{"@context":{"rdf":"http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#","rdfs":"http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#","owl":"http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#","foaf":"http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/","dc":"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/","dct":"http://purl.org/dc/terms/","sioc":"http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#","blog":"http://vocab.amy.so/blog#","as":"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#","mf2":"http://microformats.org/profile/","ldp":"http://www.w3.org/ns/ldp#","solid":"http://www.w3.org/ns/solid#","view":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/view#","asext":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/as#","dbp":"http://dbpedia.org/property/","geo":"http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#","doap":"http://usefulinc.com/ns/doap#","time":"http://www.w3.org/2006/time#"},"@graph":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2011/07/day-three-dead-sea","@type":"as:Article","blog:bloggerid":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18505529.post-2950374330151285714","as:actor":{"@id":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/12227954801080178130"},"as:content":"
We awoke on a mountainside at around 7. So far nighttime has proved to be\r\nuncomfortably hot, at least within a tent. Breakfast was french toast by\r\nHeather and Kath. We packed up and set off,driving for ages to find a secluded\r\nspot by the Dead Sea. We avoided the usual areas as the were populated by\r\nlocal tourists. We changed into swimwear and scrambled down to experience the\r\n30% salt water and apparently rejuvinating mud.
\r\nThe buoying sensation of the dense water was the perfect, effortless\r\nsuspension. The water was not as painful as I'd been lead to believe it might\r\nbe and I managed to avoid getting any in my eyes or mouth. Salt deposits\r\naround the edge were pretty stunning and I would have happily stayed in the\r\nwarm water for longer than the time we had.
\r\nNext stop was a town called Karak; apparently not the least nightmareish place\r\nout there, particularly for navigating with a truck the size of ours. We had a\r\nlengthy lunch (falafel pitta for me) and went to look for supplies for the\r\nevening meal. Food was massively overpriced (we were probably lied to). We\r\nvisited an ancienr Crusader castle which turned out to be enormous and very\r\nunderrated. Entry was 1JOD which did not include the services of an\r\nunavoidable local guide.
\r\nWe were off again, destined for our final stop of the day the Al-Alanbat\r\nhotel. We were sweaty and tired and so delighted when the first thing we saw\r\nupon dismounting the coach was a shadey pool.
\r\nEveryone elso took a dip, whilst Helen, Al and I made no nonesense chilli with\r\nbeans, vegetables and soya mince. Twas tasty.
\r\nFinally I had chance to JUMP IN THE POOL. It was dark by this time and the\r\npool was freezing to start with but the swim was heavenly. Although normal\r\nwater is somewhat disappointing after the Dead Sea experience.
\r\nWe hit the sack early in our makeshift dorm in what may be a hotel outhouse.\r\nInsects and strange noises abound through the night. Always good for the night\r\nbefore a 6am start..
","as:name":"Day Three: The Dead Sea and Karak","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#datetime","@value":"2011-07-30T15:50:00.000Z"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/done"},{"@id":"blog:Done"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/crusades"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/dead+sea"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/jordan"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}],"as:updated":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#datetime","@value":"2011-07-30T15:50:41.137Z"}},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2017/05/discovering-trieste","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"I spent the first few days wandering around the center of Trieste, and easily stumbled upon all of the Piazzi (I'm going to assume this is the plural of Piazza without looking it up), piers, statues and Roman ruins that todo-in-trieste guides tell you to see. The core of Trieste is small and compact, as well as alive and beautiful, day and night. The town is set into the base - and creeping up the side - of hills which turn to mountains. From any perspective the backdrop is stunning. Green mountains dotted with orange rooftops in one direction, and the bright blue Adriatic Sea in the other.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMore photos from wanderings here and here.
\r\n\r\nYou probably know you can't confine me to a new town's core for very long though. Yesterday we took the 42 bus to Grotto Gigante, a giant cave about a 30 minute ride up and over some hills out of Trieste. Well worth the 9 EUR entrance fee (for student; 12 for 'adult'), this enormous chasm is one of the largest publicly accessible caves in Europe. Guided tours are hourly, and we learnt about the history of the cave's discovery and usage, the growth of the stalagmites and stalagtites, and the scientific research that goes on down there. Our tourgroup was occupied by an enormous pack of schoolkids, but the guide did a great job at distracting them so we (the handful of non-Italian speakers) could take undisturbed photos, and keeping them quiet whilst she recapped the information in English.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe cave really is enormous, and the rock formations are really cool. It took about an hour to tour through it. The temperature inside is a cool 11 degrees C, and damp.
