Monday 30th September Trieste to Aquileia. Ave Atque Vale- Farewell Trieste, Salutations Aquileia, Again.

September 30, 2019

September 30 Monday. 62Kms.

Trieste to Aquileia. Ave Atque Vale- Farewell Trieste, Salutations Aquileia, Again.

It’s a wonderful morning for cycling. Slightly overcast but the sun is breaking through. We leave Trieste by the same coastal route we have been taking to swim and to visit Miramare. Although the SS14 is quite busy with traffic, it has a good shoulder and we make good time. We are in Sistiana before we know it and Monfalcone comes up quickly after. There are beautiful views of the Gulf and We have full sunshine by now and are starting to think ahead and plan a swim.

From Monfalcone we find the cycle path that is recommended by a blue line on tourist map, but which doesn’t really seem to have a real life equivalent signposted- or we haven’t spotted one. This one is fine though, and takes us through wetlands and alongside crops. A mystery crop, incidentally, that we’ve finally had identified for us is Soya Bean- and there’s acres of it.

We take a couple of short cuts on the road in order to avoid some of the longer twists and turns of the official cycle route and although there is pretty constant traffic, we soon find the cycle path into Grado.

From here it’s easy and we’re on the beach front with the expectation of a swim. But no! The beach we swam at last year is being pounded by quite a heavy sea which is stirring up so much sand that the ocean is a gun metal grey. Further along the beach front though, things look better. In an area of umbrella stands looking like a denuded forest we cycle out across the sand on a narrow strip of concrete to a near deserted spiaggia and park our bikes right under the lifeguards’ lookout.

The water’s refreshing, and reasonably clear. Strangely, there’s a tall metal pole sticking up out of the waves with what looks like the depth written on it. Not the sort of thing you’d want to body surf into. Afterwards we stop at a park to finish the remains of our lunch and check out accommodation in Aquileia, about 10 kilometres from the coast. The best part is that we know exactly how to get there because this is where we camped for a few days when our 2018 cycle trip ended last September after we came from Salzburg on the Alpe - Adria Route.

The path takes us over the lagoon where we continue to spot interesting birds and we hear the odd fish jump. The sun is beginning to go down but there is plenty of light reflecting off the water. It’s a beautiful ride to end what’s been a really enjoyable day’s cycling.

At Aquileia little seems to have changed in a year- the museum has moved to bigger premises and the tourist office is now in the old museum building. We find Ostello Domus and I give Giulio a call, hoping ‘parla inglese’ will be rewarded with a positive response, and it is. Giulio sorts us out with a room, bathroom etc for €41.

After a walk to the supermarket (remembered well from last year) we cook and eat in the hostel dining room where coffee and tea are also provided and there’s a microwave, fridge and freezer.

We dine on cous-cous mixed with a jar of pickled vegetables, salad and cheese.

Later, all is quiet apart from the wild barking of neighbourhood dogs as we drift off to sleep.

Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 2,672 km (1,659 miles)

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