An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
The Doge’s Palace, or Palazzo Ducale, is one of the iconic landmarks of the Piazza San Marco in Venice. For years I’ve been appreciating its Gothic architecture from the outside, but this year Gareth and I finally toured the interior as well. If you don’t mind queuing, you...
What does wold-renowned fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones and Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci have in common? As it turns out, the church of San Barnaba in Venice, it seems. Gareth and I, film buffs that we are, wanted to find where X marks the spot in one of our favourite movies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, so when we had...
Most people who visit Venice also take the time to see Murano (the glass island) and Burano (the lace island), but few venture further than that. Since Gareth and I had decided to make it our mission to see a different side of the lagoon city this time, we hopped onto a vaporetto and explored a little further. ...
I’ve said many times before how much I love Venice. Not only is it a tourist’s paradise, and a shopper’s delight, but it is also a city filled with history and art and beautiful sights around every corner. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my Top 10 Highlights of Venice as experienced on our last...
For a long time now, Venice has been my secret fantasy. Whenever I have a rough day at work I think to myself, let’s just pack it all up and move to Venice. I have always wanted to live there, just for a few months, just to see what the city is all about when you take away the tourist...
We had a morning for Verona, we wished we had a whole week. A lesser-known jewel of Italy’s Veneto region, this charming city immediately claimed our hearts as we walked through its marble-paved streets following a hand-drawn map of the biggest highlights as recommended by our friendly host at Castion Veronese. It was only by chance, really, that we decided...
“Hurry! The ferry is waiting at the dock already!” “I don’t think we’re going to make it!” “There it goes. When is the next one due?” “Only two hours from now.” Gareth and I looked at each other in dismay. This was pretty much the story of our...
There was only one place Gareth insisted that we visited while touring through Italy – the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. Boys will be boys, and this one was giddy with excitement the moment we had parked and the first of the red stallions screamed past us. Apparently you can also pay to drive one of these iconic supercars yourself for...
While day one in Florence had been all about art and architecture, day two was mostly about museums, both indoors and outdoors. Here are more of our highlights while exploring this fantastic Italian city. The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, is one of Florence’s iconic sights. The bridge spans the river Arno and is famous for still having all the...
Florence is crowded, smelly and sweltering. It’s also jaw-droppingly gorgeous. We visited for two days and only scratched the surface of everything there is to see and do in this city that was once the Western world’s epicentre for art and culture. Here are a few of our highlights. Il Duomo di Firenze, or the Florence Cathedral, is free to...