You can get a sample account for 30 days, depending on the country you're in (but there are dozens now).
You don't need a trial account to get started, though, as you can use the local "app fabric" approach and run your own little version of Azure locally.
Here's the link to some awesome articles on getting started with real-world code:
Azure Code[
^]
Clarification: the 30 day trial is a developer trial, requires no credit card. You can get a 90 day trial with credit card here:
Azure Trial[
^]
Cheers.