Northern Italy
Trieste
Marina San Giusto 20.4nm, 3hrs 35min, motored the entire way
Sunday May 12 - Thursday May 16
Sunday May 12 - Thursday May 16
We knew it was going to be a cold, wet trip to Trieste and that the northerly wind would be building throughout the day, so we were at the Harbour Master office when it opened at 0700hrs. It felt like we were in a comedy as the Harbour Master then sent us to the police, who were in the next office and had been chatting to the Harbour Master while she processed our paperwork, but acted like he didn't know we were there. He fiddled with something behind him (something with no moving parts) until we coughed politely.
Despite the comedy duo, by 0725hrs we were outta there and travelling north into light headwinds that steadily grew stronger. I had commented the night before when it started raining that it was a good thing because it couldn't rain all night AND all the following day, but how wrong I was. It was cold and wet the whole way!
Arriving in Trieste around 1100hrs we struggled to see where to check in. We decided to pull up to the pier of what we took to be the immigration building and did donuts in the small harbour until we figured out how. When Colin got the boat close enough I jumped onto the pier (talk about a leap of faith!) and looped the bow line through a small metal hook in the concrete. Colin then jumped off with the stern line, all with the wind swirling from various directions. The fenders held place luckily and the boat came out unscathed, and us with all limbs intact.
The immigration building looked abandoned but we found a door with a buzzer and after a long pause were let in and directed to the first floor. It took only minutes to get sorted out with a new crew list and passports stamped, with no fees required!
Not out of the woods yet we still had to find somewhere to stay as our phone calls to Marina San Giusto had been fruitless. However, they were right next door and very helpful and accommodating when we showed up. We were shown where to berth and given no end of help by Riccardo to moor up with enough lines to stop us moving too far in the forecast winds.
We spotted a boxing kangaroo flag as we entered the marina, and stopped to say g'day to Mark and Lyn on Gumtrees, a 44' catamaran. We also met Apollo, their gorgeous big, fluffy, super-affectionate cat who came up immediately for some loving and nurmelling (you won't find that word in the dictionary but you get the gist). They'd done loads of sailing up and down the coast and to Venice so we got lots of good information.
The weather on Tuesday was, as an Austrian friend described it, ugly. There were fierce winds from around midnight that blew 30kns all day, with gusts up to 48kns. I was to wonder more than once how our boat could be on such an angle whilst tied up against a jetty! We heard it was worse down the coast in Croatia though, with 45kns constantly and gusts of up to 75kns. I can’t imagine being on a boat in those winds, and was thankful we came up here when we did. We managed to battle the winds to do a bit of shopping and a load of washing, and at midday had lunch with Lyn and Mark aboard Gumtrees. Apollo joined us and was very proud to show his kitty cat passport he obtained in Greece.
Though Wednesday was still cold and windy it was reasonable weather for exploring the town and we hiked up to the San Guisto Castle and surrounds. I love that dogs are allowed everywhere - restaurants, bars, markets - and today we walked into a butcher shop to see a white labrador sat fair and square in front of the meat display while his owner made her purchase. Salivating no doubt.
Click images to enlarge
Despite the comedy duo, by 0725hrs we were outta there and travelling north into light headwinds that steadily grew stronger. I had commented the night before when it started raining that it was a good thing because it couldn't rain all night AND all the following day, but how wrong I was. It was cold and wet the whole way!
Arriving in Trieste around 1100hrs we struggled to see where to check in. We decided to pull up to the pier of what we took to be the immigration building and did donuts in the small harbour until we figured out how. When Colin got the boat close enough I jumped onto the pier (talk about a leap of faith!) and looped the bow line through a small metal hook in the concrete. Colin then jumped off with the stern line, all with the wind swirling from various directions. The fenders held place luckily and the boat came out unscathed, and us with all limbs intact.
The immigration building looked abandoned but we found a door with a buzzer and after a long pause were let in and directed to the first floor. It took only minutes to get sorted out with a new crew list and passports stamped, with no fees required!
Not out of the woods yet we still had to find somewhere to stay as our phone calls to Marina San Giusto had been fruitless. However, they were right next door and very helpful and accommodating when we showed up. We were shown where to berth and given no end of help by Riccardo to moor up with enough lines to stop us moving too far in the forecast winds.
We spotted a boxing kangaroo flag as we entered the marina, and stopped to say g'day to Mark and Lyn on Gumtrees, a 44' catamaran. We also met Apollo, their gorgeous big, fluffy, super-affectionate cat who came up immediately for some loving and nurmelling (you won't find that word in the dictionary but you get the gist). They'd done loads of sailing up and down the coast and to Venice so we got lots of good information.
