Inspiring Travels

With these strange and ever changing times around us, I have like all of us, had the time to ponder  how this affects both the world we live in and our own individual space. Looking at how this pandemic is affecting other parts of the world is both shocking and scary as we Australians are guarded and protected by our island continent.  This protection does also, however create for me, a feeling of separation which is strange. Like most travel lovers, I have viewed the world as my playground to explore.  To see and experience all the varied cultures and landscapes as I wished. But now, I am faced with the thought that I never,  ever imagined I would face.  That I can not move and travel as I wish. That borders are now locked and we have no clear idea of when this or if, may change.  To image the idea of never being able to depart and explore our world makes me very sad. The village of San Fele  I am sure that soon this will change and we can a...

Cinque Terra – 5 grounds Vernazza A beautiful place of the world but the effects of Tourism are so obvious in this region. Our time was so short in this beautiful region so we did a guided day trip to visit Cinque Terra. Just to give us a taste of the region I had heard so much about and that gets, from reports in 2015, 2.5 millions visitors a year! The tour was great in that it arranged all transport with a comfortable bus trip to the coast from Florence, and a guide that helped us navigate though the various train stations and crowds. It’s an easy place to visit and a tour is not required if you have the time, but the crowds! OMG We were there in an off season time (May) and still the trains, streets and shops were all busy. I really felt the effects of overcrowding! The entire place was spoilt to the point that to see 'cinque terra’ was really impossible – and the vibe of the pretty fishing village was totally lost. I really do feel sorry for ...

The fashion of Florence – Bella Tuscany For those that have been to Italy, you may get this – we have the loud, slightly grungy rawness of Rome and Napoli (the male?), but then we have the refined elegance – the ladies of Italy – places like Florence and Milan – which are just 'pretty', pretty with the elegant buildings and piazzas, but this is also where one can find some great fashion and style. I had forgotten how small and beautiful Florence is, less cars and crowds (in May) and the entire city can be walked. Vasari corridor leading into the Ponte Veechio The Fashion..... Don’t get me wrong, places like Rome have great shopping, but Florence is the place where must do window shopping is done as your stroll the streets, where the designer labels showcase their wares. And of course, buy if you can! One shop I can recommend for beautiful and quality handbags is Donatello Firenze www.donatellofirenze.it Some the 'window shopping' I di...

  Tivoli Italia Its 25 years since my first visit to Tivoli. It was the first place I ever travelled to overseas, so it holds a special place in my heart, with strong memories. So for this reason, and the fact that I stayed with family I had never met before, I wanted to revisit some of the amazing sites there. Tivoli is a lovely small town approx. 1hr by car from Rome and can make a lovely day or afternoon trip away from the madding crowds of Rome. I had an amazing few days on that first visit. The excitement of being in a foreign place and with Tivoli being such a beautiful ‘village’ having the bonus of multiple UNESCO world heritage sites like Villa d'Este and Villa Gregorian in town, I was blessed. I really wanted to go back because the first time I went, to Villa d'Este, famous for its fountains, were not working! But would I be disappointed with the changes that I was sure had happened over the 25 years I was last there? Well I made it...

Firstly, I have to say: Sorry, for the delay in blogging after returning from our inspiring travels.  Reality(how dare it!) inflicted itself on to me so, its taking a few weeks to recover and settle. Now, about our travels: ROMA! Did you know there are over 700 churches in Rome? Well, we arrived finally after 21 hours flying to Roma. Stayed in a wonderful airbnb apartment which for us, managed to create a feeling of living in Rome. It's a nice change from hotels and I can highly recommend it. With 5 days to explore you get to really settle into a locale routine and feel the lifestyle. Roma is full of energy and noise. Its unapologetic with its way and you just have to go with it! First day and hit the ground running to all the usual places. Loving the organised chaos. One moment of amore' (not for me- hehe) was at Trevi Fountain when this guy proposed marriage to his girl. The poliza even allowed them to enter the closed area and the...