I didn’t really have any plans for most of Tuesday and, if you don’t have plans, Udine is a splendid place not to have them. You can just wander around, soaking in the architecture, eating and drinking as you do. And so, that’s what I did, with the one proviso that I had a meeting of the National Assembly of the National Association of Local Councils to fit in.
Udine in the sunshine is glorious, so a walk was called for, and up to the castle I went. Built on a thirty-metre high mound, it’s pretty but not daunting, although the mound itself, apparently constructed during the Bronze Age between 1400 and 1300 BC, is rather more impressive.
Back to the hotel, where I’d arranged to use the hotel balcony for my meeting, and whilst I was still only partly capable of speech, I managed to get through without too much difficulty.
By now, I was getting hungry and, as dinner was going to be a bit tricky, I set off in search of a hearty lunch. What I found was pizza and a half-litre of friulano. It was extremely enjoyable but I had to leave - a train beckoned.
It’s only a short hope to Trieste, and my sole aims were to walk along the Adriatic and to provision for the next leg of my journey.
Trieste is, I’m sure, perfectly charming, but you’re only going to see so much in less than an hour and a half, and I really couldn’t miss the next train.
So, a brisk walk along the shore, and an unexpected encounter with James Joyce later, I was back at Trieste Centrale.
I was about to take another huge leap for bureaucratkind…
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