Day 7
Travelling to Trieste
Monday, August 26, 2024
Buongiorno,
Today it was time to leave Milano and head somewhere new. The day started with packing our stuff and cleaning our apartment. La Milanese apartment has been the perfect location for us to explore Milano. It was also a lovely apartment, a nice cool, quiet place to return to after a busy day. We can only hope our next room will be as good.
With our bags packed, we set off via bus and Metro to collect to collect our hire car.
It has been several years since Koro has driven a manual car, not since he sold his Toyota 86. Koro is very much enjoying driving a manual once again, although he keeps reaching down with his left hand looking for the gear lever and finding the window switch.
Our car is a Kia Stonic a basic 1.2 litre front wheel drive hatchback. Nothing special. Its small size is ideal for the narrow alleyways in old European cities and towns. But the very best feature of this car? It has a centre screen with Apple Car Play.
We've always used Google Maps on an iPad or iPhone to navigate while driving around Europe. Some vehicles we hired had a Garmin GPS unit suction cupped to the windscreen, or they had a rudimentary built-in navigation system. The user interface on these units was always difficult to use and the maps were often out of date. Eight years ago there were hardly any small cars with a centre screen, certainly none with Apple Car Play. So Grandma would hold the iPhone in her lap and relay directions to Koro. This method was not always foolproof.
With a centre screen Koro can also glance at the Google Maps directions. This seemingly small change is an absolute marriage saver.
As we travelled the Autostrade, Grandma pointed out three things we had not seen:
Road cones
Pot holes
Ford Rangers
About five minutes later we did see a Ford Ranger. He blew past us in the fast lane with his left-hand indicator on (an aggressive message of "get out of my way" in Europe). So, in conclusion, Ford Ranger drivers share the same personality throughout the world.
The other thing Grandma didn't see was livestock - cows, sheep and horses. Only crops.
It was a fair haul to Trieste, about 420 km, which took a little under five hours. This included stopping for lunch and then another break for an ice cream. Autostrade servizio centres sell everything you can imagine, including alcohol and even hard spirits. They have big colourful displays of confectionery and cheap toys. A clever way to fleece the parents who have a car full of tired and grumpy children.
We've booked an apartment in Trieste until Friday. It is located close to the waterfront in the old town.
Old town? Yep, narrow roads, one-way streets, scooters ridden by maniacs and no parking anywhere. It is stressful at the time, but you laugh about it afterwards.
We came to Trieste because we wanted to spend a few days near the sea while the weather is so warm. And Trieste is in the general direction we want to head, which is East. However, Grandma had low expectations for Trieste.
In the few hours we have been here we have checked into a beautiful apartment, and discovered the absolutely stunning Trieste waterfront. We were not prepared for how beautiful this place is.
We had a beer in a piazza just back from the waterfront as two street buskers played. It was a violin and tenor saxophone duet. An unusual combination, but It worked well and one little toddler particularly enjoyed it.
We watched the sun set behind the cruise liner Queen Victoria as a tugboat pulled her away from the dock and released her into the Adriatic Sea.
And finally we had a quick dinner before heading back to our room for a well earned sleep.
It's been a big day. Neither Grandma nor Koro are fully over their colds yet, but we are over the worst part. We are a heck of a lot better than we were on the weekend. A couple more days and hopefully be right (do we keep saying that?).
Love to you all from Grandma & Koro & Buzzy Bee.
