Welcome to Trieste

It's been a while since I last blogged, but I've had the wonderful city of Trieste occupying my time for the last 4 days. The flight to Venice was long, but it was all completely worth it! As soon as we hit the ground in Venice, the difference in the culture just hits you. The baggage claim in Marco Polo Airport actually has a design painted on it. 

Detailed designs on the baggage claim at Marco Polo Airport

Then there was the Great Train Fiasco. Let me just say, trying to navigate the Italian train system is a lot harder than it looks, especially since everything is written in Italian. We were able to get our tickets and get to the platform with ease, getting on to the actual train was a mess. Not only were we the last ones on, but we had all of our luggage with us. The train was super crowded and we had all of our luggage in the aisles. There was a nice Italian man that helped us lift our luggage onto the overhead bins, so after that, the train ride went without a hitch!

Ocean view from the train

These first few days in Trieste have been amazing! One of the nicest things about it is that it isn't a tourist hot spot like Venice or Rome, so it is much less crowded and hectic. We are about a five minute walk to the pier from where we are staying, so the ocean is in sight most of the time. Walking around the city, the antiquity of the buildings surrounding you is what hits the hardest. To think that some of these buildings are over 500 years older than some of America's oldest buildings is kind of hard to grasp. 

Building in plaza

Yesterday we made the walk to the university, that was definitely a walk! I think it took us about 45 minutes. It's funny because the university seems so much older than UNC, but it was actually founded in 1924. It does have one thing UNC doesn't have though: a great ocean view! It sits on a hill overlooking the ocean, it doesn't get much better than that!

Outside the University of Trieste

Other than that, most of our time has been spent exploring the city and learning about the culture. I have had gelato five times in the last three days. I already know that gelato is going to be my biggest weakness. I have to say, it is so much better than American ice cream. Classes start Monday, so I'm excited to see what adventures we have next!