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 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 to travel again, my original plan was to revisit St. Raphael, on the Cote d’Azur (see The Riviera for […]
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 […]
Read MoreMore vineyards and enotecas
In 2021 I only visited one new vineyard and revisited a favorite from 2016. But I tried a number of entocas plus enjoyed one in Montalcino that I’d visited before. Near San Gimignano Tenuta Torciano https://www.torciano.com/en/ My sister and I decided to visit southern Tuscany again in 2021 (see Five Days in Southern Tuscany post). Our […]
Read MoreA Week in Montepulciano
My only previous experience in Montepulciano was a 2-3 hour visit while on a walking tour of Tuscany. All I remember is walking through Piazza Grande, then down the steep hill past Tempio San Biagio. As I mentioned in my Il Sasso Language School post, I thought a week attending the school would give me the […]
Read More