Favorite Cities

1. New York
2. Portland
3. Trieste??

I was thinking about this today while walking through Trieste on my way to Knulp, one of my favorite bars (i.e., coffee shop...I always feel the need to clarify this) to work. The first two cities make a lot of sense, but does Trieste belong on this list? I think so and here's why...

Let's start with New York. First of all, it's where I grew up...well across the river at least. I've worked there, lived there, and spent far more time roaming the streets there than any other city. This really makes it MY city, and no matter where I live I'll always think of New York as my city. There's simply no other city like it in the world. Enough said. Sorry Philly (haha...joke for Kristen).

The second city on the list, Portland, should make Gayle and Jeff very happy...especially Jeff who grew up there. It's the city where we are moving this summer, and there's a reason for this. What Portland lacks in size and cultural diversity compared to New York it more than makes up for in charm and friendliness! Again, this is a city where I've now spent a lot of time. But I put Portland on my favorite cities list after my very first visit. What makes a city great is it's character, and Portland is full of it...tons of coffee shops, great micro-brew pubs, a good music scene, bikes and dogs everywhere, and an ample supply of cool neighborhoods all in the shadow of Mt. Hood make this city great. I can't wait to live there.

This brings me to Trieste. Size-wise it's far closer to Portland than New York making it a small city for comparison. Culturally it seems much larger than it is, thanks to the influences of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Former Yugoslavian countries nearby (Slovenia and Croatia are right here). Would I consider it one of my favorite cities had I only visited once? Probably not. Does it compare to other great Italian cities that we've visited like Venice, Padova or Bologna? No. But Trieste makes my list because I've really grown to love this city over time. Like all great cities, Trieste is alive with it's own personality. I've been listening to those street musicians in the photo playing amazing pre-Bop jazz all week and I've been thinking: "Man there are a lot of really good street musicians in Trieste!" It's one of the things that makes this city great.

Kristen and I have been spending a lot of time in Trieste getting away from Duino whenever we can, and it really hit me this week what this city has meant for us (for me especially) while living in Italy. The escape of wandering on all the pedestrian walkways, hearing great music now and then along the way, looking out at the Adriatic from Piazza Unità, eating cheesy Piadine da porta la via, or stopping for a coffee or an afternoon Spritz and Stuzzichini (free bar snacks, sometimes enough for dinner) has kept me sane after the tough times living surrounded by students in Duino. I don't think I would have made it through this year without having Trieste so nearby. For this, Trieste will always be on my list of favorite cities.