Matter – known as the underground city and its historical centre “Sassi” contains ancient cave dwellings which were occupied until 1950s. The area of what is now Matera has been settled since the Palaeolithic (10th millennium BC). This makes it potentially one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the world. It has also been […]
To work off some of the gelato we have consumed over the last few days and excessive amount of food and wine today we are going cultural. We are going to visit a couple of museums, some art galleries and climb the tallest tower in the city for the most spectacular view of the city […]
There is always something new at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence that is worth seeing. The priceless other works of art aren’t too shabby either. I think the best thing about the Uffizi is the fact that it can be done in a reasonable amount of time – even in 3 hours. The rest of […]
We are, for the first time, not just visiting San Gimignano but staying in the city for a few days. We parked the car at the bottom of the hill and will spent a few days just walking around and exploring all the great gelato places this city has to offer, but really just concentrating […]
Since our flight on Sunday was cancelled due to inclement weather we were happy and thrilled to re-book it for this morning. Six in the morning, generally speaking, is not our idea of fun hour but there are exceptions and this certainly was it. There is really not much more to say other than – what […]
Sant’Anna in Campera from every which angle you can imagine. After a massive storm last night the air is so clear you can easily see the mountains far in the distance. The power is still on and off but they are working on it.
Internet out, WiFi down, power out and biblical thunder, lighting and rain. That is the kind of evening and night we had. At least the temperature dropped below 40C which was a relief.
It is so unbearably hot that realistically speaking the best time to go and explore is sometime after 6 pm. It also helps that most of the stores are open so it is easy to duck in and out for a bit of reprieve if a store happens to be air-conditioned and very few of […]
We are back in Italy – where else. It feels like our second home. First order of business in terms of priority are: after getting everyone connected, get much-needed sleep and eat some decent food. After all that we all need a bit of rest and relaxation at a local mineral pool. It’s quiet, […]
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail. It was created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan. The High Line is a public park maintained and operated by the Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of […]
Bryant Park is a beloved, year-round New York City destination. Known as Manhattan’s Town Square, the park is famous for its lush seasonal gardens, free activities and al fresco dining. Located adjacent to the New York Public Library and surrounded by iconic skyscrapers, Bryant Park is visited by more than 12 million people each year and […]
While there might have been better places on the ground to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July we decided to stay on the top of the Rockefeller building. After enjoying the views we stuck out for the fireworks. Macy’s fireworks this year were the biggest since year 2000. They were fired from 5 […]
The distinctive triangular shape of the Flatiron Building, designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham and built in 1902, allowed it to fill the wedge-shaped property located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. The building was intended to serve as offices for the George A. Fuller Company, a major Chicago contracting firm. At 22 […]
I think we are all very excited about this one. We have seen some great museums and some amazing artifacts on our travels so it is hard to imagine what The MET can offer that the French or the British have not gotten to ‘acquiring’ first. [br] [br]
As bad as this sounds – it had to get checked off the to do list. It turns out – everyone other tourist in New York was also there with the same idea as us. This must be the equivalent of the Spanish Steps in Rome, it even looks similar. [br] [br]
This is our first family trip to the Big Apple. It’s blistering hot – 37C and humid. We are going to take it easy today and ease ourselves into this holiday. Lot’s of walking, lot’s of shopping and even more people. [br] [br]
Packing done, breakfast done, car ordered – nothing more to do but to spent the last hour aimlessly walking around the little island we stayed on in the centre of Paris. What a treat this place was and our gracious host Carol always had a story to tell. Great time. These photos are from the […]
All hellish travel has its rewards. Today – we forgot about the airplanes, lineups and sleepless nights, and were rewarded with a spectacularly gorgeous day – we couldn’t ask for more. [br] [br]
What a gong show this journey was. Long story short British Airways cancelled the flight after an issue with the engine – so we got stuck in Seattle. We were booked to go through Houston, then London but by the time the reservation was confirmed, printing issues, we were too late to go through security. […]
Finally we got to see some fog in the morning, covering the Tuscan hills. We did not get up at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise because – we ate and drunk far too much last night. Still, though, this was a great view, right here from Sant’Anna. SaveSave
Take your pick the sunset was imply glorious. Sitting in the orangery with a glass of wine with fine company – what could be better?
Today we are travelling to Sant’ Anna in Camprena. We stayed here last year in the spring and loved it so much we thought we would come back and bring some friends with us to enjoy. However, because the drive from Rome to Camprena is not long we are taking some detours. First on the […]
We are back in Rome. This is the start of our 12 day mini holiday. We will be here until Sunday and then head out to Sant’ Anna in Camprena. This trip was a long time coming and this time we are joined by Susan and later on by Chris and Tamara in Tuscany. The […]
This morning we are setting off for Nairobi with our trusted driver Joseph. However, because we are in such a remote part of the park Manfred will drive us down the mountain in the Land Cruiser, we will cross the river and meet up with Joseph on a much more accessible road where his off […]
This is our final game drive – and once again it exceeds our expectations. You always hope or wish but certainly never expect that city slickers like us would happen upon some hyenas and vultures feeding on a small giraffe that a pride of lions has taken down a night before. This is some National […]
These are our two tents. Kids on the right and we are on the left. Same rules apply here as did at the Basecamp – no one is allowed outside on their own after dark which here is at 6:30pm. You get escorted by two Maasai guards, armed with spears and knives against lions, elephant and hippos. We have […]
After about a 90 min drive we arrived at the Eagle View Camp – literally in the middle of nowhere. Perched on the top of the hill is a little slice of paradise. From the lodge and the rooms you can sit back and enjoy amazing vistas below where animals come and go in all shapes […]
Eagle View Camp, where we are going to be spending the next two nights, is nicer than the Basecamp, or so the locals tell us because there are more animals there. We can’t possibly imagine there being more of what we have seen already, but it does not take long for us again to be sitting […]
This morning, for once, we were actually on time. We made a conscious effort to be in the Land Cruiser by 6:30am to catch the best view of the sunrise, and we almost did. Right by the car giraffes were grazing so we couldn’t just leave, it is so hard not to be impressed by […]
It is still quite early but we are signing off for the night – it’s been a long day. Good night.
