Looking for a Tuscan cafe that serves vegetarian food in Siena, Italy? I’ve got a great suggestion for you.
Nello La Taverna is sometimes referred to as La Taverna di Nello. This is a Tuscan restaurant that …
Looking for restaurant recommendations for the hilltowns of Tuscany? I’ve gleaned some insider tips from Ferenc Mate’s delightful memoir A Vineyard in Tuscany.
Mate loves food and wine with a passion. While renovating his dream house in Tuscany and …
Pienza is a beautiful little Renaissance town in Tuscany with a fascinating history. It’s located between Montepulciano and Montalcino, and is less than an hour’s drive or bus ride from Siena.
As a perfectly preserved Renaissance town and …
It’s a long way from Nanaimo to Venice, and I wanted to make the journey as fast as possible. Alas, my chauffeurs had a different idea.
I really should be grateful to them for hauling me out of bed at …
Another Italy travel tip is to purchase a multiday pass for the vaporetto (water bus) in Venice. It’s a great deal that many tourists aren’t aware of or aren’t confident enough to use. Buying a pass allows you to get …
One of my favorite Venice things to do is a vaporetto (water bus) tour on the Grand Canal.
On Day 2, before we went out to dinner, we spent a couple of hours doing just that. A Grand Canal vaporetto …
My number one tip for Venice things to do? Walk. Take a break from maps, guidebooks and lineups, and simply wander the streets.
Leave your list of “must see” buildings behind in the hotel. If you happen …
If you want to experience riding in a traditional Venetian gondola, but you don’t want to pay the 100+ euros that a private gondola ride costs, try a traghetto ride. A traghetto is a public transport gondola that takes you …
Calli, Campielli e Canali is generally agreed to be the ultimate map of Venice. With this book in hand, you will be able to find even the most out-of-the-way places in Venice.
However, it is distinctly more difficult to carry …
We’d just arrived in Venice after a 20 hour flight. Somehow I had mislaid the map with directions to our guest house. Tired and confused, I went into a tiny little snack bar. I figured since this was a tourist …