\r\n\r\nThe tickets included a 10% discount at the nearest restaurant, but the staff there were surly and none of the food looked good. There was nowhere to buy a bus ticket around the Grotto Gigante, so I figured we could walk along the bus route a bit and somewhere would surely pop up in one of the villages. Bus tickets here are bought before boarding, from corner shops or (less available) ticket machines. Nowhere popped up. Kit was a good sport and agreed to walk all the way to Miramare though (GPS trace). Some of this route was along roads, but OpenStreetMaps showed plenty of off-road trails which we took when we could. It was a very pleasant walk through grassy woods in between small villages, and all downhill.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe reached Miramare after one and a half hours. Castello Miramare is a stately home standing over the sea, and set in an enormous and impressive park grounds. We stopped for lunch at the cafe in the park, which was nice. I had a perfectly adequate roasted vegetable panino, and Kit ate lasagne and claims he has definitely made better ones himself. The surroundings were lovely though.
\r\n\r\nI went to check out the castle, but it's a new one not old, and inside was art galleries and furniture. I felt I could spend the 8 EUR entrance fee on something I'd enjoy more. I did find out from the friendly staff in the ticket office that there is nowhere within 5km to buy a bus ticket though, and the best option was just to hop on the bus and plead ignorance if we were asked for a ticket.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe followed the coast around to the park exit, and then along a bit more to the bus stop. The coast between Miramare Trieste for a few km is concrete 'beach' Barcolo with steps leading directly the the ocean. It was well populated with sunbathers and swimmers. Trieste doesn't have any sand beaches, but actually that's far more practical. It doesn't seem to make any difference to the locals.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe took the number 6 bus back to town. It was packed, and our lack of ticket went unnoticed. More photos from the cave, castle and walk between them here.
\r\n\r\nKit was done with walking, but after a couple of hours back at the hotel I had itchy feet again. I took the opportunity to quest for vegan mozzerella, at a pizzaria I found on HappyCow, one hour's walk from Trieste center. Walking through Trieste though is never a waste of time, even without vegan cheese at the end of it. OpenStreetMap routed me through some wonderful winding streets, and then along a cyclepath. This cyclepath was sheltered from the city center, and turns out to be 12km long and leads to Slovenia. Awesome. (GPS trace).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nLe Agavi did not disappoint. It's far enough away I'm not sure if it's even technically in Trieste, but it was on a quiet street with indoor and outdoor seating. A vegan menu with several options; rice-based mozzerella, tofu, various sauces and veggies, I was spoilt for choice. I devoured one pizza, then ordered two more to takeaway because I'm an adult and I can do whatever I want. I took the bus back to Trieste center. Photos from the walk and eating.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis morning I had pizza for breakfast, then set out to check out Castello San Giusto. A student entrance is only 2 EUR; it has an armoury, some historical rooms, and walls with, you guessed it, specatcular views in all directions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOn the way I stopped for chocolate cherry gelato from Gelato Marco. Now I'm in Zoe Market, an all vegetarian cafe and store, which has lots of vegan options and milks. There's no wifi, but there's one power outlet, and it's a nice place to sit and catch up on blog posts..
\r\n\r\n","as:name":"Discovering Trieste","as:published":"2017-05-24T18:00:00+02:00","as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/cave"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/italy"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/trieste"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/walking"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle","@type":"as:Collection","as:totalItems":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#nonNegativeInteger","@value":"21"}},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle?before=https://rhiaro.co.uk/2017/05/discovering-trieste&limit=16","@type":"as:CollectionPage","as:items":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2017/05/discovering-trieste"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2011/07/day-three-dead-sea"}],"as:name":"castle","as:next":{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle?before=https://rhiaro.co.uk/2021/10/6159e12c4e513&limit=16"},"as:partOf":{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/castle"}}]}