NERO IN B* (POSTCARDS FROM TRIESTE)

Hotel room key in Trieste and a coffee on a white table - Chiave di stanza di albergo a Trieste e caffè su un tavolo bianco

I’ve been terrible at blogging lately (hiii from miss procrastinating-things)… and then the Coronavirus happened and forced me + the whole world to stay isolated at home… geez, what a horrible situation.

Creatively speaking, these absurd circumstances are making me appreciate (and miss) even more photography, and push me to grab my camera almost daily and shoot something to help me stay sane. I am posting my #PhotosFromTheApartment on my Instagram feed as a daily diary from my quarantine although I’m thinking to give it the dignity of a proper blog post in the near future.

But, apart from the occasional or staged photo I’m shooting here at home, I am feeling the need to put my hands into something with a story, a narrative… I know I am extremely lazy at editing and processing photos but I guess this is the right time to dive into my archives and start developing some photo essays – like during the good ol’ blogging times! And dust out the editorial calendar of this daguerreolife space accordingly.

So, back to last November when isolation was just one harmless word on the dictionay and visiting places was…you know… the “old normal” (does it even make sense?) and F and I spent some days in Trieste – seems like a lifetime ago – and, as soon as we arrided, we immediately fell for, well, basically everywhere and everything, with a very special mention for its coffee culture.

The initial idea I had was to do street photography, but the city was unexpectedly empty (for reasons unknown to me) and my plan miserably failed, so I turned it into something a little bit more editorial-ish. Trieste is famous for its coffee culture (the ideal place for a self-proclaimed “coffee snob” like yours truly) so my concept here is to have some fun and mix the city’s beautiful locations with the incredibly excellent coffee.

* There’s a ad hoc vocabulary to use when ordering a coffee in Trieste, and “Nero in B” is how you order a classic espresso in a glass, here’s the whole “dictionary” (HOW AMAZING IS THAT?)

Il mare e il porto di Trieste - Sea and harbour of Trieste

Trieste city centre with a white building and some water channel leading towards the sea and a coffe nero in B - Il centro di Trieste con un palazzo bianco e un canale che porta al mare e un caffè nero in B

A narrow street in Trieste with dark tables and blue walls and a cofee in a bar - Una stradina stretta di Trieste con tavolini scuri e muri blu e un caffè in un bar

A cruise ship in the harbour of Trieste with a man fishing and a group of people in a canoe in Trieste and a coffee in a traditional old bar - Una nave da crociera nel porto di Trieste, un uomo che pesca e un gruppo di persone in canoa con un caffè in uno dei bar antichi di Trieste Two old men talking in a bar outside in Trieste and a glass of coffee served in a bar - Due signori parlano al bar in una strada di Trieste e il dettaglio di un caffè servito al banco