On Tuesday, we decided to try take our minds off the U.S. midterm elections by hiking to the top of Lycabettus Hill, with the highest point in central Athens and breathtaking views in every direction. The hill is behind the parliament building, which attracts a small crowd to Greece&
Greetings from Athens! Let's walk and talk about ancient democracy. But first, a detour through England. In 1947, Winston Churchill famously declared that "Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is
Enjoy a special guest post from Bonnie today: Santorini, Greece is an island of contradictions. The views of the Aegean Sea, the purple and pink bougainvillea flowers, and the landscape of the Caldera are spectacular. Volcanic mountains drop into the ocean while iconic blue and white buildings cluster in the
Get comfortable, friends, for a throwback travel tale you might find hard to believe. I was a philosophy major in college, with a special interest in the ancient Greeks. I had transferred from Duke to the University of South Carolina, in my hometown of Columbia. Accounting classes were boring, English
Here are some random and sometimes conflicted observations on our first days in Rome. Rome is a must-see city for a "Europe 101" trip, being the fifth largest in continental Europe, with perhaps the most historical significance. There's too much history to absorb it all,
The train ride from Cinque Terre to Rome required a stopover in La Spezia, a port city of just under 100,000 about 10 miles east of Manarola. We decided to get there early, store our luggage for a few hours and explore La Spezia before the three-and-a-
We spent a week in Italy's Cinque Terre, the five coastal villages along the Liburian Sea. If you have a notion to go there (and you should!), here are a few considerations. Regardless of where you stay, you'll want to visit each village. You might enjoy
As a frequent Airbnb customer, we get occasional special offers for Airbnb "experiences," special events in the area we are renting. This led us to "BachYard, a concert in the vineyard," in Riomaggiore, Italy earlier this week. Riomaggiore is the southernmost town in the Cinque Terre,
In prior blog posts, I've commented on my search for inner peace. For purposes of this blog post, let inner peace and happiness mean essentially the same thing... life is good! It is said that "money can't buy happiness, but broke can't buy
What do white truffles, Nutella spread and Barolo wine have in common? Give up? All three come from Italy's Piemonte (or Piedmont) region, where life slows down and elevation ramps up in northwest Italy. The most famous white truffle in the world is the Tartufo Bianco d'
![From [here] to [there]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/87/9f8784a0-2eb2-48c4-958f-5c861ace35f4/content/images/size/w600/2026/10/Map-to-La-Morra.png)
Usually, getting from a given Point A to a target Point B is extremely straightforward. You can drive, or fly, or take a bus or train. We've been in Europe over five weeks, with overnights in Geneva, Montreux, Amsterdam's suburb of Utrecht, Paris, Dijon, Lyon and
You’ve probably seen the headlines: mass protests in France. Maybe you read the details. And possibly even wondered for a second or two whether I’m safe over here. Fear not, loyal readers. Everything is fine (mostly). The whole thing started when some high school students near Paris demonstrated