Venice – the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs.
We took the train from Trieste to Venice where we had booked a VRBO right in the center of town. We decided to walk the 20 minute distance from the train to station to main square near our room where our host agreed to meet us to help us navigate the maze of streets and allies to our room. The walk was fairly easy but we had about bridges to cross on the way and with Esther’s 40 pound suit case it was a workout.
On our first and only full day in Venice we took the ferry out to Burano an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, near Torcello at the northern end of the lagoon, known for its lace work and brightly colored homes. The primary economy is tourism and the current population of Burano is about 2,800
On our way to a museum we noticed a special Vivaldi concert at an old church that had been converted into a music venue. The museum was closing when we got there so we decided to check out the concert. They were performing Vivaldi’s concerti The Four Seasons – which is a group of four violin concerti each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year. These were composed around 1718-1723, when Vivaldi was the court chapel master in Mantua. They were published in 1745 in Amsterdam in what was at the time the Dutch Republic. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on 4 March 1678 in Venice, then the capital of the Republic of Venice. GREAT CONCERT!
Alley to our room The door to our VRMO room The famous Rialto Bridge, Venice Italy
Venice was amazing and I’m really glad I got to see it in person – but it was hot and crowded so I think the day and a half we were there was enough. I’m now ready for our third and final destination of this trip – Padua. Especially since Jeff Bezos is coming into Venice for his wedding in a day or two – glad we missed that.
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 UnitĂ 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.
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.
Where did the time go! I can not believe that I turned 70 this year and for some reason it seemed to hit me harder than other birthdays. I was perfectly content to let the day just roll past but Esther, Greta ad Robin thought I should have a party. Esther asked me a few weeks earlier what I wanted to do for my birthday and said ride my bike. The Athens Twilight Gambler 50K was on Saturday, April 26 we decided to that together.
We weren’t sure how we would feel after and didn’t want to party too much before so we decided to have the party the weekend before.. Robin and Andrea drove up and Greta flew in for the occasion. Nick was not able to make it. Greta flew to Macon and made it to Robin and Andrea and then the next day they all drove up to Athens together.
It was small party and we fired up my new outdoor pizza oven and made personal some sized pizzas. I hired Carol B to help with the food but I think Andrea and Greta the bulk of the work – which left me with nothing to do but enjoy the party. Guests: Robin, Andrea, Greta, Andy, Jen, Steve, Debbie, Clare, Ed and of course me and Esther.
I’m a chocolate chip cookie addict and always have to have a stash in the freezer – so on that note Robin and Andrea made tee shirts for the family and Andy with 70 chocolate chip cookies on it – bottom right cookie has a bite taken from it – it was a fun event and I appreciate all the love that went into making it happen.
Esther and I wanted to get a little bike conditioning and training in before we did the 50K Gambler ride on April 26. so we decided to go spend the night in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail a wonderful Rails to Trails.
We stayed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn a very small Inn in Travelers Rest, just across the road from the trail. There are only 3 rooms in the main building and maybe 3 cottages on the property. The shared kitchen, living room and pool are very nice and comfortable, This would be a great place to stay with a group of friends.
There is a very nice Tap Room across the street from the Inn and Topsoil, a farm to table restaurant, is very good – so good, in fact, Esther and I went twice and we were in town only for one night.
Shell to Shore is an Oyster shell recycling non-profit in Athens, GA Oysters are a natural resource, a keystone species, and ecosystem engineers, filtering water and regenerating themselves.
Oysters are a natural resource, a keystone species, and ecosystem engineers, filtering water and regenerating themselves. By transporting shells from your table to the shore, we are diverting shells from the landfill and reconnecting this natural resource to its coastal home. Recycled shells play a pivotal role in helping create many types of intertidal structures to help combat rising sea levels and help proliferate all types of sea life. Plainly put, the more oyster shells that we recycle and return to the ocean, the more of our shoreline and ocean we can help preserve!
Many oyster producers from all long the east coast, bringing 800 to 1,000 oysters, drove many miles to be part of this great event. Several local restaurants also participated bringing samples of their signature dishes.
This was an extremely fun and well run fund raising event with some very tasty oysters in the Bottleworks complex – its best to come early.
