Today started as a soggy one but the weather gods smiled on us and by the time JJ and I ventured forth, the day was fine, a little cool to start with, but then bursts of sunshine among periods of threatening clouds that didn't amount to anything.

JJ and I started the day with the optional (ie not included in the tariff) breakfast. What we expected was some was a sort of a buffet perhaps but we were delighted with the array of breakfast goodies that was presented to our table individually, along with a small bowl each of yoghurt topped with rice bubbles sort of things and our choice of tea or coffee.
Breakfast done and our usual round of emails and calls (including tidying up a few loose, but minor work ends for me), we headed out independently and of course ran into each other during the day.
My first point of call was the Carlo Schmitl Civic Theatre Museum, which is a collection of theatre related artefacts and stories. The museum has been around for a while, but in more recent times has been established in its permanent home on the Trieste canal and close to the waterfront. The museum's collection is presented with a focus on the theatrical careers of Trieste's many talented citizens and information about their lives. Not being someone with a strong interest in classical music or highbrow theatre, I didn't record details of what I saw (besides I suspect that the names might be meaningless to you) but in summary there were opera type costumes, a big collection of paintings from the last several centuries, a display of string instruments categorised using criteria that someone from Trieste came up with, a nice display of puppetry items including a theatre, theatrical production information and lots of general costumes.
From there I followed the waterfront east, away from the more industrial port and passenger terminal area past thousands of sailing and motorised leisure craft, a huge variety of sizes, shapes and construction. With the sun out I had multiple good photo opportunities - several are attached. By then I was out of the main touristy part of town and I got the impression of a more local area, with more supermarket and everyday living sort of shops, rather than the upmarket ones near the main square and canal area. 
Then to the Maritime Museum, focused on Trieste's rich maritime history and that of a commercial shipping and trade port as well - pretty much up to the middle of last century). The first area illustrated the development of people-carrying crafts (starting with rafts and small canoes through small and larvae vessels that were rowed, to large sailing ships and the introduction of steam). The rest of the collection was very interesting but as only some of the exhibits had English translations, some of it was a mystery to me.
However, I did find interest in the many, some quite large, models of ships through the ages (including a vey interesting large, cutaway model of a wood and metal commercial steamship); a collection of knots (which brought back memories of practicing for my knots badge in Brownies or was it Guides or both?); instruments such as sextant, compass, binoculars and others I did not recognise; a display of very old models of types of fishing, fish cultivation and salt extraction; a model of the Mayflower; and pictures showing the construction of Trieste's considerable port facilities.
Next I doubled back and spent some time viewing the (mostly live) exhibits in the Trieste Aquarium showing many of the fish species found in the Adriatic Sea around Trieste - many similar to some (bream in particular) around Australia, some not. An exhibit with a lobster who was intently trying to open a mollusc, was interesting. Pieces of similar shells in his surroundings suggested he has been successful in opening other tasty morsels! The aquatic displays were on the ground floor and upstairs was a small collection of snakes and frogs, but I could not find the supposed inhabitants in 2 cages so I am sot sure how comprehensive it was. However there was a rather nice view of the boats and water upstairs - see one pic.
After a short talk to and gaining agreement from my knees and ankles, I set out on what at times felt like an overcommitment, a climb to the top of the hill in the middle of Trieste, upon which sit the San Guisto Cathedral and the Castle or San Giusto. Despite the warm day making my climb include a few challenging moments, finding my way through the very meandering streets that went up and down and up again, was like the rest of this trip in that there were surprises around every corner. Most of them were vey interesting, some charming and others downright annoying, such as the staircase of around 40 steps that lead to a locked gate and I had no choice but to return and find another way through.
But then I arrived at the cathedral which dates from 11th - 14th century and before. The original 5th century rectangular church was built over Roman foundations, some of which remain - see pics. The cathedral's facade has a large, unusual rosette, and the large (beautiful) doors date from1st century when they belonged to the Barbi family (obviously benevolent folks). Other notable points that I scribbled down were the dates (not sure if they refer to construction?) of the Bell Tower 1337 -1343; Church of Sam Michele at Camala (? spelling); and the Chapel Bapistry of San Giovani 1486 - 1383.
All in all very old, and the inside of the church was stunning in its simplicity - very large, 3 sections and apart from a large central guided hanging thing (see pic - not sure what it is called) the decorations were simple and elegant. While I was sitting contemplating the church, life and a myriad of other things, a school group of teenagers came in and I thought 'bang goes my solitude' but no, they sat down and silence descended. After telling a couple of the boys to take off hats, he addressed them in a whisper and they were all very attentive. I was impressed. 
Similarly, as I took in the sight of the Roman ruins and the views of the city far below, a group of much younger (am guessing 10-11 year olds were all over the rocks, but when a (I assume) teacher called out several times, they all came running pronto from 60-70 metres away and within 5 mins they were lined up attentively in 2 neat rows!
My next port of call was the Castle of San Giusto Trieste, and I pause to note that with the purchase of the Trieste Card (similar to what we had purchased in other stops) admission to all of the venues mentioned was free. I didn't add up the savings and it might total close to the E18 paid, but flashing the card is much easier than digging out small amounts at each ticket counter. 
The Castle overlooks Trieste and its restoration is excellent, as is the English brochure given to me on entry, which provided a good guide to what I saw. The castle's walls are extensive and building took from 1468 - 1636, beginning with the captains fortified house, then a bastion at each corner (and each is different depending on the prevailing architectural influence at the time).
I won't include a lot more detail even though I saw a lot - but walking around the walls I had great views of Trieste and beyond and enjoyed looking out the peep holes and thinking about what the people who have been walking where I walked over the last 500+ years saw. A mortality reminder! I also noted groups of people sitting casually in low slung white chairs in a large high up area, seemingly taking in the views and relaxing. So I gave it a try and appreciated why there were so many people there - the chairs were super comfy. It was a few songs on my iPod before I was motivated to move.
From there it was a wander back down to the main part of Trieste, but not before having no idea where I was and coming out in quite a different area to where I started out. After a day of good exploring and armed with a bottle of refreshment I returned to the hotel to swap notes with JJ and hopefully resolve some technology issues caused by previously reliable appliances suddenly growing brains, adjusting their own settings and choosing to stop working correctly. I won't go into the details, just to say that things didn't go my way, got worse and ended with a calamity after dinner. The upside is that I don't have any more client work promised to fret about and anything can now (and will have to)wait till I am home, which is actually a good thing.
To compensate somewhat, dinner was excellent. We went to a restaurant recommended by one of the hotel staff (who are all first rate and who have been nothing but very very helpful during our stay). My spaghetti with seafood was delicious but messy, as was JJ's spaghetti with king prawns, the wine was good and the service very good too. 
My pics try to capture some of the charm of Trieste but don't really do it justice. We found the people very friendly and while some of them don't have much English (that is not meant as a criticism at all - my Italian consists of less than 10 words and it is Italy after all) they are as helpful as they can be. I recommend a stop in here if you are coming this way, and try to look around a bit on Monday when a lot is closed and you can get your bearings in peace.