an italian city without the tourists

italy is such a loved & well-discovered destination worldwide. this is for good reason,
but it comes at the cost of being crowded all year round. visit almost any area
in this country and you can expect to be rubbing shoulders with lots of other
tourists taking in the sights. there’s no problem with this, but sometimes it’s
nice to escape to somewhere lesser-known. we found one such italian
city where it’s possible to drink in the lifestyle among mostly locals.
after meeting my cousin in venice, we were scheduled to be in slovenia
a few days later. this gave us the perfect excuse to make our way along
the northeastern coast of italy to the city of trieste on the way!
coming from crowded venice, a short ferry or train ride can be taken over to trieste
(pronounced tree-est-ay with a rolled italian r…so pretty). we didn’t know much
about this coastal city before arriving, but we found it to be so unique compared
to anywhere we’d been in italy. it sits right on the border of slovenia nearby
where the istrian coast begins, creating a unique blend of cultures and
access to italian, slovenian, and croatian destinations. the streets of trieste
were filled with charming old fiats, seaside views, and almost zero crowds.
there’s no main “sight” or famous landmark to see, but this allows time and attention to
be given to the little things here, offering a rare glimpse into local italian life without the
crowds. it’s enchanting because it can be discovered individually, without expectations.
we strolled the waterfront, walked the narrow winding streets, ate at some quality
restaurants, explored the city castle, and found our own version of trieste. i noticed
even more aspects of the city without so many crowds in the street to distract me. the
coastal bora wind was flowing through the streets, refreshing us just like this new city did.
we grabbed some yummy pizza right around the corner from
our hotel at civico sei, because we knew we wouldn’t be back
in italy for a bit … so we had to get as much pizza in as possible!
we had the best salads (bacon always makes a salad better ;) and delish pizza:
white pizza for me, sausage for chase:
and true to our tradition all 3 months of travel through europe: we ordered dessert!
after all of those carbs we hit the streets for a jog up to the city castle:
it’s not every day that your jog takes you over moats! ^^
the best selfie we could get on our run up to the castle ^^
^^ just contemplating life atop the castle wall
we felt even more like locals here by staying at the albero nascosto guesthouse,
AKA the cutest place ever. we had a cozy little apartment of your own right in the city
center, with the perks of a homemade hotel breakfast + vespa scooters to borrow.
the charm here outdoes itself, and lends an even more memorable stay in this
italian city that you can make all your own. if you like unassuming boutique
hotels, hardwood floors, antique furniture, charming little kitchenettes and
high wood-beamed ceilings, this place is for you. we LOVED staying here
and i definitely made believe that this was our place for a few days :)
we met the cutest local here named chiara, who suggested
all of the best things to do in trieste. we loved her!
the nights were gorgeous here with cotton candy skies ^^
..complimented by an amazing pasta dinner at chimera di bacco.
we wandered into it on a rainy night from our place, and it
was just what we wanted. comfort food pasta in the cutest
setting (everything is painted lavendar in the place! :)
^^ pappardelle, a common choice for me!
apple strudel for dessert – a taste of neighboring slovenia ^^
any city that rains for us has my heart automatically :)
trieste is definitely worth visiting if paired with some other cities.
i’d recommend coming here from venice, then continuing on to lesser-
known coastal destinations like piran, slovenia, and down the croatian coast.

xo