Hotel Alessandra in Florence is a fantastic deal. It sits only a street back from the Ponte Vecchio, located in a beautiful old building in a street dotted with artisan shops and small family-owned restaurants. The Room I couldn’t believe how enormous and charming our room was, with ample room for an king sized bed, armoire, a window seat, a sink and two big armchairs. … Continue reading Stay in Florence: Hotel Alessandra
The most delicious gelato in Florence is Edoardo’s, right under the Duomo. It stands out against the countless old-school gelatarias in Italy with modern decor and most importantly, gelato that is kept under wraps (or, metal lids), a sign of a true gelato mastery. Gelato is kept freshest this way and as tempting as gelato piled high in cabinet windows may look, it is the … Continue reading Organic Gelato in Florence: Edoardo Il Gelato Biologico
The Italian Riviera was good for my feet. In Sorrento I bought custom made sandals and on the Amalfi beach I enjoyed a foot massage, which I purchased before remembering that I have insanely ticklish feet. I managed not to kick the masseuse, but I gave my stomach muscles a work out as I tried not to giggle. Like Positano, the small town of Amalfi is … Continue reading Treating my feet on an Amalfi beach
Wide boulevards, elegant stone buildings with gun-metal grey roofs and few buildings more than five or six stories tall. This is how we tend to think of Paris. It wasn’t until my third visit to Paris that I saw a different side to the City of Light. La Defense, technically outside the city’s limits, is Paris’ modern business district. Free of height restrictions, skyscrapers grow … Continue reading La Defense Neighbourhood Guide, Paris
I don’t know why we decided to stay in Levanto, rather than a Cinque Terre town, but I’m so glad we did. I fell in love with this peaceful seaside village quite by mistake. In fact, when we arrived with no map and not a clue of which direction to go in, I questioned why I decided to go to Levanto in the first place. … Continue reading Escape the Cinque Terre crowds in Levanto
By the time we arrived in Venice, we had worked up an appetite. We’d taken the train from Verona in the morning, but halfway through the trip a ticket inspector realised that we’d booked the train tickets for a month earlier – an admin error on our part that we hadn’t noticed. We were kicked off the train in Vincenza, and had to purchase new … Continue reading Rush hour by the Rialto Bridge
Cast in the Aegean Sea, the Greek Island of Patmos is a popular site for Christian pilgrimages. It’s known for the Monastery of St John and his Cave of the Apocalypse, which is where he saw a vision of Jesus. It is here that he wrote his Letters to the Ephesians. I’d heard of these in primary school but for me, they had no meaning. … Continue reading Postcards: Colour-coordinated Patmos
The Moulin Rouge achieved international infamy decades before Nicole Kidman sashayed across the stage in Baz Luhrmann’s film of the same name. I’d seen the Moulin Rouge, but didn’t realise that The Lido was a similar cabaret in Paris until my uncle made the joke that I could work there with one of his friends, to fund my dream of living in Paris. As I’ve … Continue reading Skip the Moulin Rouge! See The Lido
Monterosso al Mare is one of my favourite Cinque Terre villages, for having the best beach. We had lunch on the deck of Nuovo Bar Eden, overlooking one of the private beaches. The fact that you can charge people for a beach seems so strange to me – I know that wouldn’t go down well in Australia. How can anyone set up shop and own the … Continue reading Monterosso: The best beach in Cinque Terre
Almost every day we had in Paris was beautiful and sunny, except for the day we went to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. We started the day wearing summer dresses but were shocked by a windy, miserable day when we got outside. Fifteen minutes later we’d cobbled together a vaguely warm outfit and were back on track. We started at the boulangerie on the corner with … Continue reading Postcards from a rainy day in Montmartre