Venice 🚆 Trieste ⛴ Piran
Due Espresso
And tiny desserts!
Caffe degli Specchi, Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia, 7
Today was a traveling day. Before we whisked off to Piran, we went to Cantine del Vino già Schiavi one last time. Venice is famous for cicchetti, which we have been enjoying every day since we got here. Simply, ciccehtti is “bar food,” but they’re so much more than that. They’re little compositions of cheeses, vegetables, pickles, or fish, depending on what’s inspired the composer. We’ve had cicchetti decorated French ham with pickled pearl onions, hard cheese garnished with walnut dust, pistachio mousse, ricotta with sturgeon caviar and zucchini, tuna salad on a bed of radicchio garnished with aged Balsamic and pink peppercorns…the compositions are endless, delicate, and truly a wonder.
We lucked out on finding Cantine del Vino già Schiavi, which just happened to be around the corner from our hotel (which incidentally is also a convent). Apparently, it’s famous. And, famous enough that it has published a cookbook, which we are bringing back home to the U.S. Sure, it’s all in Italian, but we’ll figure it out - right?
We made it to Trieste without a hitch. Train travel is really the way to go - at least in Italy. When we arrived, we stepped right into the historic center of the city. For being right on the border with Slovenia and on the Adriatic Coast, Trieste has its own blended flavor. In fact, it was once a part of Venice - way back when, and was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before WWI. It has been a temporary home to James Joyce, which makes it literary. Before today, we only knew Trieste from Caffe Trieste in San Francisco, where the Beatniks sipped on espresso and apparently, Francis Ford Coppola worked on the screenplays to The Godfather. What a treat to be in this city.
Because we only had a few hours in Trieste and our luggage in tote, we only planned to get a nice lunch. Buffet da Pepi is special to Trieste, founded in the late 1800s and emblematic of the Italian-Austrian influences in the city. The emphasis was on meat. Meat, meat, meat. We got the “assorted meats,” which included tongue, sausages, boiled pork loin, and smoked pork belly (i.e. thick bacon). Sauerkraut was extra. And, we threw in a few beers, because meat.
Trieste made it on the itinerary because it was the only way to get to Slovenia by ferry. The ferry from Venice only goes to Piran once a week of Saturdays and the ferry from Trieste runs a bit more frequently (i.e. twice a week). Though the ferry ride from Trieste to Piran is only 30 minutes, there is a lot of ceremony around getting on the ferry. To prepare for the trip, we got espresso and sweet treats from Caffe degli Specchi, located right on the main square of the city.
The ferry ride was quick and easy. When we arrived in Piran, we were welcomed by a busy port and dozens of swimmers and sunbathers right on the dock. We have been craving beach time and ocean time, so we made our way to our gross hostel (thanks for nothing, booking.com) and then hit the shore. It’s clear that Piran is a local getaway. We heard no Italian - just Slovenian and German, once in a while. The water was warm (a first in our travels) - a perfect antidote to our dense, crazy sightseeing in Italy.
The cuisine in Piran is not dissimilar to Italy: pizza, pasta, seafood. We stumbled upon our dinner spot as we were looking for a nice bar with good seating and a big-ass TV. It was the Germany v. France EuroCup Semifinal game, afterall. We had a nice meal of fish soup, grilled prawns, and saucy pasta at Verdi. Then, we parked our asses at the Cutty Sark Pub Piran (👏 to whoever named this place) and rooted for Germany, who lost. 😩 Eh, we have no real allegiance. But, we’ll be rooting for Portugal during the finals. Why? Because this whole trip started there!
Two veliko pivo
Watching the Euros semi-finals.
Cutty Sark Pub Piran, Trubarjeva Ulica 33
