Train from Milan to Bern
77.23gbp (€90.16 / $97.90 / £77.23)
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italy (16 out of 38)
Trains from Milan to Bassano del Grappa
32.72gbp (€38.12 / $41.35 / £32.72)
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Train from Bern to Milan
77.23gbp (€89.98 / $97.61 / £77.23)
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I was so proud of myself for having enough foresight to bag a €20 bus ticket from Bern to Bari, and after 10 days offline I remerge to find there's a coronavirus outbreak and an impending quarantine directly in my route. I am supposed to have 4 hours and a transfer in Milan on Tuesday evening. Probably gonna play it safe and reschedule this. Is it an emergency enough yet to just fly to Albania? Nah of course not. Just a small (multi-day) detour through Croatia, no big deal.
(If the risk was getting stuck anywhere but Italy, I'd be more chill about it, but the chance of taking a bus into Milan and not being able to leave? Of all places? Nuh uh.)
Malta to Bosnia, by land and sea
Travelling from Malta to Bosnia without flying seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, overall it was a good idea. I'm just really tired right now, the morning after.
Ferry 1: Valetta (Malta) to Catania (Sicily)
I took a 9 hour night ferry from Valetta to Catania. The ferry was called Barbara. Hi Mum.
There are two ports at Valetta. Forni was all closed up, and the one I wanted was Pinto (deduced from the office address on the Tirrenia website, not through any helpful where-to-checkin instructions). Pinta is at the very far end of the Valetta Waterfront, after all the shops and restaurants. The point that is labelled on the big wall maps as Pinta was dark when I reached it, and panic started to rise. I checked my GPS and backed up a bit in case I'd missed it. I hadn't. I charged forward again to look for signs or secret doors I might have missed. Aha! Tirrenia was at the far end of this particular structure, opposite to where it is labelled. A small printed sign directed passengers around a corner, through a waiting room and up some stairs. I entered a small office, where a smiling old man said 'Hello! We've been waiting for you!'. I'm not kidding. I was a good hour early at this point. He directed me to take a seat, and took my ticket and passport, and scribbled some things and typed some things, then printed a sticker with a barcode on it which went on the back of my ticket. Then another gentleman said 'come, I will escort you to the ship.' I felt quite important. We picked up another guy from the waiting room, and we were shown across the carpark to the ferry.
Turns out we were the only two passengers. The other was a pleasant Ukrainian man named Vlad. We had our pick of sofas in a very small room next to the cafeteria, where a few ferry staff were eating and the TV was blaring.
I went up on deck until we had cleared Valetta port. The stone walls and forts around the town were lit up and made an impressive sight. The sky was mostly clear, the moon almost full, and the stars on display. The further we got from land, the windier it got until I almost couldn't breathe. I leaned my head over the side, and felt like a dog sticking its head out of a car window, cheeks flapping. I felt as though if I relaxed enough, the wind could just take me. When I was thoroughly chilled through three layers of clothing, I returned to the sofa. All things considered, a whole sofa to myself was pretty luxurious. The boat rocked substantially for a while, but I think I slept well.
Catania
We arrived in Catania, Sicily, at 7am, about 30 minutes late. Mount Etna was looming, the sky was blue and pink, and the sun was already warm. Vlad seemed to know where he was going, so I followed him into town. I left him in MacDonalds, and continued down Via Etnea, taking in statues, piazzi, churches, columns, and dodging crazy drivers. I strolled through some gorgeous gardens, quiet in the early morning. I eventually found my way into Parco Gioeni, which over looks Via Etnea and the port and beach in the very distance.
I found some eduroam wifi, and discovered that I was already too late for the public bus to Mount Etna, as well as any more expensive guided tours; they all seemed to want to leave at 0830, and I finally got around to trying to plan my day at 0835.
Interlude: Open Street Maps app refused to open. I sat at a bus stop where there was eduroam for about half an hour trying to fix it, or find an alternative map of Catania. Eventually three reinstalls, plus booting it through happycow rather than directly brought it back to life. Panic over.
I charged on to the only vegan restaurant in the vicinity, Haiku. It appeared to be closed, though I arrived 20 minutes after the listed opening time. I sat down on the step and pulled out my phone to see if I could find some wifi, or decide where to go next. Then a lady arrived and rang the bell and was let in, so I followed. They were open after all, but no lunch until 12.
I settled in the back with power, espresso and a vegan tiramisu to start the day. The wifi didn't reach to the back, but I drafted plenty of blog posts and rested my feet, which were already starting to complain.
