There must be hundreds, possibly thousands, of travel blogs so why another one? Maybe I’m egotistical enough to think I have something to share but mostly I would like to become a forum, possibly, to hear from others with similar experiences. Plus my own blog gives me more freedom to express my opinion. Over […]
Read MoreWhere to stay in Croatia and Slovenia
In 2019, my sister and I took a tour of Croatia and Slovenia through Gate One Travel, (see Thoughts on choosing a tour group, airline or place to staypost). While there were aspects of the tour I didn’t like, over all we saw some beautiful places and the Gate One Hotels were good. Grand Hotel Adriatic, […]
Read MoreWhere to stay in France
Hotel Mistral, Paris https://www.hotel-mistral-paris.com/en/ Hotel Mistral is definitely off the beaten path in Montparnasse, just a few blocks from the cimetiere. The rooms are modern but quite small. The staff made up for these negatives, though, first by showing my niece an app for the metro which allowed us to put in our destination and […]
Read MoreMore museums, monuments and interesting places
Italy Pompeii http://pompeiisites.org/en/ In 2021 I visited Pompeii for the first time and I’m still in awe. I was staying in Sorrento and took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Pompeii. From what I could see of the schedule for the Circumvesuviana train, not every train stops in Pompeii so make sure you’re getting on […]
Read MoreFirenze off season, parte due
My original plan for fall 2021 was to attend a language school in Sicily or Salerno after visiting Naples and Sorrento, staying there until my last week in Italy, then returning to Firenze for the Christmas lights. Unfortunately, the schools in Sicily and Salerno said they couldn’t guarantee enough students to have any activities. So […]
Read MoreFirenze off season, parte uno
In November 2021 I returned to Firenze after three nights in Sorrento and four nights in Naples. (see Three Days in Naples and Three Days in Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii posts) My goal was to stay until December 10th to see the lighting of the Christmas trees as well as the Christmas decorations and the annual […]
Read MoreMore Places to Eat
In 2021, both when I was traveling alone and when I was with my sister and niece, I had the opportunity to try several excellent new restaurants as well as some old favorites. Unfortunately, with only a few exceptions, my experiences when dining alone weren’t nearly as good as when I was with other people. […]
Read MoreThree Days in Firenze
A Strange and Different Firenze. Early October is typically the height of the tourist season but it was a strange and different Firenze in early October 2021. Much of that was due to the ongoing COVID restrictions. In Firenze, as in the rest of Italy, masks were required for all indoor activities including restaurants and […]
Read MoreThree Days in Paris
Since my one night in Paris many years ago, following a bike trip in Provence (see Provence, Provence, wherefore art thou Provence? post), I’ve wanted to spend more time in Paris and despite the current hassles of travel, I decided that 2021 was the year. While Paris obviously doesn’t fit with my Mediterranean theme, memories of […]
Read MoreThirty six Hours in the Cinque Terre
The Why and the How A number of years ago my sister, daughter, niece and nephew did a hiking trip in the Cinque Terre and raved about how beautiful it is. As I started making plans in 2021 to travel again, my original plan was to revisit St. Raphael, on the Cote d’Azur (see The […]
Read MoreThree Days in Cannes
When I started planning my 2021 trip, I so, so wanted to return to St. Raphael (see The Riviera for the Uncool) which we visited in 2015. It is a charming and beautiful town but I also wanted to see some of the Cinque Terre (staying in La Spezia) and getting there from St. Raphael […]
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