The weather on Tuesday was, as an Austrian friend described it, ugly. There were fierce winds from around midnight that blew 30kns all day, with gusts up to 48kns. I was to wonder more than once how our boat could be on such an angle whilst tied up against a jetty! We heard it was worse down the coast in Croatia though, with 45kns constantly and gusts of up to 75kns. I can’t imagine being on a boat in those winds, and was thankful we came up here when we did. We managed to battle the winds to do a bit of shopping and a load of washing, and at midday had lunch with Lyn and Mark aboard Gumtrees. Apollo joined us and was very proud to show his kitty cat passport he obtained in Greece.
Though Wednesday was still cold and windy it was reasonable weather for exploring the town and we hiked up to the San Guisto Castle and surrounds. I love that dogs are allowed everywhere - restaurants, bars, markets - and today we walked into a butcher shop to see a white labrador sat fair and square in front of the meat display while his owner made her purchase. Salivating no doubt.
Click images to enlarge
Lignano
Marina Punta Faro 32nm, 4hrs 45min
Thursday May 16 - Friday May 17 - Saturday
Thursday May 16 - Friday May 17 - Saturday
Finally the Bora let up and we could leave Trieste. Lignano was very touristy and has developed in just a few decades, where it used to be only dunes and pine trees. Now every square inch of its 8kms of beachfront is covered with hotels, villas, campsites, amusement parks and, of course, beach umbrellas! Not really our kinda place but nice enough facilities for an overnight stay on our way to Venice. I got to wash my skanky hair so that was a bonus!
Click images to enlarge
Click images to enlarge
Venice
Vento di Venezia Marina 43nm, 7hrs 30min, gentle motor sail
Friday May 17 - Wednesday May 22
Friday May 17 - Wednesday May 22
Venice - truly amazing! It feels like it's not real, perhaps because we've seen it so often in movies and photos. Even just riding the vaporetto (public ferry transport) out of town we sat in awe of this ancient city with water lapping at its doorstep. We felt very privileged to be immersed in its history and arts.
Friday Venice sits in the middle of a lagoon and is surrounded by numerous other small islands. We arrived at the Vento di Venezia Marina on La Certosa Island (north-east of Venice) around 1600hrs, and Mark and Lyn arrived around 1800 hrs on Gumtrees, having left Trieste that morning.
Saturday Mark and Lyn were great in helping us with the logistics of getting to and around Venice, and the four of us spent the morning wandering the streets between St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge, picking up a few things at the fresh markets before heading back to the marina. We got rained on. A lot. The slippery wooden boardwalk had its first causality as we heard a thump and an expletive and turned to find Mark in a position not of his own choosing. Luckily he was only bruised, not broken.
Later in the afternoon Colin and I were heading back into Venice, and as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time my €60 seven day ferry pass fluttered gently into the lagoon and promptly sank. Ouch.
The ferry system was not as easy as it seemed so we ended up at Piazzale Roma when we thought we were headed for the Dorsoduro district. A happy accident as we found the best pastries in Venice whilst meandering back to St Mark's Square. In a not so happy accident we ended up on the wrong platform for the ferry home so had to go a rather circuitous route via Lido Island.
Sunday afternoon we toured the magnificent Doge's Palace then found the second best pastry in Venice. In Italy we've seen a lot of locals standing at bars to eat and drink, especially coffee, so we did the same. Catching a ferry along the Grand Canal we were lucky enough to have fine weather and a seat up the back from which to take photos. Again we were late home after missing the last day ferry and having to wait for the night ferry on Lido.
Monday we said farewell to Gumtrees as they headed south. How delightful it was to spend time with Lyn and Mark and it's always so interesting to see how others live on a boat. Lyn confesses to being the queen of gadgets, but I had to laugh when I heard they had an 'air fryer'. Mark gave me permission to reveal this on the website, though I didn't ask if I could reveal the bread maker, microwave, juicer, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, wide screen TV, and they're just the appliances I know about! Lyn later contacted me to say I'd forgotten the icecream maker, toaster, icecube maker and kettle. I love it! Live how you want to live. Lyn also sent me this photo of Apollo helping with the log book, titled "Catalogue"!
