One could surely plan a whole week or more around the northern lakes in Italy. This picturesque countryside nestled in the mountains is simply beautiful. No wonder many actors and celebrities have second homes here. As part of our Northern Italy road trip, we visited Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. While we would have loved […]
While we’ve heard some bloggers compare Verona with Rome, our honest opinion is that nothing can compare to Rome. With that out of the way, we enjoyed our visit in Verona. Many of Verona’s top attractions are concentrated in the historic center, Città Antica. This area is pedestrian friendly making it easy to explore on […]
About an hour west from Venice Marco Polo Airport is the city of Vicenza. This was one of the towns on our Northern Italy adventure that we adored. Perhaps the reason we loved it so much was due to our wonderful hotel, the Palazzo Scamozzi, which was actually a converted 1720 palace. Having booked early […]
The city of Padua is literally a 30-minute drive from Venice Marco Polo Airport and makes for an easy stop if starting one’s adventure from there. In our case, it felt a bit weird to arrive in Venice and not go into Venice for a visit. We were intending on maximizing our Northern Italy attractions, […]
After a couple of failed attempts to visit the Rhine Valley, we both had huge smiles as the Lufthansa 747 left the ground on the way to Frankfurt, Germany. We had twice planned this trip having gone through the exercise of researching the locations, choosing and reserving great hotels, and making detailed maps of what […]
When we first saw a 10-day cruise itinerary sailing from Rome to Athens with no sea days, we knew this was a cruise for us. We are not big fans of sea days, and this cruise didn’t have any, so it was ideal. On top of that we would be able to add a pre- […]
Founded in 753 BC, the Eternal City has a lot to offer its visitors. Exploring impressive Roman vestiges that reveal Rome’s long and fascinating history and visiting divine religious sites including the world’s largest church, St. Peter’s Basilica, top the list. One of our favorite things to do in Rome is simply to roam around […]
We simply love Europe with its deep-rooted history, great cuisine, and myriad of things to do. France is one of our favorite countries to visit. Maybe my French roots have something to do with that! We had previously enjoyed time in Paris as well as the French Riviera and Normandy but one area that we […]
About 30 minutes’ drive north of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is the beautiful Château de Chantilly. This magnificent castle rivals Fontainebleau and Versailles but is lesser known and less crowded (at least when we went). It is well worth visiting and makes for the perfect day trip from Paris. It can also be visited […]
Just south of Paris and about an hour and a half’s drive from Charles de Gaulle airport is the magnificent Château de Fontainebleau. The medieval part of the castle dates back to the 12th century but only the dungeon still exists. From 1528, under the reign of King François I, the castle saw many transformations […]