Evening star., 1949-07-10

TOURIST run, f00d
Without Initiation
TRIESTE, July 8 NA.N.A0.-
It's a pity tourists don't get over
as far as Trieste. They are miss
ing one of the few spots in Europe
where you can still have a swell
time cheaply.
The cost of living here is at
least Is per cent lower than in
Italy. Allied soldiers have their
own clubs, so their spending has
not given the local economy an
inflationary shot in the arm.
The drive along the Adriatic
from Monfalcone to Trieste rivals
the better known one at Amalfi
below Naples. For less than 81
one can eat a fine meal in the
little Trattoria or restaurants. For
the evening, there is the ancient
castle of San Giusto. On its top
terrace the city runs one Of the
most charming open-air night
clubs in Europe.
There, fellow and his "mula"
| (meaning girl, not mule, in
TriestinO can dance all night to
alternating orchestras for as little
as So, service included. For lovers,
only the pine woods which used to
cover Trieste's every hill could
have been cheaper. But the trees
were cut down for fuel during the
war.
COgnac at 40 Cents.
In flasher night spot like La
Fenice," a visitor can order Italian
cognac at only 40 cents a throw.
Drinking the best local brandy is
always the safest thing to do
abroad. This dive has the best
floor show of half dozen coun-
tries.
The pleasure Of solitude in a
crowd can be bought for five
cent cup Of espresso coffee or a
10-cent glass of the best local
beer outside of Scandinavia.
Trieste is full Of Neapolitans who
dote on good coffee, so the bev-
erage is tops.
Thus one can idle away hours
at the cafes on Piazza Unita
where the pink tablecloths and
the rainbow-hued umbrellas over
each table lend an air of per-
petual holiday. Through this
piazza, too, the main one of
Trieste. pass all the girls. the
long-legeed, high-hipped rag
azze" celebrated in one of the
most famous Italian songs.
A medley of the best physical
characteristics of the Austrians
Slavs and Italians. with also a
dash Of the Greeks, the girls uni
formly have blue eyes, long hair
fair good looks Currently deeply
suntanned and a facility for
babbling INTERCHANGEABLE in Eng
lish. Slovene. German and French
as we'll as Italian-as beflts
dwellers in a city over which
clashing empires have fought for
1000 years.
Pigeons Flee Hungry Cat.
! A female of another category
on Piazza Unita is Annabella, the
cat. Every day she comes ul
from the cellar of one of the
cafes to chase the pigeons on the
square. She never seems to catch
bird, but the sight of swarms
of pigeons suddenly taking off in
the faces of passing pedestrians
as soon as Annabella appears Is
a free diversion.
The square also is the site OF
. political demonstrations. These
days the fun is usually begun not
by the Communists but by the
Fascists. Instead of the Reds
throwing eggs at the other Tries
TIM, now is the strong arm kid
from the university who heaves
the refuse. The students are
fired by the propaganda of the
MSI, the Italian social movement
which flourishes on the super
nationalism of this frontier post
I Keeping a quiet eye on the
crowds are the competent Trieste
cops who originated the system
of breaking up mobs with trucks
This trick was later refined by
italian Ministers of the Interior
Mario Scelba into the swirling
jeep technique, since used fire.
quently in Rome.
I The British, as has been Gus
tomary throughout the Italian
occupation. control the police
Twenty-four of the 80 Allied Of
ficers supervising the 1000 native
cops are British, and mostly Scot
land Yard men at that. The
Americans continually grippe that
British intelligence is every
where, hamstringing so-called
Joint policy for its own ends.