We visited a lot of castles! But first we stayed in one: Spedaletto, in the Tuscan countryside, our first stop after Florence and our favourite accommodation of the whole trip. Related Images:
Archive for August, 2023
20 August 2023
Eating Italy
We ate too much food in Italy. It was inevitable. Generally we found the best experiences were reasonably priced cucina tipica. Almost every time we tried to go up a notch and try more inventive & modern cooking… it was disappointing (Cortex in Parma being the noble exception!). This might well be our own inability » » »
20 August 2023
Italian landscapes
It feels like Italy has a continent’s worth of landscapes in one country, and we were only exploring the northern half. From Ligurian coast, Renaissance cities, Tuscan hills, Po plains, Marche countryside to Dolomite mountains… Related Images:
19 August 2023
Gallery of the Renaissance
Florence is a ridiculous city where you can gorge yourself on an endless feast of Renaissance art in any number of museums and churches. We added to our experience piecemeal after that, in Parma, in Torrechiara and especially in Urbino. So this is just our own little gallery of idiosyncratic faces and surprising works of » » »
14 August 2023
Breakfast banter
Monday 10 July 2023 Just before going home we had a nice traditional blast of French hospitality. Our chambre des hotes, Les Accacias, was a converted farmhouse down a kilometre long woodland track in the middle of nowhere, run by a retired couple who spoke no English (but made good use of Google Translate on » » »
14 August 2023
Once more unto the Alps
Sunday 9 July 2023 This morning we got up at 4:30am and left our hotel in the dark at 5am to drive 3 hours west through the Alps and look for ibex on the Niederhorn, a small mountain near Interlaken. Mammal-watching is a hobby with weird habits. And we were a bit miffed that we » » »
14 August 2023
Liechtenstein
Saturday 8 July 2023 Time for another couple of wineries before heading across borders to teh tiny nation of Liechtenstein! First we tried Kellerei Bozen (kellerei = cantina and I guess the choice of word is a strong indication of whether the owners think of themselves as more German or more Italian!), which was another » » »
14 August 2023
Gambolling about
Friday 7 July 2023 In the morning at check-out Giselle talked us through some wine makers we might want to try for tastings (especially smaller ones). You can’t get much better advice than the sommelier of a Michelin 2* restaurant in the area you want to go tasting! Mmm… also need to note the lovely » » »
14 August 2023
Magic Place
Thursday 6 July 2023 This was definitely the relaxing and indulgent day we needed after all that hiking! Okay, it started a bit odd. Rather than stopping for breakfast in Val Gardena I decided we should get going and find breakfast along the way to Bolzano and the Adige valley… only to find that there » » »
14 August 2023
This is the hike
Wednesday 5 July 2023 Today’s hike was the best. Defying the weather forecasts once more, it was the sunniest yet and the clouds hadn’t even come over by the time we finished around 4pm (unluckily we couldn’t find any shady parking… so the car was a teensy bit hot by the time we got back). » » »
14 August 2023
Robot hotel
Tuesday 4 July Our new accommodation is Residence Boe, a block of apartments managed and run by robots (we believe). When you arrive you check in by speaking into a phone, and a voice tells you to put a blank key card on a little plate and then tells you that this is the key » » »
14 August 2023
Up the Kaiserjager Route
Monday 3 July Today we twisted our way back along all the mountain roads to the starting place for the Kaiserjager Route. There was more sun than yesterday, although still a mighty load of clouds browsing on the mountains like a herd of giant sheep. What is the Kaiserjager Route? It’s a hiking trail that » » »
10 August 2023
Cursed Dolomite day
Sunday 2 July 2023 No, really. The day dawned cloudy but at least dry and we set off really early for our chosen hike – the somewhat challenging Kaiserjager Route up to the top of Lagazuoi where there are incredible views. Gnarly opener, but we picked this because the forecast suggested the weather would get » » »
10 August 2023
Oh so now it rains?
Saturday 1 June 2023 Quite annoying departure from Palazzo Valmarana Braga. We took one load of luggage down the road to the car at 9ish… and came back to find that the cleaner had already come in, had assumed that we’d “left” the rest of our luggage (it was moved to the office) and had » » »
10 August 2023
Prosecco day
Friday 30 June 2023 Breakfast for the second time at a pasticceria on the main square. I’m a bit addicted to the little buns here – the dough is a bit like hot-cross bun dough, but there’s no dried fruit and they are full of a tangy apricot marmalade. Prosecco is grown in another set » » »
10 August 2023
Soave day
Thursday 29 June 2023 Today we went wine-tasting in Soave. It’s a white wine region that didn’t have a very good name back in the day – mass-produced plonk that was a byword for cheap. Imagine Sharon asking for a glass of swar-vay. As in many other places around the world, a new generation of » » »