Every Angel is Terrifying

TRIESTE: Another busy day for this Aussie Bogan and the last in Eastern Europe so, while I've got bucketloads of backposting to do, I thought I might as well bring you up to speed on today. At least while I sitting here waiting for my wonderful combination of Penne Arabiatta, Veal (ordered with the help of a 50+ waiter who thoughtfully mimed Bambi) and Gelatti to digest anyway.

As my byline reveals I'm in Trieste, a lovely little Italian port city on the edge of Western Europe, so far east that it has in fact often been part of Slovenia and, in some of the villages near here, the street signs are in Slovenian. Much like San Francisco, though about a third the size and much more genteel, it's a port city carved into a hill side. Famous for being one of the locations where James Joyce began Ulysses, I spent an hour the evening visiting a Joyce statue and various other locations marked out on an itinerary obtained from tourist information.

Buy Joyce isnt't the only famous writer in these parts. Poet Rainer Marie Rilke penned his Duino Elegies in a castle of the same name about forty-five minutes from here so this morning we dutifully trekked, via local bus, to the castle that had also house Mark Twain, Prince Charles, a Greek Prince and Marie Bonaparte. We arrived around lunch time so we feasted on a freshly prepared risotto marinara before diving into the hodge podge of displays inside the palace. It includes a whole lot of shit, some wonderful views of the Adriatic, a terrace where Rilke composed the elegies and an excellent bunker dug by the Germans during Second World War. After a castle visit we hiked up along the rocky cliffs enjoying the views of ocean and the reddening autumn leaves before hitching a bus back to Trieste.

Then this evening I solved the restaurant problem by unearthing a wonderful trattoria. It was only when we got inside and sat down - we were the only diners - that we realised there was no menu. But with some slow speaking, miming and lots of patience we walked away, our wallets barely lighter and our belts somewhat looser.

Tomorrow we head east on three different buses towards Plitvice Lakes in Croatia and then on to Split. Hopefully at some stage soon I'll have a chance to fill you in on Spain and Venice. Best wishes to you all.