Training Log Archive: Charlie

Long bus ride to Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites. The orienteers will arrive in two weeks, but I will be long gone by then.

We stayed the last two nights at the very comfortable Hotel Coppe. Trieste is an interesting place. Large flat city center near the water, la città Teresiana, built at the direction of the Austrian Empress Theresa on an area that had been salt production pans. Surrounded by some pretty substantial hills. The salt was stabilized by hammering in trees to create a foundation and there are now very large buildings. La Piazza d’Unita is one of the largest piazzas in Italy, and perhaps the only one without a single church.

C • buon viaggio, signore! 2

Group excursion to the Castle of Miramare, built by Maximilian of the Hapsburg family in the late 1850s on a hitherto barren rocky promontory. Spectacular place with amazing gardens, all imported. Maximilian lived there in great splendor, but only for a short time before being dispatched to be emperor of Mexico. He loved it there, but the Mexicans were less enthusiastic and shot and killed him in 1867, when he was only 34. There is a pretty fine labyrinth on the hill above the castle, all made of rock, with tunnels, winding and interesting paths, water features. Just no apparent corn.

Afterwards we repaired to an outdoor balcony restaurant overlooking the sea, a very nice lunch of grilled orata and salad. Then a walk along what passes for a beach, a paved section at the top of a sea wall with large rocks below, staircases here and there to allow bathers access to the water. My friend Lorrie made sure that I didn’t miss any of the topless damsels taking the sun.

A little investigation around Trieste with an inadequate map from the hotel. A pretty good hill up to the Cathedral of San Giusto and the castle nearby, which seems to have a museum of antique arms, but I hadn’t brought the museum pass and didn’t much want to go back for it, and in a little while none of the street signs were matching the map, so I quit going uphill and started down, getting back a lot sooner than I expected.

Trieste is nice, first time I’ve been here. Lots of history, different background from anyplace else in Italy. For many years it was Austrian, became a part of Italy after WW I, occupied by Nazi Germany in ‘43, then taken over by Yugoslavia for a time. It became a free city in the late 40s, under the joint protection of the US and the UK, until going back to Italy in ‘54. I learned about this because of a banner in the Piazza di Unità that says something like “Trieste Free City - come back USA and UK”. Apparently there is the most long shot of political parties who want a return to that era. Of course, a banner promoting secession seems oddly placed in the Piazza of Unity, but hey.

Out with my friends Lorrie and Giavonna for a stroll, dinner and gelato. Good company, but unfortunately not very good food. I had pasta with pesto that tasted more of salt than basil. Usually one eats well here, but there are exceptions.

Running on my 2011 Venice street race map