Italy was a different trip for me in many ways. It was my first time returning to Europe, since my family left Serbia in 1990. Many little things reminded me of when I was growing up. It was Amelie’s first time visiting Europe, but most likely not the last. I really enjoyed the pizzas, spicy …
Our final day in Italy started off slow. I wanted make sure Amelie and I got good seats on the flight home, so I woke up early to check-in online. Unfortunately, a mix-up between KLM and its partner, Delta, resulted in some errors that prevented us from checking in. I spent sometime on the phone …
Most of today was spent travelling. We set out extremely early from Sorrento so we could make it to Naples in time to catch the high speed train to Venice. Going between 200 and 300 km/hour, the train was able to get us to Venice in only 4 hours with some stops along the way. …
An early ferry took us to the island of Capri, our final destination in this picturesque region. It took us only 25 minutes to reach Capri which left us plenty of time to explore. The island was bigger than I expected but we managed to walk the whole length and to the highest point. Capri …
What a spectacular day! We couldn’t have asked for better weather to drive along the Amalfi coast. We were expecting rain which made it that much sweeter! Today we spent the day in Positano, Amalfi and some of the smaller villages along the Amalfi coast. It was such a beautiful trip! We bought a 24 …
We left Rome this morning to travel to Sorrento, a town on the Almafi cost of Italy. We originally thought we’d stay in Naples but we heard from some other travellers that Naples is worth skipping. It only took us one hour to travel from Rome to Naples on the rapid train. Once in Naples, …
We took some more time to explore the Colosseum and the Roman Forum today. The Colosseum looks as I anticipated from pictures; maybe a bit smaller and less imposing. It’s pretty amazing that people drive past such an old structure as they commute to their 21 century jobs. The entertainment that took place in the …
We saw so many interesting things today that I don’t know where to begin. The weather in the morning was beautiful; it had rained over night and everything was shiny and fresh in the morning sunlight. We passed through St. Peter’s square at 7:30 am and there were already dozens of tour groups; many made …
The Arno river and surrounding buildings looked beautiful in the morning sunlight as we walked through Pisa toward the tower. When we arrived at the sight of the tower, there were very few people so we immediately bought a ticket to climb up. The tilt of the tower was far more obvious from the outside …
Cinque Terre treated us to a beautiful, clear day. We hiked towards the “mountain trail” and soon found a lower trail that cut across the hillside. The trail took us through vineyards, gardens and across the front steps of more isolated homes. We found ourselves completely alone with the exception of a few local homeowners …
We set out from Florence on an early train to Cinque Terre. We had planned to stop in Pisa on the way but we changed our plans when we saw that it was raining (perhaps we will visit on the way to Rome). Cinque Terre is located on the Italian Rivera and literally means “Five …
It was lightly raining when we got up so we decided to do some indoor activities. Our first stop was the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery is very famous because it houses many paintings of the Early and High Renaissance. The travel guides suggested that we book our ticket for the gallery in advance but we …
With our base in Florence, Amelie and I decided to visit the neighboring medieval town of San Gimignano and the rival city of Siena. We thought about renting a vehicle to accomplish this task, but found out that an International Driver’s Permit would be required. Some rental companies don’t mention this, however, internet traveling forums …
We started the day at 5:00 am so we could make it down to the Piazza San Marco for sunrise. As we walked through the dark empty corridors, we could hear seagulls and other maritime birds squawking. The sunrise wasn’t that great but it was nice to see the popular tourist attractions empty in the …
We started the day by wandering from our hotel to the close by Piazza San Marco. The two highlights in this area were the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale. The size of the square and the ornate details were striking. After a quick look and some photos, we walked along the shoreline …
The flight from Calgary to Amsterdam went by quickly thanks to two meals and the inflight video games. I now remember how much I like Tetris (thank you KLM). Unfortunately I still have to forgive Marko for beating me in multiplayer mode so many times. We landed in Amsterdam around 8:00 am local time; which …