Jonny kindly picked us up at 6.00am and drives us to Chambrey (1.5hrs from Chamonix) here our train has been cancelled, so we catch a bus (the trip was beautiful through the mountains and across the border) which takes longer… we miss our connecting train and this is now the case for our next 2 connecting trains… after 15 hours of travel we arrive in Duino (near Triest) Italia – not really knowing what to expect.
We decide to have a relaxing day in Duino and recover from the long haul from the previous day. Duino is tiny, a bar, café, mini supermarket, Tabac and castle entrance all in the piazza (only a short stroll from our place). We are only 200m from our local beach – a tiny pebble section that you need to pay to access (otherwise its jumping off the jetty). Not much here but a beautiful little Italian oasis. perfect for our last stint of relaxation before we start to make our way back home. Everyone we meet seems to ask how we found Duino from Australia, and not to tell too many people.
First stop our local café, great coffee for us (Illy – which comes from this region Trieste), baby chino’s for the kids and kicking back on the deck in the shade of trees. Lunch at home before heading to our local beach for the afternoon.
The next day we are ready to explore again and set out for Sistiana via the Rilke cliff walk. After a beach play we hike back to enjoy lunch at the cliff top before racing back against the approaching storm.
Trav masters the transport system here, and we work our way to Trieste. Cruising the streets (shopping) and visiting the ruins of an old ampitheatre before enjoying a coffee at the oldest café in Trieste – the coffee capital of Italy. From here we catch the ferry back to Sistiana and view the towns and castles perched on cliff points from the water. Having just missed the bus from Sistiana back to Duino the Minns Mob take to the cliff walk again (this time pram in tow, most would think we are mad).
4th August – Hudson’s 3rd Birthday in Italia. Our adventure today commences with croissants and coffee (egg free of course) to fuel for the journey to ‘Gigante Grotto’ – the largest cave in Europe (over 600 thousand square meters and 120 m deep). The kids loved the Pirate Cave and looking for bats eyes - sorry no photos allowed. We then journeyed back to Trieste via cable tram and enjoyed a birthday lunch on the canal. Finally home and Trav, Maddie and Hudson enjoy a play off the jetty before meeting Noah and I at a lovely waterfront restaurant for Hudson’s 3rd Birthday dinner. The meal was divine, with calamari, seafood risotto and finished with the traditional Tiramasu (mmmmmmm).
The next 4 days have been pretty standard, slow start to the mornings: Trav often running to Sistiana to the patisserie to get bread for lunch and meeting us at …the café (surprise), before heading back for relaxed lunch on our patio. Then the afternoon is spent down at the waters edge with the kids as Trav and I take it in turns to have a swim in the bay looking back at the most amazing cliff top houses with private water access.
Our little man Noah is keen to mix it with the big kids, as he is now pulling himself up on coffee tables and standing (sometimes not so successful as he pulls a chair on top of himself). We are still waiting for his teeth to break through, as his antics at night are relentless.
One night we decide to return to the waterfront restaurant and again enjoy a seafood indulge with Trav and I sharing a perfect spaghetti marinara before a sensational seafood platter. The fish is served whole and prepared in front of us along with the other lobster, calamari, scampi and prawns. Kids enjoy their spaghetti provodore again (safe and works), before having some left over birthday cake while Trav and I continue to indulge in cream caramel and the traditional Tiramisu again.
After much hunting of lizards with dad – Hudson in stealth like manner catches his own Lizard by himself, so proud he comes running with lizard (no tail) to show the family. We let the lizard go and within 5 minutes he is back on the hunt and catches a lizard tail… of which he holds onto all the way down to the beach and lets it go in the water for the fish – funny. We celebrate his accomplishment.
We have had new neighbours with kids move into the apartment next door. This has been great for Maddie and Hudson who have loved the interaction of some older children. We also visited the Duino castle. The prince still lives in a section with his family and the remainder of the castle is a tourist attraction and B&B.
Ciao to our little Italian Oasis Duino. We are now relaxed to commence our trip home via Venice and London before the dreaded flight.
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