We interrupt this Cinque Terre expedition for a brief moment to have a bit of fun. The kids did not even have gelato or cappuccino yet. Imagine that!
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Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore is the first village in Cinque Terre when travelling north from La Spezia. The village, dating back to early thirteenth century, is known for its historic character and its wine, produced by the town’s vineyards. Riomaggiore is in the Riviera di Levante region and has shoreline on the Mediterranean’s Gulf of Genoa, with a small beach and […]
Cinque Terre
This morning we are setting off on a ferry from Levanto to Riomaggiore. which is the fifth village in Cinque Terre National Park from where we are staying. The sun is out, there is a gentle breeze and the 70 min cruise from Levanto to Riomaggiore should be great. The ferry stops in 4 of the […]
Relax-a-tion
We had a busy day yesterday and today is not going to be any easier. After an early breakfast we are grabbing a nice and quiet cappuccino on our patio before we set out on a boat cruise to Riomaggiore which is the last village of the Cinque Terre National Park. We are going to […]
La Picea
There are 47 restaurants in Levanto, we found this one – La Picea, on the outskirts of the old town – and it just happens to be THE number one rated restaurant in the city. This place is mostly for takeouts but there are some tables and chairs for people like us. It is all […]
Corniglia Chill
We are exploring the Cinque Terre park. Going from village to village on the train. This is the third village on the way and after climbing what seems like a 1000 stairs to get here we are taking a well deserved break.
Vernazza Beach
After a nice stroll through the village we decided to go under the mountain to the other side of town and hang out on the beach. This is a rocky beach and since we did not bring the sand toys with us, we did what comes naturally to all Canadians – building our versions of Inukshuks. It […]
Monterosso
The Cinque Terre – “The Five Lands” comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are setting off on a train which goes between these 5 villages […]
Bigger Is Not Better
We are sitting in Levanto on the train platform waiting for the train to arrive – when suddenly a phone rings and a guy on the bench next to us says “Can you hear me now?” I am talking to you on a phone the size of a door mat!!!
Agriturismo Villanova
As planned we arrived at Agriturismo Villanova right at 5:00 pm. This place is, once again, in the middle of nowhere, on the top of a hill just about 5 min drive from Levano town centre. We loved this place the moment we pulled up. Basically you turn off the road by the fire […]
Off to Cinque Terre
After a great Brunch we set off for a 4 hour drive to Cinque Terre National Park on the Mediterranean. None of us have been there so we are looking forward to it. It is Sunday so there is almost no traffic as the big trucks are not allowed on the highways unless they carry parishables […]
Panifico Nazzareno
This is our local about 3 min walk from where we are staying in Rome. We came here for breakfast all three days which varied between €7.00 to €24.00 – we also had dinner snacks here too which came to be about the same. We absolutely love this place and love the food and […]
The Colosseum
The Colosseum is probably the most impressive building of the Roman Empire. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, it was the largest building of the era. While the Colosseum is largely in ruins it is still an amazing site to see. The elliptical building is immense, measuring 188m by 156m and reaching a height of […]
Victor Emmanuel Monument
After the morning visit to the market we are heading in the general direction of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Spanish Steps. First thing we see on the way there is Altar of the Nation. Officially known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, the enormous white marble monument, 80 m hight by […]
St. Peter’s Square
St. Peter’s Square is a massive plaza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave surrounded by Rome. At the centre of the square is an Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive […]
Sistine Chapel Contraband
The Sistine Chapel is a large and renowned chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place […]
All Roads
If it is true that all roads lead to Rome then this is where we are heading this afternoon. On the way there we are treated to some amazing and spectacular sites along the way. It appears that each mountain top has its own town. Orvieto, Moltepulciano, Fabro, Orte and countless others. Beautiful day […]
Pizzeria del Borgaccio
This little place in the village below Buccia Nera is where we stopped by for breakfast. It is a bakery / pizzeria place. Basically a breakfast with freshly baked goods and some cappuccino and espresso for the four of us, plus some cookies for good measure was just under €7.00 that is what I call […]
Pizzeria Santacroce
If you don’t know what you are looking for, you would more than likely walk by this place without giving it a second look. The place is just outside the main part of the old town in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, off on a side street in the middle of nowhere really. This, however, […]
Good Night Arezzo
We went out to Arezzo one more time. First because there is a great pizza place we wanted to check out and second because we really wanted to have another go at Paradiso Gelato – some shopping seemed in order as well. Arezzo being one of the more affluent cities in Tuscany has a lot […]
From Tuscany with Love
It is hard to describe this place, everyday it looks different, more beautiful, more enchanting. The clouds rolled in today and I think it might have cooled off down to 34C – unbelievable. This is a paradise we are calling home this week.
