Liciagnano is a remarkable preserved medieval walled village of about 3500 people. It’s strategic high altitude and its location on the road between Sienna and Arezzo meant that between 1200 and 1500AD it was it was continually the subject of battles between these cities, involving also Florence and Perugia. It is as beautiful as it is picturesque and it […]
Monte San Savino is a small town of about 8000 people and it is famous for two things. First, it was one of the first urban settlements in Tuscany, Italy, which originated around 1100. Second Giulio Salvadori a poet and a literary critic was born there. An interesting thing about Salvadori is that he covered to Christianity in 1885. […]
Really we are back in Arezzo for views, wine, food and of course gelato. We found an amazing wine bar with an even more amazing food. Luckily we got the second last table and had a phenomenal lunch. There must have been no less than 25 to 30 people that were simply turned away because the […]
Today is day two of – what else can we eat?!, I mean what other wonders of cultural significance can we find on a morning drive across Tuscany. First stop, Cortona. Some say the first settlement started 273 years after the great flood. The earliest recorded history is from the 7th century BC. Cortona then […]
Last on the list today was a town of Radicofani. About 1100 people live in this village with has been restored in the 1990. The village is dominated by a massive fortress on the top of the hill with a 37m tower. There are two sets of defence walls at the fortress one pentagonal and […]
Some of the oldest human settlements of central Italy were discovered at the base of Monte Cetona, such as the early neo-Paleolithic Gosto cave (40–80th century BC) and Lattaia cave (9–10th century BC). The town of Cetona developed around 900 AD around the fortress which to this day is privately own. Next to the Cetona is a small hill […]
Our second stop is Castiglione d’Orcia, a small town of 2500 residents on a top of a mountain which was mentioned as a settlement for the first time in 714. The town lost it’s independence to the Republic of Sienna in the 14 century and became part of united Italy only in 1861. We did not get to […]
Today we started a medieval tour of Tuscany. First stop a small town of San Quirico d’Orcia located half way between Pienza and Montalcino. The town gain it’s notoriety in medieval times as it was on a pilgrimage route connecting northern Europe to Rome. Today the town is a host to a 3 day wine tasting extravaganza where 17 local […]
Today we went for a drive. This is a typical Tuscan route very reminiscent to the Romantic Road you can take through Bavaria. Basically, you drive through one of the most stunning parts of Tuscany where each hill is doted with a typical Tuscan farmhouse, and a long driveway which in turn is occasionally lined […]
Located about 11 km from Castellini in Chianti is an even smaller village of Radda with 1700 inhabitants. It still takes about 20 min to drive here because the roads are narrow and twisty and suicidal when wet. The town is nice, the views simply spectacular and my shoes are still soaking wet, and I swear to […]
Castellini is a small village in Tuscany located between Florence and Sienna. The first settlement in the area dates back to 800BC and the current village dates back to 1100s. Perched on the top of a hill and surrounded by olive trees and vineyards this is a quaint little town with great wine, cheese and olive oils which […]
Today we are spending a simple day without a schedule. We got into the car and started driving around from one small town to the next starting with San Gimignano our favourite of Tuscan towns. We did a bit of shopping and had a great lunch and got soaked. It rained on and off all […]
Since we visited Florence before we were able to skip a lot of the major landmarks and attractions and simply concentrate on things we have not seen yet. Having said that, it is nearly impossible to be in Florence and walk by the main cathedral and ignore it – it is simply stunning and quite spectacular. […]
For all the planning in the world we did to get to Uffizi without much hassle, we almost blew it today by being late for our scheduled time. In July the line ups to get into Uffizi Gallery are up to 5 hours long. Uffizi has the usual collection of Italian and other European greats like […]
For the next 6 days this will be our home away from home. We decided to stay in one place and simply drive out to where we want to go as opposed to moving from place to place to place. It is quite lovely here. Tour of the inside maybe tomorrow. We have a busy […]
Penza is a birthplace of Aeneas Salvias Piccolomini who later became Pople Pius II. Once he became Pope, Piccolomini had the entire village of Corsignano rebuilt and renamed to become an ideal Renaissance town. The place was intended as a retreat from Rome, and it represents the first application of humanist urban planning concepts. The humanist […]
WOW, it’s been quite a while since we posed anything on here. Having said that we are back on the road again travelling a bit. Short break, nine days in total – destination Tuscany. We did what all responsible parents would naturally do, leave the kids in school and in charge of the house and […]
Perhaps one of the things that Boris and Evelina missed the most about Edmonton was their cousins. The greatest thing in their minds is the fact that our family lives close to us. On a beautiful fall day with the sun shining and leaves blowing in the wind they got on their bikes and went […]
I finally got around to getting these uploaded, converted and here they are for you to enjoy. While at Villa Medici, this was the Masters of Piano graduating class, with formalities of the evening being done, everyone was a lot more relaxed and the music they got out of that wooden box with strings and […]
Here we go. Leaving Germany.
