An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
One of the stops on our self-guided Demons & Angels tour of Rome, Castel Sant’Angelo has been on my must-see list since the first time I set foot in the Eternal City. The round fortress dominates its surroundings by sheer size and antiquity and I’ve always wanted to know what was going on inside its impressively fortified walls. Built between...
Gareth and I both enjoyed Dan Brown’s bestselling novel Angels and Demons and we’re huge fans of the Tom Hanks film as well. So when we visited Rome, we went out of our way to see some of the Eternal City’s featured sights. Here’s what we found (there might be some spoilers below for those of you unfamiliar with the...
Rome is a crazy, busy, noisy city. But step onto the ancient Via Sacra, past the Arch of Constantine and into the Roman Forum, and you will leave all of that behind. If your imagination is active enough, and you choose one of the side paths not trampled by the hordes of tourists, it is almost like taking a step...
Our first experience of the Colosseum left much to be desired. It was the very first thing we went to see when we arrived in Rome. At 10:00 in the morning, the queue already stretched outside and around the building. Not having bought prepaid tickets, there was nothing for...
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...