A half hour before landing in Venice we had a fine view of the snow covered, rugged, Alps. The plane flew south of the city, then turned and, it was a clear day, I saw the lagoon, then the Salute and San Giorgio, then the curve of the Grand Canal, then the San Michele cemetery, and then down for the landing. Taking the train from Mestre to Trieste, at first we saw the Alps in the distance, then the view dissipated as it became darker. On the train a young woman reading Charles Bukovsky in Italian. In the Trieste  train station the Libraria Joyce Svevo (Joyce Svevo bookstore). Evidently a literary town.

Note: all literary stuff in this blog comes from conversations with David and all mistakes and mis-judgements are mine.

All hotel choices are a gamble. This gamble paid off very well as we have a large room, large bed, small kitchen, fine bathroom. In the evening we walked through a small labyrinth of streets to find a restaurant.

Thursday we got a late start and after breakfast wandered the streets to get oriented. The lower part of town is flat, contains the Piazza Unita adjacent to the waterfront, government buildings, and the main shopping area. Clear day, view of snow covered alps in the far distance, some broad avenues. Eventually had a snack and went back for a nap. Then we went out to the Revoltella Museum. The founder, Baron Pasqualle Revoltella, was a wealthy businessman in the first part on the nineteenth century. The museum is lodged in his mansion. The top floors contain modern Italian art, then depictions of local worthies and scenes plus household furnishings. A complicated group of statues commemorating the creation of the Suez Canal which he help finance. 

After this a prosecco and a rather good dinner. We shared a sea bass carpaccio, thinly sliced with oil and lemon, excellent. Then some other items, and a bottle of local Trieste white wine. We brought the unfinished bottle to our rooms for another evening.