The train came a bit late which always causes unnecessary stress. But I did manage to push my belongings across the terminals and even squeezed in a quick espresso too. All my language is checked in: 22.9 kg, 23.1kg and 12.5kg for the carry on – one less thing to deal with. It is almost […]
First part of this journey home is done, that is getting on the right train with 3 suitcases and 2 bags. Next milestone will be to get off the train and switch airport terminals in Frankfurt. For now I have two solid hours to relax and do nothing.
Here we go, the last drive on a beautiful summer morning – off to the train station.
Monza is an integral part of F1. It is one of the first 7 tracks that hosted the F1 championship in 1950. Since then 64 F1 races were run in Italy and all but one were held at Monza. Monza together with Monaco, Silverstone in England, and Spa in Belgium are four of the original tracks still used today […]
As it turns out the easiest place to ding parking in Switzerland is on a highway. 11 km into Switzerland I am stuck in a highway to nowhere. In 45 min I moved almost 1km. This should be fun. You know when this is going to be bad when people abandon their cars and go […]
It is 10:30pm. The owner of the villa is staying in the private part of this complex behind a big iron gate, in a huge manicured private garden in a smaller private villa more suitable for a family. Alexandro the caretaker and Fiona the lady who makes breakfast sleeps next to the kitchen which is […]
After last night it was slow going this morning but a race day awaits. Karen, Carlos and myself are going to carpool since they know where the good parking is but don’t feel like driving their little Lancia on the twisty Italian roads. We were informed that to have a chance of finding decent parking we […]
After my day out at Monza, I got back to the Villa Medici for the piano concert which I was invited to by Maestro Kanno. Together with a number of other guests and the owner of this fabulous place we watched 4 young musicians show off their polished skills after a week of teaching and a […]
Villa Medici has a different look and feel to it in a daylight. Last night I just wanted to get to bed, today I had a chance to walk around this place, in its endless maze of hallways and rooms that lead to even more hallways and rooms. This place is truly huge and on […]
After some noisy Porsches trashing around the track it was time for F1 qualifying. The crowd cheers, for Ferrari of course, and to improve the odds and feel better, for any previous Ferrari driver, in which case Masa got a lot of cheers. On the way back to the car Red Bull is giving away […]
I ended driving to Monza. Found FREE parking by the Ingresso Biassano, read 300 m from the main gate. F1 qualifying is starting in 50 min. This is the view then from where I am sitting! It is 29C and on metal bleachers it feels like a frying pan! Awesome.
So after circling around the building for about 25 min I managed to find the big brown door to get to where I am staying, Villa Medici. This is a 4000 sq m musical villa. There are over 60 pianos here in this house. I have a piano in my room too, it is bigger […]
This is Villa Medici. I stood and drove around this place for 25 min and parked at least on 3 of the 4 available corners trying to figure out how to get into this place. Apparently there huge brown door had a large metal knocker that you bang, then the doors open and you are […]
I do not think I had more than 10km of road in Switzerland that was not: 1. under construction 2. blocked by someone very important hogging the left lane going below the speed limit 3. passport control 4. traffic
I only made one quick stop in Switzerland to admire the sunset over Alps. It was also the only place when it was not working so it kind of worked out.
I am setting off to Monza for F1. The Temple of Speed awaits..
Well the wheels are on. Now for a test drive and a bill and hopefully I can get on with it.
This is what happens to ZR rated tires on the Autobahn. I think our highest speed was around the 230km/h mark and in the last 16 months there was only one time when we did not go over warp speed which is 200. Before setting out for Monza I stopped to check tire pressure which […]
After a lot of waiting, a lot of talking and a bit of planning this is finally happening. I am going to Monza to see F1 race this coming weekend. I am not sure what to expect, except for a lot of noise and testosterone around and a sea of red and yellow flags supporting […]
When it is all said and done, this is what nostalgia will look like. An evening out in Nuremberg on a beautiful summer’s day.
Today, I think is the last shopping trip I will be making. Just a few small things we still need to bring home. I say small because there simply aren’t too many things we need and there is no room in the suitcases. I am already starting to miss this town. It is had to […]
The two young ladies are taking the zip line at the end of the challenging obstacle course adventure, or as they see it, Hunger Games obstacle course.
Here are two more videos from the Sound and Light Show at the Rouen Cathedral. Simply amazing.
While visiting some of these splendid structures, on a number of occasions, we were treated to the sound of roaring organs. Rouen Cathedral was also a nice treat. Someone was taking the organs for a spin and they sounded mighty.
According to the flight tracker, the eagle has landed. Welcome to Edmonton?!
According to flight tracker ICE693 is half way over to Edmonton currently somewhere over the Great White North.
Boarding passes in hand, family is off through security scan. That is a lot of electronic fruit they need to pull out.
I think these smiles say it all, or they are just posing for the camera. In Frankfurt at the airport just waiting to get bows all wrapped up and set off.
The lag gauge has arrived – all of these 12 suitcases came with me in a car with room for maybe two or there more. Now they are waiting for the family to help me push them to departures.
This is how you get 12 suitcases and 2 bows into a car with room to spare. That is one very loaded car!! The drive should be fun..
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