mac and johanna's bike tripjoh: Sept. 23, 2016 Grado to Monfalcone by bike, Trieste by train

Sept. 23, 2016

Grado to Monfalcone by bike and Trieste by Train

Our route out of Grado allowed us to circumnavigate the entire peninsula traveling along the nature preserve for many kms. We finally stopped to rest and enjoy the sea at the beautiful Marina Julia where we were greeted by sun bronzed bodies of every aspect. We had some beer and food and then moved on to make our way to the train stazione in Monfalcone, asking directions of every innocent passerby we met.

We got our tickets and immediately broke the law by walking our bikes across the tracks. After we reached the other side, we saw several signs prohibiting this very action. We were wondering why everyone was giving us such strange looks.

The train was wonderful and we caught sight of the Castle Duono and the castle Miramare built by Maximillian for his wife, the Belgian Princess, Charlotte. Maximilian became the king of Mexico and got himself assassinated. His beautiful wife had a mental breakdown trying to gain support for him from European royalty.

Trieste is another major port on the Adriatic Sea. We easily found our way to the Plaza Unita d’Italia. The plaza is a masterpiece of architecture and splendor, unfortunately marred at the time by a book fair with its collection of unsightly tents. “Scheisse” said Johanna, “not again”, “why can’t these people leave beautiful plazas alone?” We found our way to a beautiful B&B, classic Venetian style, 6th floor of an old building. Paj and Chantal carefully introduced the shared bathroom fact to Miss J, already a little miffed about the stairs. But our Fraulein is a good sport and a couple of vino biancos later all was well in paradise.

As per our usual routine, we showered and dressed in our finest ware and hit the streets in search of gourmet food and drink. It was not hard and we dined on pasta with scampi, spaghetti with seafood and gnocchi with scallops and arugula pesto. As if that wasn’t enough, we ordered a plati secundo of pesce fritte, delicious grilled sardines and calamari.

We rode 39 kms from Grado to Monfalcone. It was another 30km to Trieste by train.