When we visited Brescia, not too long ago, we decided to visit the town of Salò, located on the western banks of Lake Garda. I’d seen Salò on Francesco da Mosto’s “Italy : Top to Toe” and was fascinated by it. As we were so close, it seemed a wasted opportunity not to visit the […]
So, last weekend saw us returning to Rovinj to watch the World Cup Final. We’ve stayed in Rovinj a few times since we arrived in Istria and although The Adriatic Hotel is our favourite place to stay, we just can’t justify the prices in high season. But, it gives us an opportunity to explore and […]
We thought we knew Rovinj, in Istria pretty well as it’s now one of our go-to places when we need some sea air and a bit of comfort away from an on-going house renovation. We decided to stay somewhere different this time, and chanced upon the very stylish and boutiquey Casa Amando, run by two […]
When we saw that Eels were playing in Italy, in a town we’d never heard of, called Cesena, we decided to go for it and booked tickets, researching the town afterwards. Cesena is in the province of Emilia-Romagna, about 30 kms inland from Rimini, so a fair distance from us in Istria, but we decided […]
We’ve just said goodbye to our second set of friends who’ve been staying with us for a few days. Amanda and Steve had a few days in Italy first – they flew to Venice Marco Polo from Manchester and then spent a couple of days 30km north of Venice, in Treviso and then took the […]
Spring has arrived and that means – hurrah! – our first visitors have arrived. We welcomed two very old (as in long-standing!) friends last week. We’ve had many experiences with them – they were our neighbours in West Didsbury, we went to their wedding in Greece and have shared many parties and late, late nights […]
We’re so, so lucky that we are now so close to Italy. When the candle supplies are running low, we generally do a trip to IKEA in Villesse, in the province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It’s a little bit further north than Trieste but it always seems as if we are […]
The Istrian countryside is littered with abandoned houses and buildings. Some are nothing more than barns, which have fallen into disrepair but some are elegant villas, which are, slowly but surely, being taken over by nature. There are many reasons for them being abandoned – but a lot are in the state they are in […]
We are so lucky that we now live so close to some amazing places, and that it is now very easy to hop across the border if we fancy doing something in Italy or Slovenia. So, when we saw that Kraftwerk were playing in Ljubljana, having missed the chance to see them when they played […]
Istria is known as Terra Magica. And it certainly is a land of magic, and traditions. As people whose lives are very much reliant on modern technology and the internet, it’s fascinating for us to see at such close quarters, old ways of life, still very much in evidence. Where we live, we are surrounded […]
The blues and whites of the Greek flag, usually seen flutttering against azure blues skies, perfectly reflect the colours of Santorini. Searing sunshine and deep blue skies, the bluest of water and the whitest of buildings, typical of the architecture found in the Cyclades, mingly with pastel coloured houses, clinging to rocky precipices. And, of […]
We had originally planned to end our winter road trip in Ravenna, in Italy, spending four days at Alighieri Theatre Charming Suite but we felt that we had been on the road long enough, and so, in very nice communcations with Silvia, the owner, decided to postpone until later in the year. However, we also […]