Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The last few hours in Ljubljana
then a drive across the border to Trieste

Thursday 25th May 2023
We had a more leisurely breakfast today. Our driver was only due to pick us up from the hotel at 10:00 am. It was a lovely sunny day, unlike yesterday, so we took the the opportunity to have one last walk around the old town. It was becoming quite familiar territory now and we weren't under any pressure, so we just strolled and enjoyed it all for the last time.
 
 
 
Times have certainly changed!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unpasteurised milk from a vending machine. We hadn't seen anything like it before.
 
 
 
 
 
Back to the hotel for the last time to collect our luggage and meet our driver.
 
Our driver was a different from one from the last two, but we were still treated to the same smart car for our journey. He didn't say a lot and he drove quite fast, but we felt safe and the quality of the road was excellent. The old border infrastructure between Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia) and Italy was still evident, but nowadays there was no need to even slow down as we crossed the border.
 
Just over an hour after we set out, we descended into Trieste.
 
The entrance to the hotel on the right. We were to make use of the outdoor area several times over the next few days. It was only 11:30 and, as expected, our room wasn't ready. (In fact, they couldn't even find that we had a room booked, but after calling our agent, it was all sorted out). We decided to leave our luggage there and go for a walk.
 
A Roman theatre was one of the first things we saw. Nobody was taking much notice of it!
 
We must be in Italy!
 
 
We didn't know what we were looking at, but that wasn't the point today. We would have a guide tomorrow.
 
 
 
We did have one mission for today, however. Two of the three restaurants that we had attempted to make table reservations at had failed to confirm them and one of those was for this evening. We decided to find the restaurants and visit them in person. Both were about a fifteen minute walk from the hotel (in the same direction fortunately) and once we found them we were able to reserve a table at both. The mystery of the disappearing online bookings will remain a mystery.
 
It was now lunchtime and we were feeling slightly peckish, but not in the mood for a big lunch. Cafe Walter, right next to the hotel turned out to be the perfect venue. Our waitress was super-efficient and very pleasant. It was also very good value for money. We both had the carbonara.
 
At 2:00pm it was time to step into the hotel and to claim our room.
 
After the quirkiness of the Vander Hotel in Ljubljana, our room seemed a little bland, but it was cool and calm and we liked it.
 
 
After unpacking and taking a short rest, we went back out and did some more exploring.
 
 
 
The first gelateria... a treat for tomorrow perhaps.
 
 
 
Aperitifs are a big thing here. You order a drink anywhere and you get substantial extras!
 
It was time for dinner. We appeared to be the first people to arrive. 7:30pm is clearly quite early for them!
 
The restaurant was on a list of recommended restaurants and we soon realised why. We had a lovely meal. We both chose the same things, which is quite unusual for us. As a starter we had razor clams and scallops.
 
Next, a platter of fresh fish was brought to the table for us to select what we wanted. We both chose the sole. Once it had been cooked, it was brought to the table and then filleted in front of us.
 
 
 
Delicious, creamy lemon sorbet for dessert.
 
 
Limoncello... of course.
 
Walking back to the hotel after dinner.
 
Our hotel. Our room was the corner one on the top floor.
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble