Posts Tagged ‘Europe’
Walking the medieval walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
The adorable medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber – referring to the Tauber River – dates back to the tenth century. I had been here as a young child, then again as a young teenager – meaning it had been many, many years since my last visit. Since I was nearby in Würzburg with…
Read MoreTaking my May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn to visit Todi
My latest release, May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn, is the third in my Three Coins series. While the first in the series took place mostly in Rome, the second and third in the series are set primarily in the lovely hilltown of Todi, in Italy’s Umbria region. The story is centered around an…
Read MoreKeeping cool in the mountain air of Abruzzo
It’s been a hot summer in Rome. But then again, every summer is a hot summer in Rome. Come weekends, my youngest son and I were often escaping the heat in the nearby mountains of Abruzzo. Our little town of Ovindoli is 1400 meters from sea level, das are warm but minus humidity, and evenings…
Read MoreWhere time stands still, in Ushguli, Georgia
We had a great time driving around Georgia on our Caucasus roadtrip. But when we were staying in Kutaisi and planned to travel to Ushguli, Europe’s highest village, we decided to travel there with an organized tour and driver. And are we glad we did! If you have a four-wheel drive, you could probably manage…
Read MoreBatumi, Georgia: Former Soviet-era Black Sea beach resort with an art deco soul
I’ve already written about our wonderful vacation last summer in Georgia and Armenia. While staying in the western Georgia city of Kutaisi, we took some enjoyable trips, including to Batumi on the Black Sea. Batumi was a well-known beach resort during the Soviet era – and you can see why. This was a great place…
Read MoreMedieval Manhattan … in Tuscany’s San Gimignano
I’ve been a few times to the gorgeous Tuscan town of San Gimignano, but I hadn’t visited in several years. So, earlier this month – the Summer Solstice, to be precise – I was thrilled to get back to this wildly picturesque medieval hilltop town. What makes this town so special are the thirteen narrow…
Read MoreHanging out at the Kaffeehaus Goldene Waage in Frankfurt
One of the fun aspects of visiting new destinations (or, in this case, revisiting destinations you haven’t returned to in years) is picking out what would be my favorite café were I to live there. Were I to live in Frankfurt, Germany, that would definitely be the Kaffeehaus Goldene Waage. After my son as I…
Read MoreOld World elegance in Vienna’s Café Central
Vienna is such a beautiful, elegant city, and nothing captures that spirit better than its opulent cafés. These cafés were once the haunt of artists, musicians, and writers, whereas now you have to fight the masses of tourists to gain entrée … but they are still worth it. Café Central is one such café where…
Read MoreA base for exploring in Kutaisi, Georgia
On our roadtrip around Georgia this past summer, we based ourselves in several towns and villages to explore the region. Kutaisi, in western Georgia, was one of our bases on this travel. Kutaisi is Georgia’s third largest city, after Tblisi and Batumi (the latter, we also visited during our time in Kutaisi). The small city,…
Read MoreGeorgia’s haunting Tskaltubo spas
On the edges of Kutaisi, Georgia is the spa town of Tskaltubo, very much in vogue when this was a part of the USSR. We went to visit these haunting remains of this elegant spa town. This was a favorite spa destination of native Georgian Joseph Stalin, and the infrsastructure exploded around his visits, making…
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