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Venice: Canals and Islands
Our first day in Venice had been spent on foot, exploring the narrow streets and delightful piazzas on the land. We wanted our second day to be completely different and so we took to the water instead, heading into Venice along the Grand Canal and then out to colourful Burano far away across the lagoon. I will try to describe for you how wonderful and magical it all was, but in the spirit of balanced reporting, I also have to tell you that some of it was not quite so magical… Travelling by water bus in Venice Getting around Venice any other way than on foot is an expensive…
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There’s More to Bologna than Bolognese
In the end it wasn’t too hard to drag ourselves away from the beauty of the Ligurian coast because the rain came. Storm after storm pushed through and ponds started to appear around the campsite. It was time to move. There are only a couple of routes through the Appenine mountains suitable for towing a caravan and so we first headed north in the direction of Parma. There were signs here saying that snow tyres were compulsory between 15 November and 15 April, so we were glad we weren’t here any earlier in the year. There were plenty of tunnels on the route and we followed the course of the…
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Touring the Marble Quarries at Fantiscritti, Carrara, Italy
Everywhere we have been in this part of Liguria, we have been able to see the spectacular Apuan Alps in the distance, their bare stone rising up in jagged splendour behind the green hills and colourful towns. They appear to have snow nestling in some of their valleys and dips, but it is far too warm here for snow and so for a long time we wondered what it was. I was determined to get a closer look, so despite steep, narrow mountain roads with switchbacks and blind corners, we made the drive up towards Carrara. This was a girls only trip as Andy didn’t fancy this one and he…
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The Allure of Cinque Terre
For a long time, the name Cinque Terre has conjured up romantic images in my mind of a timeless Italian coastline. And I am not alone – it is often featured in magazines, on websites and in many a Sunday newspaper travel section. It is significant enough for the Lonely Planet to dedicate a whole section of its Italy travel guide to it. But what is it? And why do people flock here in droves? Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is actually five villages all strung out along a rugged stretch of Ligurian coastline, south of Genoa and north of Pisa. Here colourful houses cling impossibly to the cliffs and cascade…
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Remembering Loved Ones in Beautiful Liguria
It was magical standing on deck as the port and town of Genoa came into view: the sun just peeked through the clouds to cast an enchanting glow on the pastel coloured buildings and the excitement of a new country with all its tastes, smells, architecture and history ran through me and swelled my heart. And at that point, I understood a truth: I had enjoyed our time in Spain, but I really LOVE Italy! In 2014 we were lucky enough to spend a month touring this wonderful country and it was fabulous to be back! With romantic music playing in my head and dreams of delicious ice cream on…
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GNV Ferry Barcelona to Genoa: Review
It was quite an experience getting the ferry from Barcelona to Genoa. Firstly, there was very little information online about what time to arrive, where to go etc. Then when we got to the port, there were no signs for GNV and we had no idea where to go or what the check-in procedure was. We ended up pulling up at a bus stop whilst I went off to find out. I decided to write this post to help anyone else looking at this as an option and wondering what to expect. Booking Process When we booked our tickets, the website was all available in English and booking was fairly…
