Trieste and Udine, Italy - July 2026

 Two days before Nathan and Margherita's wedding, we left Slovenia for Udine, Italy, stopping along the way in Trieste, an elegant seaport city, nestled right on the Italian-Slovenian border.

We had a great time walking along the waterfront until we reached the Piazza Unita d'Italia-you can really feel that this massive square is the heart of Trieste.

A busy Marina San Giusto, where we began our stroll toward Piazza Unita d'Italia.

La Lanterna, Trieste's harbor lighthouse in the background.


By the pier.

Piazza Unita d'Italia.

Palazzo del Municipio/ City Hall.

The "Palazzo del Lloyd Triestino" was a shipping building, now serves as headquarter for regional presidency and council.

Governor's Palace.

The Column of St. John of Nepomuk in Piazza Unita d'Ilatilia, facing the open sea.

By the Adriatic Sea. 

Trieste train station near the waterfront.

Trieste Port. 

After a 1.5 hour drive from Trieste, we arrived in Udine. Along with Mark and Gayle, we're staying at a hotel just outside the center with easy parking. It's perfect since the city center is just a short walk or a quick taxi ride.


Strolling into Udine city center. Spot the gilded angel on the Castle Bell Tower.

 
Udine Cathedral.

A beautiful piazza at the heart of Udine.

Church of Saint Francisco at Piazza Venerio, in the heart of Udine.

The steel "G&R" Heart Bench in front of the Saint Francisco Church, installed to celebrate the square's romantic history and Udine's connection to the origin of the Romeo and Juliet legend. 💔💕

In the evening, we met up with Paul's siblings and their families in Udine's main piazza. It was wonderful seeing everyone who had traveled for the wedding and catching up on everyone's travel updates.  

The Sibs+  at dinner.

When in Italy...Yes, pizza was absolutely on the menu!.😋

The Udine Piazza sparkled in the night as we said our goodnights 🌙🌟.

Piran and Portoroz , Slovenia - July 2026

 The next day, we picked up a rental car from Venice airport for our trip to Udine, Italy, where we were attending Nathan's wedding. Since we had the car for a full week, we decided to make the most of it by planning a road trip to explore Italy's next-door neighbor, Slovenia, both before and after the wedding celebrations. Driving from Trieste, Italy, we crossed the border and headed to Koper, Slovenia's largest coastal city, to spend the night.  From there, we went on to explore Portoroz and Piran, two of the country's top coastal resort destinations.

A fleet of luxury supercars paraded down the main street of Portoroz.

Our destination this afternoon was to explore more of Piran and the popular resort town of Portoroz. Although it was very hot and humid, we enjoyed walking by the town's famous Tartini Square, finding shade in the walled alleyways, and taking in the coastal scenery that curves out to the tip of the peninsula.

Piran Marina.

Piran harbor.

Tartini Square.

Tartini Square.

                   Piran Bell Tower of St. George's Parish Church rising above Tartini                                       Square. It's constructed as a small-scale replica of Venice's famous 

                                                     St. Mark's Bell Tower.

 

Statue of Giuseppe Tartini, a famous Italian composer and violinist at the Tartini square.

Fresh fruit at the open-air market 🍒🍓.

                                                A glimpse into Piran's medieval past.

Piran's walled alley.

Prominent Hotel Piran located in a prime waterfron position right on the Adriatic Sea.

By the Adriatic Sea, with the tip of the peninsula in the background.🐋.

Getting closer to the tip of Piran's Peninsula with the historic lighthouse at Cape Madona and the St. Clement's Church finally in view.

We had dinner before leaving Piran's Punta, the lively, scenic area packed of restaurants, cafe and people soaking up the Adriatic's sun. On the way back to Koper, we passed by the beach resorts of Portoroz and caught the beautiful, serene view of Izola from the Jagodje Hilltop.  

 Portoroz beach resort.

A hilltop view of the historic fishing town of Izola, with the freestanding bell tower of St. Maurus Parish Church in the distance. 


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Venice, Italy - July 2026

 Not long after getting back from Hamilton, NY, we were already packing again. We're excited to head out on a nearly month-long journey to Europe, with Italy as our first stop and Hungary as our final destination. Our itinerary for the trip wasn't too packed, allowing us travel at our own pace.. The only major commitments we had to keep were the weekend of July 18 - 19 in Udine, Italy for the wedding of Paul's nephew, Nathan, and July 25 in Regensburg, Germany to catch our 8 day river cruise. 

Leaving Philly for Venice.

                                               Never seen an international flight this empty!.

Sunrise over the Atlantic.

Our first stop in Italy was Venice. It had been about fifteen years since our last visit, but it was still the same mega tourist destination, especially in the summer. Needless to say, it was incredibly hot and crowded! 

First view of Venice! Waiting for a water taxi right across from the beautiful Church of St. Simeone Piccolo -

Life in motion on the Grand Canal. 


Water taxis.⛴.

Speed boat🚤.


Big boat ⛴.


Gondola hard at work!🚣

                                                                    

Gondola parking deck.

Another beautiful church along the canal, the San Geremia.

Disembarking from the water taxi, directly across from the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Along the narrow canal bridges of San Marco.

Doge's Palace.

                                                                   

Interior of St. Mark's Basilica.

St. Mark's Basilica.

St. Mark's Basilica.

Leading to the sanctuary housing the "Golden" altarpiece .

St. Mark's Clocktower.

St. Mark's Square.

Bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica.

The Columns of San Mark and San Theodore at St. Mark's Square.

San Mark's Square is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Venice and Its Lagoon".

Watching the gondola maneuvering through the narrow waterway.

Exploring the winding alleyways leading to Rialto Bridge.

The "famous" Rialto Bridge.

Taking a breather at the heart of Venice's Grand Canal.💙

After having an early dinner of pizza near the Rialto bridge, we caught a water taxi straight to the dock. From there we headed back to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Venice East, which is just a short walk from the Quarto d'Altino station. 

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