When lunchtime arrived, one of the waitresses described every dish on the menu to me in English, and was very proud of herself for doing so. They were all really friendly in there, and all the food sounded great. I had a carrot and pumpkin miso soup, with a pasty stuffed with vegetables and seitan. It was all wholesome and delicious. Two items from the lunch menu was 10EUR.
They have a really great looking pizza menu for dinner time, too.
It started to get really busy, so I packed up and left not longer after I'd finished eating.
To the beach!
There's a great expanse of sand called La Playa. It's protected from non-wheeled invaders by an enormous and hideous motorway however. I pressed on, hoping to hit upon a pleasant seaside or something soon. Instead, a lady pulled over her car and offered me a ride to the nearest accessible bit of the beach, fearing for my safety.
I paddled, and soaked my aching feet in sand and sea.
Soon it was time to head back in search of food again. I had three veggie restaurants shortlisted. They were all closed. I trekked the loop a few times to see if they'd open as 5pm approached. But this is far too early for Italians to eat; I came across some wifi and found they all opened at 7.30pm or later. Instead, I made my way to an Indian restaurant near the Vincenzo Bellini monument I'd spotted earlier. The signs and the outside looked kind of sketchy, but inside was quiet and clean.
I ordered way too much food. It was suspiciously cheap. Two pakora (1.50EUR), a samosa (1), aloo paratha (1.50), mung dahl (3), mixed vegetable curry (3.50), and cardamom tea (1). I took most of the dahl and paratha to go. I had a second cardamom tea; it was thick and dark and so so good. As I was coming to terms with moving my legs again, a friendly guy from Milton Keynes came in, picked up on my accent, and made conversation about travel while he was waiting for his to-go order. Then he insisted on paying for my food. I will pay it forward.
Stomach full and legs still jelly, I headed back port-wards, with two hours to go and expecting to have to quest hard to find the ferry. Because...
Ferry 2: Catania to Napoli
Italian ports. Are. A. Nightmare.
From prior experience I already knew they are a nightmare though, so I was mentally prepared. But it's still a nightmare even when you are expecting one. Catania makes Ancona look like a well-signposted walk in the park. I couldn't find a hint anywhere on the TTTLines or Carrenta websites about where to check in for the ferry. There is a small box by the port on Open Street Maps labelled 'TTTLines' so I headed there. This is absolutely not accessible to anything that isn't a car. I looped around, went back and forth, under train tracks, over train tracks, across duel carriageways and back, under and over some chain fences, through carparks, over a wall. Eventually I broke through and got myself on a road that led to the box on the map. The footpath quickly dwindled, and I pretended to be a car as I approached an automatic barrier. Fortunately a fellow human was supervising it; we failed to communicate for a few sentences until I waved my hands and said 'Napoli!' and he pointed me through: 'TTLines! Bus!'. In the distance I could see the box on the map, materialised as a real building labelled 'TTTLines'. I went inside. Mumble mumble.. 'Napoli?'. A lady told me this is the wrong office, and pointed at her blinded window: 'bus'.. When? I wondered. But then a white minibus pulled up. 'Bus! Bus!' said the lady. I ran outside. 'Napoli?!' got an affirming sound from the driver and he loaded me in. First we stopped at another TTTLines office, where I presented my ticket and passport, and got another piece of paper in return. Then a few more minutes, across the length of the sizeable port, and I was dropped at the ferry itself. Inside was an escalator and a reception! High tech.
The place was already buzzing, with a lot of very young children and old people. Also quite a few dogs. All of the sofas were occupied, though mostly by coats and luggage. I took over a table, two chairs and a powersocket as the next best thing. There was even wifi on this ferry, although I wasn't able to get any of my devices to connect to it. When it was time to sleep I relocated to slightly comfier looking chairs. I'd had my eye on a sofa occupied by a young couple with a small child who seemed likely to be heading to a cabin eventually.. but so did someone else, and he was sitting closer, so when they got up to leave he got there first.
Napoli
12 hours later, I arrived in Napoli.
In hindsight I should have made the effort to get out to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvious, but in the moment I thought this might turn out to be expensive, and stressful to get back in time. Probably would have been better than what I did do though.
Which was to wander around searching for vegan food. Everything on happycow was closed despite the listed hours. I ate leftover food from the night before in a park. The scenery was all nice, but every human I encountered was loud and abrupt. All restaurant staff looked like they were standing outside to scare people off rather than offer them a seat. They were often smoking and/or yelling at someone. I wandered in the sun for hours. I found myself in a horribly crammed touristy street. I got catcalled or approached by gross old men several times. Eventually made my way in the direction of the bus station, and collapsed at a table for a pizza marinara and an espresso, before the bus at 1530.
Bus 1: Napoli to Roma
This didn't really need its own section. It's three hours from Naples to Rome, and was uneventful and, in fact, quite on time.
Naples bus station is all outside except for a ticket office, which is presumably closed during hours one might want to sleep. It's near a large train station and shopping mall complex though. There are no signs to indicate which bay your bus will turn up to, so I positioned myself to see all buses that entered so I could then chase them down. There were enough passing Flixbuses for intermittent wifi.
Italian buses are strict about luggage and seatbelts. I usually cram my big backpack at my feet; because I have tiny legs it doesn't even get in anyone else's way. But they wouldn't let me on with it this time, I had to put it in the storage compartment.
Bus 2: Rome to Zagreb
I had two hours to wait at Rome Tiburtina bus station. I bought vegan supplies and downed an orange juice in the cafe there, and sat around for a while. This is another one where you have to keep an eye on entering buses to spot yours and follow it to the bay. There's an electronic screen, but it says nothing helpful (except the time). This time I repacked my laptop and food into my small backpack before storing the bigger one in the luggage compartment.
The drivers and many passengers were ~Croatian. I was already feeling more comfortable.
The drive was 12 hours and came in a little early I think. I had a double seat to myself, and slept almost the whole time. The first border crossing was at 5am, into Croatia; there was no stop at the Slovenian border.
Bus 3: Zagreb to Sarajevo
I had four hours to pass in Zagreb. According to the hours listed on HappyCow, the only place with vegan food open on a Sunday was Bio&Bio, a supermarket. I wandered through the center of Zagreb, enjoying a beautiful sunny morning. Market stalls were opening, and there were lots of people around. I'd been here before; it was familiar, but not intimately so.
At Bio&Bio I contemplated the hot drinks and smoothies menu, then wandered around the shelves to grab a few things for the journey. Some staff and photographers were doing a product photo shoot. I helped out by holding things for five minutes, and got a free matcha latte. Score.
Zagreb bus station is pretty huge (not like, Munich huge, but huge for a Balkan country). It has indoor bits and outdoor bits. Despite its size (too big and awkwardly shaped to keep an eye on all entering buses) there is nowhere to read which bay to expect your bus to turn up in. I eventually asked a human at the information desk. Fortunately it wasn't too busy.
There are loads of places to eat and drink coffee, or just slouch around. The toilets are 3kn (less than 0.50eur), and there's a note-to-change machine right by the entrance. There are plenty of money changers (and ATMs) inside the bus station, so I changed 20EUR to kn when I arrived. Open wifi networks are abundant, and all of the coffeeshops offer passworded ones too.
My bus ticket from getbybus.com said it would be serviced by Globtour or Centrotrans. I was a little nervous about this uncertainty. A bus labelled 'Croatia Bus' showed up and accepted my ticket, anyway. Since I was repacked into two bags, I put my big one in the luggage compartment, forgetting that we're now out of Italy and Flixbus jurisdiction, and not only would I have had no problem taking it to my seat, it also cost 8kn to stow it. Oh well.
This leg was 'only' 8 hours, but felt like the longest stretch of all. I thought I might get my laptop out since it was day time, but I immediately fell asleep, and slept on and off for the whole journey. It was a different route to the one I know between Sarajevo and Munich. Lots of mountains. We passed through Jajce just before it got dark, which has a fort on a hill and a giant waterfall. At the Croatian side of the Croatia-Bosnian border I was double-quizzed about whether I had drugs. I've been asked before a couple of times what I'm doing in Bosnia, and if I like Sarajevo.. but mostly nobody says anything at all. So this was new.
The absolute surge of joy I felt upon entering Sarajevo... I wanted to hug the Avaz Tower. I almost promised the city I will never leave again.. but stopped myself just in time. I'm probably outta here for good in two weeks or so. In any case, right now this is home.
tl;dr
In a spectacular feat of learning absolutely nothing from my recent three-consecutive-nights-on-buses excursion, I have now booked an upcoming trip involving two night ferries and a night bus (and two day buses).
I was tryna do it in three ferries and one bus, but the Bari-Dubrovnik line is apparently ~seasonal~ and not running in January how selfish.
tl
For anyone interested in further details of my folly, my goal was to get from Malta to Sarajevo in the first week of January without flying. During high season it is possible to go in basically a straight line. After I found out (thanks to an unexpectedly fast and helpful email response from Jadrolinja) about the Bari-Dubrovnik line not running however I had to work out a more indirect route.
