Days 16-17: Trieste, Italy

Day16 (May 14):

Today we arrived in Trieste, Italy and disembarked from the ship 

Here is the view from the ship.

Because we had luggage and it was a little rainy out, we took a taxi from the port to our hotel, Nuovo Albergo Centro.

Once we settled in, we went for a walk around the area. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks from the Grand Canal, so we headed there first.

There was a nice view of Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Nuovo (Church of Saint Anthony the Thaumaturge) at the end of the Grand Canal.

We then walked to the Piazza della Borsa, where we saw the 

Palazzo della Borsa Vecchia (Old Stock Exchange)

and the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain).

From there, we walked to the Piazza Unità d'Italia, where it started raining again. Here we saw 

the Fontana dei Quattro Continenti (Fountain of the Four Continents),

The Palazzo del Municipio (Town Hall),

and the Palazzo del Governo (Government Palace), also known as the Palazzo della Prefettura.

We also walked to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and 

Went inside to check it out (and stay dry).

From there it was a short walk to the Roman Theater 

As we were heading back to the hotel, it started to rain again, so we ducked into the Saint Spyridon Serbian Orthodox Church

Inside Saint Spyridon Serbian Orthodox Church

Since it was close to our hotel, we went back to our room to dry off, warm up, and take a short nap.

Later we went for another walk and to find a place for a late lunch. A few landmarks we saw on this walk included, 

Palazzo Vianello

Statue of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, located in the Piazza della Libertà

Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò dei Greci

And of course, pizza for lunch (pesto, buffalo mozzarella, and cherry tomatoes).

Day 17 (May 15): 

This morning, it was even colder and rainiet, but we wanted to see more of the city. We saw the

Tallero di Maria Teresa (Maria Theresa Thaler) monument, located in Piazza Ponterosso,

and the outside building of ITS Academy - Museum of Art in Fashion. We wanted to visit but they were closed.

We saw this bee on the outside of the former Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste bank building. Fun fact: the bee is a symbol of thrift and industry, often found on historic bank buildings.

We then walked down to the pier and saw

the Monumento al Bersagliere (Monument to the Bersagliere), on the historic Scala Reale (Royal Steps) along the waterfront promenade.

We saw the Aquarium building, but didn't visit it.

We then walked through a few neighborhoods before stumbling on the Arco di Riccardo (Arch of Richard)

and then walked up a lot of hills to see the Cattedrale di San Giusto Martire. It was also a nice place to view while hiding from a downpour.

There was a tower attached to the church. 

Steve climbed up in it.

On the same grounds of San Giusto Hill, walere the Monumento ai Caduti di Trieste (Monument to the Fallen of Trieste) 

and the Castello di San Giusto, a 15th-century fortress.

We also saw the Fontana di San Giusto (also known as the Fontana di Montuzza), which stands at the top of the Parco della Rimembranza on the slopes of San Giusto Hill.

To get back to the main city, there were lots of steps connecting Castello di San Giusto to the 

Scala dei Giganti (Staircase of the Giants)

After or long walk, we ducked into a restaurant to hide from another downpour.

Steve ordered this seafood pizza.

After a rest at the hotel (to get warm and dry) we walked around some more and saw the James Joyce statue by the canal.

it was raining harder, so we ducked into another restaurant for a light dinner of cheese, meats, and bruschetta.

Rain on the Grand Canal at night

Day 18: Travel Home and Trip Reflections

Day 18 (May 16): 

We got up early and took a cab to the Trieste airport for our 6:15 am flight to Frankfurt. It was drizzling but not raining hard.

While the flight was short (1.5 hr) we had a 5.5 hour layover in Frankfurt, so we shared a pretzel and really big beer.

We left Frankfurt around 1 pm to begin our 11.5 hr flight to San Francisco. Luckily we had premium economy seats on this leg. 

We arrived in San Francisco around 3:30 pm, and used part of our 3.5 hour layover to clear immigration and customs. 

We left San Francisco around 7:15 pm and got back home around 9:30 pm. Time to sleep!!

Reflections on the Itinerary:

Overall, we really enjoyed the itinerary and the cities we visited. We had long enough in port to get a feel for what is in each place and to determine if we would want a longer visit in any of these areas. 

Having a few more sea days sprinkled throughout (instead of just at the start and end of the cruise) would have been helpful.

Reflections on the Cruise:

This cruise was on Holland America's Oosterdam.

Likes:

The buffet was more cafeteria style (servers behind the counters) so less cross contamination.

The elevators were fast, so usually waits were short and they were not crowded.

We liked the small size of the ship both for ease of walking to different venues and also smaller crowds.

We loved the itinerary and places we visited.

The Have It All Early Booking Bonus was good value for us.

Dislikes:

We aren't big fans of ship entertainment to begin with but found it particularly lacking on this trip. The venues (other than the theater) were never super crowded, but I think it's because the seating is so low to the ground and uncomfortable.

The food ranged from really bad to average. We opted for ice cream as a dessert most nights, because their desserts were pretty flavorless (and they called whipped cream served in a jar "cheesecake").

The bars were very inconsistent and difficult to get a drink to taste the same each time you ordered. Even when we both ordered the same drink, they were made two different ways.

Our original room was in a quiet location. Our replacement room was in a more central location, but much noisier at night.

The constant up selling was draining. During the first few nights in the dining room, the waiters kept pushing the extra cost menu items. When I checked into the thermal spa, I would get a sales pitch for extra treatments or products despite being clear I was only interested in the thermal spa. The ship photographers were oddly aggressive.

We were not fans of needing to hand over the room card every time we ordered a drink. A few times, bar tenders pointed out the tip line to me even though our package included gratuities and an 18% gratuity was added to every bill. Additionally, I felt like we were held hostage in the dining room, since we couldn't leave until our card was returned. Some waiters returned it immediately after placing drink orders and others held it for the duration of the meal. One even yelled at me for asking for my card back (he claimed he never received it, until his colleague told him he did) and then didn't even apologize when he finally returned my card.

We also felt like there was lack of attention to cleanliness details, ranging from dirty silverware, bird poop on windows, and dust on lamps and other fixtures.

(my smiley face remained the duration of the cruise)

Gilbert Riparian Preserve

Today mom and I visited the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

As we walked around the ponds, we saw lots of ducks

a small turtle

some sandpipers

egrets

and lots of wildflowers 

Apache Trail

A must-do drive in the Phoenix area is the Apache Trail. It's a scenic road that winds from Apache Junction, past Canyon Lake,

then to Tortilla Flat. We stopped here for an ice cream and to walk around a bit.

From there the road changes to gravel. In good weather you can drive a regular car on it. There's a nice lookout (Fish Creek Vista) where you can walk around.

We saw lots of spring wildflowers along the route, including lupins and poppies.

We also liked the different rock formations.

The gravel road continues until you reach Apache Lake, 

Then the road changes back to pavement,  and you exit near Roosevelt Dam. 

This road can also be driven the opposite direction.