Gorizia - The Adriatic and a Castle - Poking Around Europe 5.0

October 4, 2018

Gorizia - The Adriatic and a Castle

Trieste to Gorizia

What a day! It had its ups and downs in every way. A big up was the weather, another clear blue sky and temperatures that had me removing layers almost immediately.

We really enjoyed the Hotel All’Arco. A great place to stay in Trieste. It’s only flaw was a barely adequate breakfast...basically cappuccino, juice, croissants and yogurt. Not enough for a touring cyclist. It was great in every other way. We would choose it again. We left the hotel and headed straight to Spar for lunch provisions and then we were on our way.

Along the waterfront there was building after building like this. All waterfront property. What awesome condo sites. It was all behind fences and razor wire and decaying. A missed opportunity.

We had looked and looked for this landmark everywhere and then we rode right by. We were looking too high.

The ride out of town, after a few miscues was great. My favourite was when we ended up in the private rowing club. They were incredibly nice about it. We rode through the open gate and when we tried to leave they had to reopen it for us. We breezed in with perfect timing, but needed help to get out. It was quite funny and just a nice encounter. We had a great ride very shortly after that along the waterfront.

The first stop was Miramare Castle. We didn’t go in, but admired the castle from the exterior and rode through the grounds, getting off to walk the bikes when told. Three times. Each time we would wait for a corner and jump back on the bikes. Born to be wild! It struck us as a place that would be very busy in the high season, but riding really wasn’t a problem with so few people around. A high (or low) light was when a couple asked Keith to take a picture and he obliged. While trying to get the right angle he stepped back onto the grass and got in trouble for that. They take their security seriously at Miramare!

Looking down from the park. We are about to head up into the hills in the background.

But first we had to go down here to make our escape.

This part of the ride was amazing. A very lightly traveled secondary highway with a wide shoulder. Adriatic Sea to our left, and to really make it straightforward we had a tailwind and a construction zone, so what little traffic there was came in short bursts. It was terrific.

We went through a small town, and had an encounter with the biggest group of touring cyclists we have ever seen. They smiled, they waved, they laughed. We stopped dead on the other side of the road and stared. I started to count but gave up after about 50. We think there were at least a hundred cyclists. Absolutely amazing. They need a big hotel 😜.

Then we lost our beautiful big shoulder and for a time this was fine, but when the wind became a crosswind and the road became busier the CN made some adjustments to our route to get us off the highway. It worked well for some time, but between the necessity for navigation, and the need for concentration on the busier sections of road, we just rode. Picture taking took a back seat.

Coming in to Gorizia was a bit complicated. We were caught in an industrial zone and ended up with no way through a restricted area, so it was turn around to find another way.

When we made it into town it was fantastic. The front desk person was an amazing tour guide and sent us on a walking tour of the town. We have had so much fun. The castle was a real highlight.

Once back in the town we enjoyed the pedestrian area and visited a stunning cathedral. We found a wine shop and bought a bottle of wine after tasting several. They also have vats of wine...bring in your refillable bottle and fill it back up. What a great concept.

We could use one or two of these vats at home.

It was such an interesting afternoon and evening in so many ways. This isn’t a touristy place and people were so interested in the fact that we were here. Yet the town has so much to offer. The absolute highlight of the day was dinner. Our incredibly helpful hotelier sent us to a local spot, with regional food. No fluent English spoken, no menu, a loose translation and we ordered not sure what we were getting. The young woman at the next table, out with her mom, asked on her mom’s behalf why on earth we were in Gorizia. Well, it is beautiful, undiscovered and lots of fun! We ate way too much, had a lot of laughs with the staff and are going to bed happy.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,723 km (1,070 miles)

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