La Capannaccia
We drive by this place every time we go up or down from Buccia Nera Agriturismo where we are staying. Today we decided to stop by for dinner. The place is a short drive, about 2km, from where we are staying, down the crazy road, it always looks busy and it has some spectacular views […]
Day of Rest
It is not like we have strained ourselves yesterday but it is early days on our Italian adventure so we are taking it easy. We never got up early enough to get to the bakery so we had fruit for breakfast. After breakfast – the pool from 10 am to 7:15 pm with an occasional […]
Arezzo
Today we are spending the afternoon in the beautiful Arezzo. Arezzo is very very old, it dates back, or portions of the city do, to 5th century BC. It is a small city but the old town is quite large with at least 20 churches, some medieval, some Tuscan Ghotic and some even dating back […]
Arezzo Cathedral
Arezzo Cathedral is perhaps one of the largest buildings in the old city. Perhaps it is not as ornate as the Public Library or some other churches here but it is quite impressive. Inside there are some beautiful fresco covering the entrée ceiling of the cathedral as well as a couple burial monuments dedicated to […]
More Tuscany
We are heading down to Arezzo for dinner and here are some shots from the way down to town. We are about 7km away from the old town so it is not a long drive. Behind the lens are my lovely wife and Evelina while I try to focus on what Italians call a road […]
Pool Time
Today, we are proud to say, we have done nothing at all. We drove down to the village to have breakfast the local bakery. We stopped by a shop to get some milk, cheese and salami and on the way back up we also stopped at a fruit stand and bought half a trunk of […]
Serenity Now
All that you can hear right now in the middle of the night at Buccia Nera are crickets. It is almost midnight and it is still 25C outside, there are no bugs and it is absolutely fantastic.
Buccia Nera – Italy
Unlike our last trip to the middle of nowhere in Italy where we got lost on a deserted gravel country road in the middle of night with bats flying around – and no cell signal today the expedition went a lot better. We are still in the middle of nowhere, high up on the mountain […]
Germany – Austria – Italy
We are determined to still get some pool time in Arezzo today so we have left early – just a bit after 7am. We have about 900km to drive which should take about 8 hours. Austria is slow to drive through it is basically all dug out with massive construction everywhere plus on the best […]
Road Trip
We are off for another road trip. This time we are going down south – Italy, Arezzo and beyond. Boris and Evelina have two weeks of Spring holidays so we are going to explore a bit more of the enchanting Tuscany that we all love and see where else the road takes us. We are […]
Heat Wave
It is hot! Depending which application you look at on the phone it is somewhere between 32C-36C. Even in the shade by the water it is hot, hot, hot. Even after 3 scoops of great gelato, it is still hot, so we are off to the city beach. The city beach is in the […]
Back to Pottenstein
Girls’s day out today is in Pottenstein. Evelina’s best friends Lisa is at our house for a sleepover. These two girls really hit it off at school and have been great friends. Today is Lisa’s turn to stay at our house. As a little treat and for a bit of a break we drove to a […]
Calm
After less than a stellar day behind the wheel yesterday today we are back to travelling on foot – true and tested. It looks like there might be a thunderstorm later on today so we are getting out for gelato early. These are some of the beautiful homes on the same street where we live, […]
Citizen P
If I don’t hear Embassy and Munich in the same sentence ever again it will not be a moment too soon. Today we set off to pick up kids’ passports at the Polish Embassy. Munich is about 180km away – door to door, from our house to the embassy and this we can usually manage […]
Arabian Nights
Sandy beach and a 5 start hotel in Abu Dhabi! Check Tickets and transfers – Check Suitcases, swim shorts and sun block packed – Check Train tickets to Munich and back – Check No line up at the business class check in at Etihad Airlines – check …but the computer says NO to the passport requirements ! […]
Hard Core
Fearless exploration comes at a price. This is a simple account of the last 7 days of our trips starting with Wurzburg. Seven days of aimless wondering around different cities and Nuremberg of course – fueled largely by gelato twice a day and a few sausages here and there!
