We began our journey to the Tuscan countryside with a hasty decision as to where we would be laying our heads that evening. A couple of hours before we were to arrive, we had narrowed it down to two places. We more or less decided on one place just to make a decision. Again, fortune […]
Santa Maria del Fiore “Florence’s cathedral stands tall over the city with its magnificent Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The cathedral named in honor of Santa Maria del Fiore is a vast Gothic structure built on the site of the 7th century church of Santa Reparata. Florence’s cathedral is the 4th largest in the world, after St. […]
We stayed at a lovely cottage Villa Olanda B & B and apartments in Mira Porte. Our cottage was one of three set in the back of an estate. We had two bedrooms and an open concept living and kitchen area. We also had table and chairs outside to enjoy the well- manicured garden.Our landlord, […]
We arrived at the restaurant Taverna Venexia (see previous post) to discover that we were too early. The restaurant was not due to open for another hour and a half. We decided to go across the street to a “happy hour” bar for some wine to pass the time. It must have been serendipity for […]
Mira Porte I have always believed that you meet people or events happen for a reason. Therefore, with that in mind, it was no surprise when we arrived at the bus stop in Mira Porte, which was in front of Taverna Venexia. It was nighttime and even though we had excellent directions from our landlord, […]
I am starting this post with a warning. After purchasing our train tickets for Venice, we made a dash for the train as we had only minutes to spare. We were offered help from a man to find our car and he “kindly” helped us with our luggage and in finding our seats. I KNEW […]
VATICAN We took the “hop on hop off” tour bus to the Vatican. For 20 euros, it is a good deal for a mini tour of Rome. We planned, time permitting, to stop at one or two other sights. Our first stop was at the road leading to the Vatican. Walking along the wide street […]
ROME Travelling around Europe is easy and relatively inexpensive. For short hauls, the train system is the best, fast and plenty of connections. Airplane travel is also reasonable. I was surprised at the size of the planes for short jaunts. I was expecting little “puddle jumpers.” The ferry systems between the Greek islands, especially the […]
SYROS Syros was not on my original list of Greek islands to visit but as my friend’s niece lived there, Syros of course made it on the list. It turned out to be a good decision. Syros is a beautiful island. What little we did manage to see certainly impressed me. We stayed at […]
MYKONOS In Greek mythology, Mykonos was the location of the battle between Zeus and the Titans and the island was named in honor of Mykonos, grandson of Apollo. Due to the ferry schedule, we had to overnight in Mykonos, of Shirley Valentine fame. It is a charming island with windmills and loads of character. Mykonos […]