We recently concluded 4 days on the Amalfi Coast, using Sorrento as our home base.  This sunset image was taken about a 5 min walk from our small hotel, which is just below those monster hotels you see further up on the hillside. We took a ferry over to Capri Island, one of the most picturesque […]

We started today with a guided tour of Pompeii, which is a 45-acre unearthed city. Though the general story of Pompeii is well known, the details are not so much.  The guide provided us with those details of daily life in Pompeii, how the city was one of the leading trading centers, showed us details of the […]

We have just spent several days touring the Tuscany region of Italy, with the medieval town of Siena as our base.  “Sienna” is the color many artists are familiar with. Without a doubt, the highlight of this portion of the trip was the cooking school at La Scuola di Cucina in Siena.  We learned to […]

Venice has a world renowned Carnaval every year, where masks and elaborate costumes abound.  The practice comes from the Middle Ages, when only persons of Noble birth were allowed to wear masks.  In an attempt to quell civil discontent, it was declared that peasants could wear masks and engage in debauchery one week of each […]

On our first night in Venice, we visited a cicchetti bar (small finger foods, which would be called “tapas” in Spain).  On their wall was my new motto in life, as seen in the upper right image. ☺ What first comes to mind when you think of Venice?  James Bond destroying buildings on the canal? […]

Sunset in Vernazza is when the village becomes most colorful We continued our Italian trip to Cinque Terre for the past few days.  This is actually a designated (UNESCO world heritage site) national marine park consisting of five seaside villages connected by hiking trails and trains, hugging the rugged Italian Riviera. They are extremely picturesque […]

We visited Pisa today, and of course made a beeline to the Tower of Pisa, which is known as one of the Seven Wonders of Medieval Times in Italy and one of the most recognizable structures on earth. As we entered the walled complex, the Leaning Tower of Pisa became quite prominent.  The architecture is […]

Sunset at Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence We began our travels by staying overnight in Madrid for a layover between Ecuador and Italy. After studying Spanish for 3 years in Cuenca, I figured I would be able to communicate in Madrid.  Well… yes and no…  Every time I said anything in Spanish, they looked at […]