We had an 8:30PM, non-stop, flight out of Atlanta on Wednesday June 19 to Venice Italy. It was the beginning of a week long, 3 city, adventure packed trip, We arrive around 11:20AM, on Thursday, and took a short bus ride to the train station where we had tickets to Trieste.Fly into Venice – We had a non-stop, 8:30PM, flight out of Atlanta on Wednesday June 19 to Venice Italy. We arrive around 11:20AM, on Thursday, and took a short bus ride to the train station where we had tickets to Trieste.

PART ONE – Trieste, Italy
Trieste is a city ad seaport in northeast Italy. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. As of 2025, it has a population of 198,668. The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest and karstic areas – a topography formed by the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks like limestone or dolomite.
The top photo is the Piazza Unità d’Italia the main square in Trieste, it is located at the foot of the hill with the castle of San Giusto, the square faces the Adriatic Sea. It is often said to be Europe’s largest square located next to the sea. The square was built during the period when Trieste was the most important seaport of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and includes the city’s municipal buildings and other important palaces.

We had a wonderful room at the Elizabeth boutique rooms in the center of town where we stayed two nights .

Slovenia – officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungry to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southwest, and a short (46.6 km) coastline with the Adriatic Sea to the Southwest, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Through TripAdvisor we booked a tour of the Slovenia coast with a wonderful tour guide. The tour included a coffee break at a small little café on the coast, a lunch break in Koper / Capodistria and finally a wine tasting in Vinska Fontana Marezige.

On our last day, after checking out of the hotel we took the bus up to Miramare Castle – It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker.

The castle’s grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plantsMiramare Castle – It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker.

The castle’s grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants

San Giusto – As reported by most historians of Trieste, the current appearance of the basilica derives from the unification of the two pre-existing churches of Santa Maria and the one dedicated to the martyr San Giusto , which were incorporated under the same roof by the bishop Rodolfo Pedrazzani da Robecco between the years 1302 and 1320 to provide the city with an imposing cathedral.

The first mention of the cathedral dates back to 1337 , when the bell tower of the former church of Santa Maria was covered with a thick wall to support the new building. Work on the bell tower was completed in 1343, but work on the church continued until practically the end of the century. The bell tower was originally taller, but in 1422 it was struck by lightning and reduced to its current height.

After the city’s definitive dedication to Austria ( 1382 ), the then emperor Leopold III appointed the first German bishop of Trieste, Henry de Wildenstein, who consecrated the cathedral’s high altar on 27 November 1385.

In November 1899 Pope Leo XIII elevated it to the dignity of minor basilica.

It was hard to say goodbye to Trieste because it was such a beautiful town with so much to see and do. Next time we visit I will bring my bike because of all the dedicated bike paths some of which go through Slovenia and Croatia.