When we mention to anyone that Dave is studying in Italy, most times, it conjures up images of reading a textbook from a balcony overlooking the Tuscan countryside, or squeezing in gondola rides between exams or some other romantic notion of Italy. Don’t get me wrong, I wish it could be like that. Alas, we ended up in Udine, certainly one of the, um, lesser-known Italian cities. We are WAY far north, and so far east, that if we were to rent a car, we’d almost be obligated to check the box that says we might travel into Eastern Europe.
Okay, it’s not that bad, but you get the idea. My point is that Udine is a tricky town, transportation-wise. It makes taking day trips on the weekend (the most we can indulge with Dave’s vineyard research schedule) a bit of a challenge.
We’ve always tried to make the most of our time in Europe, especially now that it’s coming to an end. In France, our town of Montpellier was somewhat of a hub and it made traveling to nearby cities for the day a breeze. In Udine, we have to spend at least two hours getting to Venice (more of a hub) before we can get anywhere. We’ve found that it’s not very conducive to day trips to the more touristy spots, so we’ve looked into some of the smaller, “off the beaten path” places to visit.
Last weekend, we hopped a 20-minute train to the border town of Gorizia. It neighbors Slovenia, which is another EU country that we hope to explore before heading back to the States. But Saturday was all about Gorizia.
It was the day after Ferragosto and when I woke up that morning, I read a tweet, which I thought was humorous: Due passi per Milano il 16 di Agosto e mi sentivo accompagnato dalla musica di Walking Dead. Essentially, this woman took a few steps outside in Milan and it was so silent that she felt like it must have been the zombie apocalypse.
That’s the day after Ferragosto. The day we decided to visit Gorizia.
To say it was quiet would be an understatement.
Everything was shuttered, per ferie, but there was a castle. So there’s that. And it gave me a chance to practice some photography. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to see more of the historic museums and memorials, as Gorizia was a front-line city in World War I. So much history in this country! I’d better do more homework on places to visit before we leave in November!
Colleen, I enjoyed your photography. What an old beautiful town! Thanks for such an interesting travel log.
Thanks Valerie! We’re trying to pack in as much travel as we can before we get back to the States in November. Hope you’re well!