikes off the back of the van. The cover was flapping and adding to the general noise. That was fun!

Morning saw not much change other than it being light. So, we decided to stay in all day. As it happens we love a day in and we had been waiting to do a job we have been putting off for just such occasion, 'The Inventory'!

The wind had cooled the air and it was a really comfortable temperature (26-27c). We had our breakfast and put everything away. Luckily we had the basics of an inventory from our 'Campy' days and thanks to the iCloud it had transferred onto the iPad. So carefully and methodically we emptied each cupboard clockwise around the van, logging the contents and cleaning with Milton as we went. We were amazed to find by the end of the day that we had only done half of the van so we carried on finishing the job the next morning. 

Why? good question and I'm glad you asked. Well, it's a list of everything we have placed in order on a list. It is very useful to have. Firstly, for insurance purposes, not that we would get a lot back, I think you can only claim for items valued over £25 so if something is worth £30 you get a fiver. Secondly, if we did have a total loss situation, at least we have a shopping list so we can go and replace it all. Thirdly, it's a good way of looking at what you have, what you've used and not used and what really isn't pulling its weight. And finally, if we were really pedantic about it (and we had a pair of scales) we could weigh each item (what fun that would be) and see how much it all weighs. 

It was, in a strange sort of way, quite rewarding to finish the task of logging all our worldly possessions and it has already highlighted quite a few things that perhaps we really could do without. I can feel a good sort our coming on when we return to the UK in March. Or, 'about that big trailer of yours Greta and Luc.....'?

Friday afternoon we went to sit amongst the trees as usual as the wind had dropped. It has become so familiar to us now we go to our spot seeking the shade of the trees which rotates with the sun. Every now and then it's musical chairs and people decamp to better shade. We hear the same children playing on the swings and see the same people in the same places going about their business. Even the sounds are the same the same dog that barks, the shouts from the bowls group as the argue whose bowl was closest to the jack. It's like a small community united by the love of the sea and relaxing in the sun. The rumble of the Ferry as it approaches the harbour and its 3 whistles as it reverses off.

In the evening hundreds of tiny sparrows come to visit. They come so close you could touch them. It's a delight to watch as they forage in the undergrowth of fallen pine needles for seeds and crumbs of ice cream wafer crushed by Petra for them. The adults feed the young who look big enough to look after themselves. 

In the evening the usual parking mayhem ensued as the locals come to watch the music festival. Quite frankly we gave up on it. We should have learnt from the Elvis debacle but the Queen concert finished it for us. But still they come, squeezing their cars into every conceivable gap on the car park. Much to the new camper van arrival's consternation, they find there is no space left in the allocated spaces for them. Its all taken up with cars. What they seem to forget is this is a car park and people want to park their cars. Understandably they just want to park up and go enjoy themselves at one of the local bars or restaurants or go and see Queenzee in concert. 

We have really enjoyed our stay here in Trieste and will miss it. It's been nice to stop for a while. We have become part of the community. You couldn't have wished for better views, the sunsets have been amazing and so has the sea. Yes, it could have been quieter and we would have liked to have put the washing out, but what do you expect parking in a car park? Best of all it hasn't cost us a single cent to stay here, not one. That, over the two weeks of no camping fees or fuel costs. that amounts to a considerable sum especially when you take into account the cost of campsites.

We will continue to stay here in Trieste till it is time to collect Jo and Paul in Venice on Wednesday evening. We can't wait to see them both and share our travelling adventure with them. (Hope they like cold showers).....?

Saturday 17 August 2013

We have been wondering what to do about the washing, Petra has kept on top of the small stuff. Not that there's a lot as we live in swimming gear, shorts and the occasional T shirt. But with our visitors arriving soon we need to do a big wash, towels and bedding. We have done them ourselves in the past but we really feel they could do with a machine wash. So the hunt is on for the launderette. 

We have scoured the local area but to no avail. So in the absence of the Internet we turn to the only source left - the TomTom. Sure enough in the local search it came up with a launderette only 1.7km from where we were. This morning we decided to see if we could find it. 

The route looked straight forward enough and we wrote down all the road names from the TomTom and set off. Not far from Bertie the instructions told us to turn left which we did and set off up the hill which didn't stop till we reached our destination. Not that much to our surprise there was no launderette to be seen. There may well be one behind all the shuttered up buildings but there were no markings. Still it had been an interesting walk which had taken us past the base of the lighthouse. It was much bigger than it looked from below. Also the views across the bay to Trieste central were spectacular.

We returned to Bertie a bit hotter and thirstier than when we left, and we hadn't achieved our objective. On the up side we know there isn't a launderette and we didn't (thank goodness) take the risk and take the washing with us. Now that would have been something to complain about. So the problem still remains but if that's all we have to worry about......well what's the problem.

In the afternoon we did our relaxing thing by the sea.

Sunday 18 August

Cleaning day today, thankfully Bertie wasn't too bad externally and it only took three quarters of an hour with a wet flannel and a wash leather to put him back to clean. At the same time Petra went through the inside and before you knew it we were enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

The nice Italian man next door came around to see us and he told us we were using the wrong size stove pot coffee maker. He uses a tiny little aluminium one just big enough for one person. He said we should get one each! His and hers....Anyway, we quite like the coffee we get from our larger stainless steel one.

Another man came over, we call him 'red hat man' on the account of him wearing a bright red baseball hat. He has a habit  of wandering around the car park and standing for ages watching what's gong on. A short round man with a deep gruff voice but a heart of gold. Anyway, he asked us to put his beer in the fridge as his fridge was 'kaput' . They were having Pizza tonight and they wanted a cold beer with it, why not! We of course obliged but did wonder about all the other stuff that must be going off, still get your priorities right and all that. 

In the evening we went for a delightful walk along the sea front with the sun setting as we walked. We strolled for about 1km and then sat on a wooden bench whilst the sun turned a stunning deep pink which spread a beautiful light over the land. It's such a beautiful soft light it took your breath away. We chatted for a while on our bench and marvelled that it was as busy now with people even with the sun going down as it has been all day. Families had come down to the front with their supper and were having picnics together on blankets bathed in the beautiful light. How lovely, how civilised, how.......
Back at Bertie Petra got another got another beating at Rummicub and Kevin got another beating at Backgammon. See, there is balance in the world. Tomorrow we are going to go into Trieste to post this the final blog entry before Josie and Paul come out. So we are not sure when the next one will be. We will try hard to do it in a week or so.