My reason to be in Trieste

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The reason why I chose to go to Trieste isn't that glorious. It's cheap. No, I mean it's more reasonably priced. It's not cheap in any other senses!

I was in Trieste taking an Italian  language course for a week. It cost only Euro 160 and for accommodation, it was only Euro 110 for a whole week. Also, it was less well-known so I could really speak the language where the local people are still not fed up with tourists.

Trieste turned out to be a much larger city than I first expected. It's located near the border of Italy and Slovenia. And its biggest attraction is a grotta (cave). Bus to the Grotta Gigante dropped me and my British classmate in a place where you could hardly see the cave. We ended up walking for almost 20 mins from the nearest bus stop. Seems that the Italians really do expect all tourists to be able to read the barely visible signs in Italian. I was so glad that I was travelling with a mate. If I was alone, I'd probably lost my direction. If you intend to go, do remember to tell the bus driver that you are going to get off at the grotta because you can never see the sign to get off on your own. Trust me.

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A week of language course is not for novices. It is only suitable for veteran learners who wish to refresh the gusto of the language and for those who really enjoy studying as a means of relaxation. This scuola in Trieste was the 4th language school I attended in Italy in the past 6 years. It's really hard to give comment to it. At first I was a bit disappointed because the lessons were not that well organized compared with the other three I had attended in Perugia, Firenze and Taormina. But then one of the teachers was very creative when giving her lessons. In a week, I had done a crystal ball reading session, a street interview and a cooking lesson in her class. I have to say I've learnt a lot from her as a teacher and I also learned a lot from another one who got great look but not really that organized. They simply demonstrated to me what good and bad teaching is.

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Apart from the cave, I also visited the Castello Miramare. The castle itself wasn't that special but it was situated right by the Adriatic Sea so its location is its real beauty. There is another castle called Castello Duino which is around an hour away from the city centre. My Let's Go didn't mention that but a friend said she actually liked Duino more than Miramare. But I didn't have time to proof her right.

The last thing I did was to have a short hike with my schoolmates in Napoleonica. It's an unfinished road along the cliff by the Adriatic Sea. It's a very easy road to walk on and we spent around a hour or two to finish it. Beautiful scenery.

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Oh, by the way, a tiny story on our way back from the cave. An old man who looked like 80 years old masturbated in front of me and my mate on the bus all the way from the cave to the city centre (30 mins or so). I heard that Trieste is a great city for the retirees. Well, it proves that it really is!