Prague Afternoon
After the castle we hastily headed down to the restaurant as some storm clouds started rolling in. We did not have to walk far and in all honestly the rain did not last very long. But while it was raining we were sitting down enjoying a nice dinner and coffee. Good times, Prague never disappoints […]
Prague Castle Revisited
Going to Prague and not going to the Prague Castle and the St. Vitus Cathedral is hard. Once you get on Charles Bridge those two massive buildings are like a huge magnet that pulls you up. We lucked out because the last 3 times we were in Prague the river side part of St. […]
One More Time – Prague
We love this city. We love the sites and the atmosphere, we love the food and the architecture. Having seen most of the big sites on the previous trips today we are wondering around at a gingerly pace trying to take it all in one more time. I am not sure if we will be coming […]
A View from the Top
One of the great places in Prague is the top of the City Hall Tower in the Old Town on the main square. Weather permitting you get phenomenal views of the city and some of its great landmarks. The Prague Castle, the Tyn Church, Vyšehrad Castle, The opera house, the many churches, and turrets and building […]
Cafe Imperial
We are back in Prague – starting with breakfast at Cafe Imperial. This place is on the list of top 10 Cafés in the world you should to visit.
Holy Trinity Church
This is the last church on the agenda for today. Although, on the way to the car, we did try to see another monastery which was closed. The Church of the Holy Trinity, located on the Gesandtenstrasse, was built in the midst of the Thirty Years War. This was one of the first evangelical churches […]
Niedermünster Abbey
We continue our holy week and with it the required visits to as many churches as happen to be on our way from point A to point B. Niedermünster Abbey was built and rebuilt on the foundation of the first church which was built in the year 700. At the height of its power it […]
Regensburg
Today we are travelling about 100km south east to Regensburg. This small city is nothing like Nurember or Wurzburg which we visited a couple of days ago. The city dates back to the Stone Age. The Celtic name Radasbona was the oldest name given to a settlement near the present city. Around AD 90, the […]
33.5 C
When we finished at the Wurzburg Residence it was 33.5 C in the car. There were a few lucky people who had the right car for this kind of weather.
More Nuremberg Walks
With Maciek here for a visit we are hitting all the big spots in Nuremberg to show off the city, get some exercise and see some beautiful sights. Today on 3 separate walks we managed to walk almost 19km in total. We walked the permitter of the Imperial Castle defence walls and moats, we walked […]
Riquewihr Part Two
Next stop on our agenda is Riquewihr France. A small village of 1500 we visited last March. There is an amazing little bakery here that we stopped by to get some Macaron, and macaroons. It has also been at least an hour since our last meal so we had some gelato, and sat down down a […]
Sunday Brunch
We are going out for brunch today, not the one filled with endless lines of chaffing dishes filled with food – we are thinking something more simple, less filling but equally as delicious. Sunday Brunch is more like Parisian Breakfast and no one does this better than the French themselves. We are not sure which of the […]
Showing off Nuremberg
After dinner is gelato time and a quick look at what is what in Nuremberg so that we can plan lots of walks and photo sessions. Summer is coming and we should be back to 28C by Monday or Tuesday – we can’t wait.
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