Oops – We’re In The Wrong Country!

  Trieste, Italy, was a very elegant city, combining Italian, German, Latin, Austrian, Hungarian and Slavic cultures, but it was time to move on to Slovenia and Croatia.   We could not find an automatic car to rent in downtown Trieste and found automatic transmission vehicles were only available at the airport…. Continue reading

The Little Known Islands Of The Venetian Lagoon

  Everyone knows Venice, but who knew that there were over 100 other islands all around Venice?   These little-known islands of the Venetian Lagoon are fabulously interesting, and kind of kept a secret by the locals.   Some of the islands are uninhabited, some have only a few dozen people.  … Continue reading

Trieste: Full of Surprises

  The trip from Venice to Trieste by train follows the curved coast of Italy and has some spectacular views of the towns dotting the hilly green coast and the Adriatic Sea.   We met the sweetest couple on the train. A Chinese couple that helped us with our luggage,… Continue reading

French Riviera – Get Packing

  In a few days we will be landing in Marseilles, France. It’s a little surreal that you can be on the French Riviera in Europe on the other side of the world in just one day, your whole environment completely changed in a few hours.   We are house sitting… Continue reading

Venice: The Grand Seduction

  The approach to Venice by train is seductive in itself…    Just seeing a city floating on water is astonishing. How did they do that? Why did they do that?   Apparently it wasn’t intentional. It happened sometime around the fall of the Roman Empire when the mainland was invaded… Continue reading

Pay To Pee

  God Forbid if you have to go to the bathroom in Italy train stations.   First of all, they are scarce and hard to find. There is usually only one bathroom, and these train stations are huge! Train stations are the size of malls, with many shops and restaurants,… Continue reading

Kicked Off The Train in Milan

  Managing the trains in Europe is not so easy as one might expect. Nice to Venice through Milan was $120C, changing trains three times with only 10-12 minutes each time to change trains.   Now when you have to find a new train, on a new platform, usually requiring you… Continue reading