The ferry from Malta to Catania (Sicily) is a given. It's 9 hours overnight, and a steep 60EUR. But no way around it. (Tirrenia ferries.)
The next most obvious option was to bus from Catania to Ancona, and take the Jadrolinja ferry from there to Split (Croatia). Split to Sarajevo is easy. To my surprise, there's a direct bus from Catania to Ancona; 15 hours and 80EUR. But I've done the Ancona to Split ferry twice before. There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm seeking new experiences. It's about 50EUR, and 12 hours. OH and one other thing. It only runs on Tuesdays and Fridays. The earliest I can leave Malta on a Thursday night and there is just no way I can make it to Ancona by Friday evening, so started planning to spend 4 days in Catania, because it would be cool to climb Mt Etna and more interesting than waiting around in Ancona for the next available ferry. I found accommodation for about 40EUR for the whole time. In total, this would get me back to Sarajevo on the 10th of January, and cost about 190EUR in transport and accommodation.
If I take entirely buses though, I can shave off three days and 60EUR, but I also sacrifice an extra vacation in Sicily. I could do this with a bus from Catania to Venice (80EUR, 14 hours), Venice to Ljubljana (3.5h, 15EUR but only an hour to transfer), an afternoon in Ljubljana (+10 points) and a nightbus to Sarajevo (11h, 33EUR). Down to less than 130EUR. Time in Ljubljana would be cool, but it'll still be cold and I'll only have like 4 hours of daylight, and the bus to Sarajevo is not until after 1am. And I want more ferries.
What else have we got? *rhiaro peers furiously at maps of Italy*
A ferry from Catania to Napoli you say?! Don't mind if I do. It's 45EUR and 12 hours overnight. (TTTLines via Caronte Touriste.) That gives me a full day in Catania (enough for a half day jaunt to a volcano perhaps..) and no accommodation costs. Compared to costs of other transport options in Italy this felt like a real bargain.
Napoli to Ljubljana was kind of awkward, timing-wise, for the connection to Sarajevo. But Napoli to Zagreb with Flixbus was a euro cheaper anyway for some reason even though it's the same line, and there are more connections to Sarajevo from Zagreb. There's a change in Rome; I shaved off 2EUR (and added an hour to transfer time) by booking Napoli-Rome and Rome-Zagreb separately. I already know that Rome Tiburtina bus station has a small cafe with vegan cake options, so if the bus does arrive on time it's a fine place to wait a couple of hours. I'll be there early evening, a hospitible hour.
From Zagreb I have a three hour wait before the trusty Centrotrans 12.30 connection to Sarajevo (25EUR). This whole option is 121EUR, adds 8 hours on compared to the all-bus route, but I get to keep a ferry, have more time in Catania, and can still make it to work on Monday.
I have spent several days over the past month intermittently researching the options and waiting for various January ferry schedules to emerge. Totally worth it.
Some weeks in Europe
After 7 months in the southern hemisphere, I returned to Europe by way of a cheap Aero Flot flight from Tokyo to Venice that I booked ages in advance. I've enjoyed manageable temperatures and weather conditions, but missed Malaysian hospitality and food variety. I have a new appreciation for medieval stone architecture and winding cobbled streets, and forests without monkeys in them, but my bank account is hurting thanks to comparatively overpriced and substandard accommodation.
I spent approximately a week in Trieste, a week in Portoroz/Piran, and a week in Rome. In Trieste I relaxed, explored, reflected, deflated. In Portoroz I attended the Extended Semantic Web Conference, co-chaired a half day workshop, scribed a panel and Sarven and I won a best paper award for Linked Data Notifications, and otherwise socialised extensively. In Rome I walked a freaking lot, attended the International Conference on Web Engineering, socialised a little bit, and didn't really manage to get any work done.
This morning I took a bus across the width of Italy, from Rome to Ancona. Last time I was in Ancona I noted that this place is probably beautiful in good weather, and I was right. Two years ago I arrived here on delayed trains, worried I was late for my ferry, in torrential rain, with no idea how thoroughly nonsensical the ferry boarding process is. This time I arrived with several hours to spare, and wandered around a little in the glorious sunshine. Now I knew where to go for ferry checkin and boarding, the process was quick and easy. I had a leisurely lunch at Zazie, a small vegetarian cafe in the town center, and bought supplies from a supermarket. The ferry has not departed yet, 20 minutes after its scheduled time. But not to worry, I've got all night. Just like last time, I'll arrive in Split, Croatia, at 7am tomorrow morning.