Again we went into Venice in the afternoon and got off in Biennale, catching some of the art festival works in the park. In St Mark's Square we did a 3-in-1 tour of the Correr, Archeological and Bibliotec museums then got ice cream, an excuse to shelter from the rain. We stocked up at a Coop supermarket on the delicious non-alcoholic aperitivos we discovered then got the ferry home early enough to cook dinner for a change! Being unimpressed with the couple of meals we'd eaten out we'd been filling up on pastries and pizza instead of dining out.
Tuesday was for viewing St Mark's and Frari Basilicas. We got a (relatively) early start and followed the visits with some casual street walking and window shopping. Of course you can't leave Venice without buying Murano glass and we found the perfect piece, a colourful rooster. We had our favourite pastry at the same cafe on the way to check out with the Customs Police, then boarded the wrong ferry and got to see the island of Murano despite planning not to. Fortunately we managed to find our way home from there and crashed with exhaustion from tourist sensory overload!
St Mark's Basilica was absolutely mind blowing and I couldn't take my eyes off its glittering magnificence. Photos can't capture its splendour and I have no photos of the inside as photography and filming were prohibited. Interestingly, at any given time I could see at least 10 people taking photos and one guy filming!
Photos by Colin and Nic. Click images to enlarge
Friday Venice sits in the middle of a lagoon and is surrounded by numerous other small islands. We arrived at the Vento di Venezia Marina on La Certosa Island (north-east of Venice) around 1600hrs, and Mark and Lyn arrived around 1800 hrs on Gumtrees, having left Trieste that morning.
Saturday Mark and Lyn were great in helping us with the logistics of getting to and around Venice, and the four of us spent the morning wandering the streets between St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge, picking up a few things at the fresh markets before heading back to the marina. We got rained on. A lot. The slippery wooden boardwalk had its first causality as we heard a thump and an expletive and turned to find Mark in a position not of his own choosing. Luckily he was only bruised, not broken.
Later in the afternoon Colin and I were heading back into Venice, and as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time my €60 seven day ferry pass fluttered gently into the lagoon and promptly sank. Ouch.
The ferry system was not as easy as it seemed so we ended up at Piazzale Roma when we thought we were headed for the Dorsoduro district. A happy accident as we found the best pastries in Venice whilst meandering back to St Mark's Square. In a not so happy accident we ended up on the wrong platform for the ferry home so had to go a rather circuitous route via Lido Island.
Sunday afternoon we toured the magnificent Doge's Palace then found the second best pastry in Venice. In Italy we've seen a lot of locals standing at bars to eat and drink, especially coffee, so we did the same. Catching a ferry along the Grand Canal we were lucky enough to have fine weather and a seat up the back from which to take photos. Again we were late home after missing the last day ferry and having to wait for the night ferry on Lido.
Monday we said farewell to Gumtrees as they headed south. How delightful it was to spend time with Lyn and Mark and it's always so interesting to see how others live on a boat. Lyn confesses to being the queen of gadgets, but I had to laugh when I heard they had an 'air fryer'. Mark gave me permission to reveal this on the website, though I didn't ask if I could reveal the bread maker, microwave, juicer, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, wide screen TV, and they're just the appliances I know about! Lyn later contacted me to say I'd forgotten the icecream maker, toaster, icecube maker and kettle. I love it! Live how you want to live. Lyn also sent me this photo of Apollo helping with the log book, titled "Catalogue"!
Again we went into Venice in the afternoon and got off in Biennale, catching some of the art festival works in the park. In St Mark's Square we did a 3-in-1 tour of the Correr, Archeological and Bibliotec museums then got ice cream, an excuse to shelter from the rain. We stocked up at a Coop supermarket on the delicious non-alcoholic aperitivos we discovered then got the ferry home early enough to cook dinner for a change! Being unimpressed with the couple of meals we'd eaten out we'd been filling up on pastries and pizza instead of dining out.
Tuesday was for viewing St Mark's and Frari Basilicas. We got a (relatively) early start and followed the visits with some casual street walking and window shopping. Of course you can't leave Venice without buying Murano glass and we found the perfect piece, a colourful rooster. We had our favourite pastry at the same cafe on the way to check out with the Customs Police, then boarded the wrong ferry and got to see the island of Murano despite planning not to. Fortunately we managed to find our way home from there and crashed with exhaustion from tourist sensory overload!
St Mark's Basilica was absolutely mind blowing and I couldn't take my eyes off its glittering magnificence. Photos can't capture its splendour and I have no photos of the inside as photography and filming were prohibited. Interestingly, at any given time I could see at least 10 people taking photos and one guy filming!
Photos by Colin and Nic. Click images to enlarge
Venice Museums and Basilicas