A Travel Blog
At the heart of Astypalea’s Chora is a small, cobbled square adjacent to a row of cheery red and white windmills. The mills are obviously no longer used to grind grain, but have been maintained for other purposes. Many roads on the island seem to lead to this square, eventually, and most of the shops and cafes frequented by locals and tourists alike are located around the perimeter.
Read the full post »
Tabakaria is the former tannery district of Chania. It sits on the waterfront, a little east of Koum Kapi and south of the wealthy suburb of Halepa.
Read the full post »
The modern town of Delphi might be a bit overshadowed by the surrounding mountains and the archeology in nearby Ancient Delphi, but the town itself is very picturesque, especially in the off-season.
Read the full post »
The Acropolis is the most famous symbol of Athens. Lonely Planet modestly describes it as “the most important ancient site in the Western world”. The cluster of marble structures loom over the city on a jagged, rocky outcrop. We got used to seeing the Acropolis from afar for several days before finally making the climb to see it up close.
Read the full post »
Out of all the nice little cafés and brown cafés we visited during our time in the Netherlands, Café DeRat in Utrecht was probably our favourite. The space was cozy, the staff was friendly, and we were welcomed by a personable cat named Josefien.
Read the full post »
Our third and final day trip from Amsterdam was to the city of Utrecht. Neither of us had any preconceptions about Utrecht and it ended up being a wonderful surprise only 20 minutes away. Utrecht is home to over a million people, but the beautiful historic center feels more like a small town than a city.
Read the full post »
We stayed in Amsterdam Zuid, a little south outside the busy core of the city. Separation from the overcrowded tourist areas was great for our sanity but the immediate surroundings didn’t provide many restaurants. Luckily, the neighbourhood of De Pijp, only a couple subway stops north, had many great spots for eating and drinking.
Read the full post »
Now familiar with the Maltese bus system from our earlier visit to Mdina, we used it once again to head to the Valletta suburb of Paola. Months earlier, back home, I’d purchased tickets online for the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground Neolithic structure that dates back over 5,000 years. While in Paola, we also visited the nearby Tarxien Temples.
Read the full post »
We took the ferry across from Valletta to Vittoriosa, one of the Three Cities across the harbour. Locals still refer to the city as Birgu, its original name before the Great Seige of 1565 when the Ottomans attempted to invade Malta.
Read the full post »
On our first full day in Valletta, we took a meandering walk along the southeastern shore of the Grand Harbour, starting around Fort St. Elmo and heading down to the Three Cities ferry docks.
Read the full post »
We hopped a short flight from Valencia, Spain to Valletta, Malta. Malta is a small archipelago of islands in the Mediterranean roughly 93 km south of Sicily and 300 km from Tunisia and Libya in North Africa. We’re staying in the capital city, Valletta which we will use as a base to take a few day trips to other parts of the islands.
Read the full post »
On our last Sunday in Valencia we took the subway to the neighbourhood of Benimaclet, then walked down through the Jardines del Real to the Museu de Belles Arts (Museum of Fine Arts).
Read the full post »