You may have heard that some retired couples go crazy now that they are spending all their time with their partners. Certainly, we are enjoying our lives together here in this amazing land of Italy. We are best of friends and have very similar likes and dislikes. That doesn’t mean we can’t get under each others skin in a heartbeat.
A few years before John and I moved to Italy, we both semi-retired, transitioning from full time to part-time jobs. I remained active in my search and rescue group along with a 30 hours-a-week job. John went from a full time fine-dining chef to a part-time chef position at a local brewery. We stayed busy and saw each other for evening meals and weekends. A few weeks prior to our move to Italy, we resigned from our jobs and went into full retirement mode. As we were caught up in the process of moving with our dogs, the reality of retirement didn’t hit us until a month or so into our life here in Italy. We were spending a lot of time together, and we only had one car! We developed wonderful new friendships , but at the end of the day, it was the two of us..
So, after 10 months here, some serious girl-time was needed. I planned a trip to northern Italy to see my friend, Giuliana. She and I had met online…sounds dubious but not..on the site Conversation Exchange. I was looking for someone to practice my Italian and she was looking for someone to practice her English. We hit it off and became good friends. John and I visited Giuliana a few years back on one of our vacations. We not only wanted to visit her, but we wanted to see her region. We were still doing research on where we wanted to move, as well as just enjoying the diversity of Italy.
So, this time it would just be us girls. I bought my train tickets and set out for a short visit this July. Not certain about the train system in Italy, I was pleasantly surprised. For me, with a few connections to make, I fell in love with the system. Sure there were some tight connections, but I made them all. Most likely on my next train trip, I’ll make certain to plan for more connection time. The stations are well marked, and I could find all my track changes quickly. Trains were clean and quiet. Definitely will use for a trip in the fall for John and I.
Giuliana lives in Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It consists of mountains (some Alps), plains, hills and coast of the Adriatic. It has a moderate climate in the lower altitudes, and much of the flatter land is devoted to agriculture, predominately grapes. Guiliana and her lovely daughter, Irene, live in the quaint town of San Quirino, just north of Venetian-influenced Pordenone. If you’d like to following Giuliana, as she is very involved with the local food promotion of her region, here are her Facebook page and website.
During this visit, Europe was experiencing an intense heat wave. Friuli was in the 32-35C. Luckily, most of our first full day was in the mountains of Carnia. As Giuliana’s car climbed the Passo Rest, we entered into a world of heart-stopping beauty. The road taking us up and over the pass was basically a single lane, switchback line drawn through the forest. You would hope not to meet cars in the opposite direction. Once over the top, we continued our switchbacks down to eventually cross a large flat river, popular with sports fishermen. We then passed through tunnels carved out of the mountains! Our destination was getting closer..
Passo Rest
Fiume Tagliamento
Tunnel carved through mountain
Our reward was the immense beauty of towering mountains, a crystal clear lake of Caribbean blue rimmed by vibrant green pastures. The vista opened up across the lake to Sauris, which I learned has an upper and a lower – Sauris di Sopra and Sauris di Sotto. As this part of Italy is very close to Austria, the language and architecture take on a more Germanic blend. (Quick aside – While I was on the train to Giuliana’s, there where two ladies sitting near me, speaking a mix of Italian and German. Giuliana informed me it was a specific dialect of the area.)
Upper and lower Sauris from Lake Sauris
Chapel in Sauris di Sopra
Sauris di Sotto
We walked both upper and lower Sauris, stopped in a mouthwatering cheese shop and then lunched at a friend’s hotel – Riglarhaus. If you have had the chance to tour different areas of Italy, you have been blessed with trying the local specialties of each region. To generalize, the south of Italy is heavy on pasta while the North uses more corn – polenta. I find the portions lighter in the Friuli region, which works well for summer heat. You will not see the large plates of pasta my southern heritage craves , which I sometimes regret if I don’t push back from the table sooner than not. Our antipasti arrived with the glorious local ham – Prosciutto di Sauris . “The Prosciutto di Sauris (Sauris Ham) is renowned and appreciated on both a national and international level and it owes its uniqueness to the particular method of smoking used, that is carried out by burning beech from the local woods in the traditional fireplaces and by channelling the smoke into the rooms used for smoking.” We followed with the tipico dish, Cjalson, light and yummy.
Cjalson
And of course, through all of this, was scenery out of ones’ dreams. We then traveled back down out of the mountains to visit Venzone, a beautiful medieval walled village devastated by an earthquake in 1976. An amazing reconstruction project has restored this village to be enjoyed by inhabitants and tourists alike.
The next day, Giuliana and I took the train into the capital city of the region – Trieste, bordering on Slovenia. What strikes you immediately about Trieste is the elegant architecture, as dramatically evident in the Piazza Unità d’Italia. And as a surprise to me, it is a city famous for its cafes and coffee. With a daytime temperature rising to 36C, we sought some shade and made plans to return in the future.
Piazza Unità d’Italia
It was lunch time and Giuliana’s friend and impromptu tour guide, Mauro, led the way to a repast I wasn’t too sure about but was game to try….Sardines. We boarded a harbor taxi to take us to Muggia, a lovely Venetian-influenced village just a 20 minute refreshing boat ride from Trieste. Mauro, as an inhabitant of Trieste, was a fountain of information, both historical and current, and I enjoyed our time together. Upon disembarking, we strolled around the lovely village, working up an appetite…
It was now lunch time…. Now just the word ‘Sardines’ conjures up oily little nasty fish in a can, stinking to high heaven. Sorry, I’m just not into those things. So it was with great reservation, I allowed my lunch to be ordered for me and, it turned out, I was in fish heaven – thankfully..The fish were much larger than the canned ones and came breaded and fried as well as grilled. My favorite were the sinfully delicious deep fried.
We ended our outing back in Trieste at the Eataly. This particular Eataly was set right on the waterfront with an impressive wall of glass to a stunning view of the harbor. We ordered gelato (of course), and relaxed in the cool air. Though the weather was brutally hot outside, we ended our day with a lovely air conditioned train ride back to Giuliana’s home. Trieste deserves a much longer stay from me… next time in cooler weather. I heard the piazza is lovely at night all lit up.
The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region has a lot to offer and the few days I spent there barely scratched the surface. But truthfully, I was there for some girl time with my friend and that was the best part. Lots of talking, laughing, eating great food (Giuliana is an awesome cook) and of course the sightseeing. I’m sure I’ll be back to visit with John sometime in the near future.
A quick note – John and I are in the process of packing up and moving all our belongings to our new home. We hope to be all settled within the next few weeks. We’re exhausted but very anxious to be residents of Roccaspinalveti very soon. I’ll keep you posted.
Ciao for now…
Navigating Life in Abruzzo 