From Trieste, With Love

Everything we do here in Trieste is an event. From a simple cup of coffee to shopping. Actually, it's not just Trieste. Welcome back to Italy.

It always takes me a day to adjust to the disorganization of this city of my heart. It's been over a week and I'm finally remembering the concept of scheduling plans only to reschedule at least 3 times before the actual event takes place. But this is normal. 

There are no Starbucks or Dunks here in Trieste. Thank goodness. There is, however, the best coffee and you all know how much I love that. So then. Where to go for coffee? All of it's good. There is a bar every few steps. But which bar serves a big cappucino? Or has a good place to sit and hang out for an hour? After contemplating that and discussing it for a half century (ok, maybe only a quarter century) we find our place. Now to the ordering. Believe it or not, there is no such thing as fat-free, skim or even 1% milk here. Well there is but not at restaurants, bars or caffes. The word for skim milk is "scremato" or something like that. When you ask for it with coffee they look at you as if you have a third eye planted in the middle of your forehead. No, only fresh milk they say. Ok. So I pass on the cappucino. Black coffee by me is just fine.

Went to the supermarket the other day to pick up a few treats for my colleagues back home. And low and behold. There on 4 shelves were various boxed versions of skim milk. In the non refrigerated section. Some things never cease to amaze me.

Here in the city centre of Trieste there are massive amounts of stores. Clothing, housewares, books, toys. And shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. I would have done some serious shopping but as I’m losing weight, I really don’t want to buy things that won’t fit in 6 months. No worries. I’ll be back again soon enough. I love seeing all the fashions here. In a little while it will hit the USA. Italians definitely have the upper hand in fashion.

An ideal day here would be to get up, have a coffee or three, go to rehearsal, have lunch and then do some shopping. The only problem is that the majority of stores close between one and four PM. Everyone goes home or out for lunch and then naps. Nice. Not so nice if you need to shop for something. It’s all about the timing.

Tomorrow I’ll fly back to Boston. I’ll miss my closest friends terribly but in this day and age talking to them everyday via Skype or facebook makes it easier. And in a few months I’ll be back again.

So for now. Ciao Trieste. Ti voglio bene.