In Split I'll take the day to myself, spend a night in a hostel, and then on Sunday I'll take a bus to Sarajevo, where new adventures await.
Ferry from Ancona to Split 🛥
Leaving Ancona, Italy at 7:45pm (+02:00) on Friday the 9th of June 2017 and arriving in Split, Croatia at 7:00am (+02:00) on Saturday the 10th of June 2017
Bus from Rome to Ancona 🚌
Leaving Rome, Italy at 9:20am (+02:00) on Friday the 9th of June 2017 and arriving in Ancona, Italy at 1:45pm (+02:00) on Friday the 9th of June 2017
at a cost of 11.90eur
Train from Venice Mestre to Rome 🚅
Leaving Venice, Italy at 4:32pm (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017 and arriving in Rome, Italy at 8:35pm (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017
at a cost of 78.00eur
Train from Trieste to Venice Mestre 🚅
Leaving Trieste, Italy at 2:15pm (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017 and arriving in Venice, Italy at 4:08pm (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017
Bus from Piran to Trieste 🚌
Leaving Piran, Slovenia at 9:00am (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017 and arriving in Trieste, Italy at 10:52am (+02:00) on Friday the 2nd of June 2017
Treiste some more
After drafting my last post from Zoe Market cafe, I was struck with the urge to see what the Trieste coastline had to offer further south. I walked to the port area, and discovered it's not really a place for wandering.. big highways and industrial buildings. Nonetheless, even the warehouses and apartment blocks were fairly aesthetically pleasing, and at one point a long park runs parallel to the coast, almost like an apology. GPS trace of the walk here.
I did make it to Pedocin beach eventually though. It took a while to find.. I walked around the pier, which felt quite dead, and found the lighthouse. But industrial buildings in every direction seemed to be preventing me from accessing the coast.. though as I walked past one large wall, I could hear children, so I persisted. Eventually I found the entrance, through an unassuming concrete cabin. I think the entry fee is 1 Euro, but there was no-one there to take it. The cabin has two exits, on the left for women and the right for men. A wall divides the beach in two. The beach is pebbles, with immediate access to the sea; small and peaceful, with one vendor selling drinks and snacks. I napped until I was woken by the tide lapping at my feet.
Super pretty white and purple barrel jellyfish fill the bay around here, and Pedocin was no exception. It was only 20 minutes to follow the coast around back into town. More photos here.
In the evening I ate cake from Giardina Tergesteo and pizza (oops) from DNapoli. I had to add the remaining half of a Marinara to the pizza I had already accumulated from Le Agavi the day before.
The next day we picked up gelato and took that and the pizza backlog to Molo Audace, a long concrete pier off Piazza Unita, for a picnic. Later in the evening I walked by myself to ErbOsteria, a charming vegetarian restaurant which uses aromatic herbs for all dishes. I was the only one there for most of the evening, and was treated to a three-course vegan meal with homemade iced tea. It was a wonderful change from the white-flour-and-tomato based meals I've been eating most of the week; high quality ingrediants, freshly crafted, and I was ready to pay gourmet prices. There was no written menu as it changes daily, so I had no idea what to expect to pay.. and three courses plus tea plus an extra dessert to take back for Kit came to 13.50EUR! Unbelievable. My phone was dead so I only managed to take crappy pictures of the food with my laptop webcam. I'll spare you. The starter was fresh courgette, thinly sliced and raw, dressed with lemon and mint. The main was gnocchi (boiled potato dumplings) with asparagus sauce (I heard the blender go, so I think the asparagus was freshly sauce-d for me) sprinkled with almonds. Followed by cake with balsamic herbs. I took a slice of stunning strawberry tart back for Kit, as I don't like strawberries but it looked far too good to go to not be appreciated by someone. He'd eaten it before I remembered to take a photo.
As of this morning, I relocated from Trieste center to a hostel up the coast, near to Miramare. It is directly on the seafront.. this is the view from the balcony, where I'm typing right now. Soon I will be bored of typing, and will go down to enjoy the last few hours of sun from that concrete beach I told you about in my last post, and hopefully find some granita.
I've been in Italy less than a week and I already have a pizza backlog.
Discovering Trieste
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.
More photos from wanderings here and here.
You 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.
The 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.
The 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.
We 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.
I 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.
We 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.
We 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.
Kit 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).
Le 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.
This 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.
On 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..
Train from Venice Mestre to Trieste 🚅
Leaving Venice, Italy at 2:53pm (+02:00) on Thursday the 18th of May 2017 and arriving in Trieste, Italy at 4:45pm (+02:00) on Thursday the 18th of May 2017