Of gods and athletes : Rome’s Stadio dei marmi

I spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out at tracks. My younger son is a track and field junkie athlete, and I would suspect there are few tracks in central Italy in which I have not spent a fair amount of time. So, as a track mum with years of experience, you can trust…

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The showstopping square in Italy’s Cittaducale

On a recent visit to Rieti with my younger son, we decided to explore the nearby town of Cittaducale. Just 8 km east of Rieti, Cittaducale is an impressive example of a late medieval fortress town. Perched on a strategic hilltop location and surrounded by mountains, this town is a pleasant place to wander. Although…

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Wandering the silent, medieval streets of Toffia

I’ve driven by Toffia many times on my drives from Rome to Rieti, but never made time to visit. On a recent weekend trip to Rieti, my son and I decided to take a little detour from the Via Salaria to visit this picturesque, medieval town. We were in Toffia on a perfect summer day.…

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A breath of fresh (sea) air in Sperlonga

I’ve already written about our post-lockdown travel. After months of lockdown during what was an absolutely perfect, gorgeous Rome spring, it’s not that surprising to note that the first trip out of Rome my family and I decided to take was to the seaside. We travelled to the beautiful beach town of Sperlonga on the…

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Feeling like royalty in a nobleman’s hunting palace

I’m often up in the Italian town of Rieti, in northern Lazio. My youngest son is a runner, and joined the competitive track and field team here, although his daily training is (thankfully) in Rome. His involvement with the team means I’ve had plenty of chances to explore this pretty medieval town about 90 minutes…

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Post-lockdown travel

As I come to grips with our post-pandemic life and beginning my travel blog once again, I’ve written in recent weeks about pre-lockdown travel and exploring Rome under the lockdown. This leads to the moment in June that (finally!) travel restrictions ended, and we could travel once again – first in our region, and then…

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Lockdown “travel”

Last week, I wrote about pre-lockdown travel, and the almost mystical imagery it took on (at least in our minds) during our time of Corona lockdown. For those who know Rome, it is a beautiful, lively city always full of people on its streets and picturesque squares. It was tough to experience it during lockdown,…

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A Rome ghost town in Lockdown

I’ve been living in Rome for years, and I’ve never seen it a deserted as it’s been the past week. For just over a week now, we’ve been in lockdown from the corona virus. Lockdown was gradual. First it was school kids at home, then most workers were shifted to teleworking. Soon restaurants, shops, theatres,…

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Enjoying the passeggiata in Rieti

I’ve already written about the hillside town of Rieti, in the north of Italy’s Lazio region. You can read my earlier post here and learn how Rieti claims to be the town at the center of Italy. My younger son does track and field, and runs for Rieti’s team. Although he trains in Rome, we…

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