This interaction literally lasted about 10 seconds, too fast for the camera to focus and for us to do anything other than be frozen in amazement. The baby elephant, which is about the size of the Land Cruiser tire, got up, charged at the car, either wanting to play, or pretending to scare us. The mother trumpeted […]
Every time we go out for a game drive there is something new. This morning was the best one yet. We sit in the Land Cruiser in total amazement and astonishment as the Savannah life simply unfolds in front of our eyes. It seems that every 3 or 4km the landscape is totally different, from […]
Our days here at Basecamp Explorer are quite lazy. We get up at 6 am have a quick coffee and are out for the morning game drive by 6:30am. We are back to camp at around 9:30 am and inform the staff that we will be back in 10 or 15 minutes for breakfast, at […]
We are up at 6:00 am. Quick coffee and at 6:30 we are out for the morning game drive. By 7:00 am it seems like it’s noon the sun is so high up and it is so hot we are happy to be moving in the car to catch a bit of a breeze. The […]
WOW! Simply WOW, that is the best way to describe this experience. It is simply surreal to be in a car drive around the Savannah and see all these animals. We were promised that we will see at least 4 of the big 5. Those being elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino. Rhino is the […]
Ballenberg is an open museum with a 100 original, century-old buildings from all over Switzerland, original gardens and fields. It is a working museum where people are in period, bake break, make sausages, make cheese and pretend they live in the centuries past. There are also 250 domestic animals on display as well. This is […]
Thun is a small city of about 45,000 residents. The area of what is now Thun was inhabited since the Neolithic age mid 300 BC. Like most Europe and Switzerland it was conquered by Rome in 58BC. In 1819 a Military School was founded in the city, which later developed into the main military school in […]
It is going to be hard to leave these views behind. It is a good thing that the roads are twisty and narrow, at least by going slow you can enjoy them – not the driver though the roads are too darn twisty and narrow to look away.
When the sun is setting and we are lucky to be back home, the sky lights up with a thousand colours like it is on fire which is contrasted by the insanely green hills and reflected over the village homes – all 6 of them.
The construction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Lausanne began as early as 1170 by an original unknown master mason. Twenty years later another master mason restarted construction until 1215. Finally a third engineer, Jean Cotereel, completed the majority of the existing cathedral including a porch, and two towers, one of which is the current […]
The city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, 62 kilometres northeast of Geneva. Lausanne has a population of 146,372, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland. Lausanne is a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee, which recognizes the city as the “Olympic Capital”. Since 1994 the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations […]
The Gothic Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg dominates the centre of the medieval town. The main church was started in 1283 and completed by 1430. The tower was completed in 1490. It is 76 metres tall and houses 11 bells. Originally a parish church, in 1945 it became the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva […]
Fribourg is located on both sides of the river Saane, and is an important economic, administrative and educational centre on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland. Fribourg also has one of the most prestigious universities in Switzerland. Its Old City, is one of the best maintained in Switzerland. There is a very old funicular […]
Milan dates back to 400BC. Today Milan is the 2nd largest metropolitan city in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1.3 million, while its urban area with a population estimated to be about 5.5 million is the 5th-largest in the EU. Milan is the main industrial and financial centre of Italy, it has the 3rd-largest […]
The only thing on the agenda for today was to take it easy and relax and eat less. Failed on all three accounts. We stopped at Eataly, an old train station that has been converted to a 5 story Italian Shop with 18 or so restaurants. The store has pretty much everything you can imagine […]
Our schedule for today is very relaxed. A nice stroll through the Borghese gardens towards the Spanish Steps and a bit of shopping. The Borgheses were a wool merchant family from Sienna. The head of the family, Marcantonio, moved to Rome in 1541 and this Sienese family rapidly gained access to the upper echelons of Roman […]
MAXXI – National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in Rome and is about 5 min walk from the gorgeous apartment we are staying in. The museum was built on the old and decommissioned military compound site. This spectacular building was designed by Zaha Hadid who passed away this […]
Imagine owning the entire mountain top of a peninsula on the Amalfi coast. Small villa, pool and massive gardens. Originally built in the 11th century the villa was rebuilt and reconstructed over the years passing from one family to the next. The most extensive rebuilding and renovation was done at the start of the 20th […]
Today we ventured out on a drive from Agerola, where we are staying, to Ravello. Sine there is only one road that clings to the side of the mountain we had to drive through Amalfi. However, the drive is not as bad as everyone has said it would be. Would I drive it in my […]
We visited both Positano and Amalfi as part of our boat trip today. Both of these small villages are perched on the cliff similar to Cinque Terre towns. We took a boat from Amalfi to Positano, hang around there for a bit then a boat back to Amalfi. From Amalfi we took, what can only […]
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