If you haven’t noticed, flights are getting more expensive. If you’re looking for ways to cut the biggest costs of your trips, check guest blogger Harry Wilson’s tips on finding cheap fares.
So many people make the mistake of coming to Italy in July. I have a better idea. Come now. November is a terrific time to visit. Flights are cheaper. Cities are less crowded. Weather is cooler. Yeah, it rains. Bring an umbrella. Wear a sweater. I offer 10 good reasons to visit during Italy’s off-season month.
Looking for a new backpack? Guest blogger Harry Wilson gives three tips on how to pick the perfect one for you.
Last fall I joined the Travelers’ Century Club, a club for travelers who’ve been to at least 100 countries and territories. The list is loose and the checklist seems way too important for some members. But it got me in touch with 1,500 club members, many of whom have traveled more than I. During our long weekend in Madrid, Marina and I attended the TCC’s Mediterranean Chapter meeting and dinner.
We love day trips. We dedicated TraveLazio, our biweekly blog, to day trips from Rome. During our long weekend in Madrid this month, we took a day trip to Segovia, one of the prettiest towns in Spain. It’s touristy but it has a 2,000-year-old Roman aqueduct that puts the ones remaining in Rome to shame. It also has a castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland.
Two weeks ago we came to Madrid for a meeting and found a city rapidly improving and vibrant. The public transportation is fantastic, the streets are clean and the museums still rule the culture scene. We could’ve used some coffee before 9 a.m. but the tapas made up for it. We spent four days in Madrid and came away with this report.
Lovcen National Park is one of Montenegro’s five national parks and offers some of the best hiking in the Balkans. I took two hikes from my luxurious hotel, including one to the tomb of Peter II Petrovic Nejgos, considered the father of Montenegro. The hikes aren’t difficult but they attract few hikers. Too bad. The views are astounding.
Thousands come to Montenegro for its superb white-water rafting. So did I. I came in September when the rapids are only Class 2 but the scenery made up for the lack of thrills. The Dinaric Alps consist of 50 peaks of at least 6,000 feet and Lake Piva and Tara River are two of the bluest bodies of water I’ve seen outside the South Pacific.
It had been 45 years since I last went to Montenegro. Back then it was part of Yugoslavia and the capital of Podgorica was called Titograd, a city so ugly it’s shocking Yugoslavia’s leader allowed his name to be associated with it. Since then, so much has happened yet some things haven’t changed. I spent 10 days in Montenegro this month and hit everything from the star-crossed capital to the gorgeous mountains to the steaming sea and bay. Here’s the first of a three-part blog.
Everyone knows the Roman Colosseum. Few know another stadium was built in 86 A.D. shortly after the Colosseum was built. Emperor Domician built Stadio di Domiziano to promote athletics among his Roman citizenry. It was used for running events, wrestling and javelin as well as military training. In 2014 the city opened up the stadium ruins to the public. They’re located five meters below the current Piazza Navona.
Yannis Bountalas is part of a seven-generation family of Greek shipbuilders on the Greek island of Skopelos. Two hundred years ago, his family built boats that sailed the world, carrying goods from their island. After modernization took over the industry, they began making small replicas of some of the most famous boats in the world. Marina and I found him in his tiny shipbuilding factory high on the island’s hill. We saw boats three meters high and created to the exact detail.
We’ve come to Greece every August and we’ve gone about 10 times in each our lives. A major draw is the food. In our latest trip, I took extensive notes of what has been ranked as the world’s No. 2 cuisine behind Italy. I also interviewed two renowned chefs for an inside look at what gives me the cravings from md-winter on.
