I know .. I railed on about Rome and the mass market tourism and this is a city that has almost literally been destroyed by the swarms of tourist in the summer . The prices for homes and apartments here are so crazy that almost no Venetians can afford to live in their own city .

They commute here by train and bus everyday through the Piazzale Roma. The place is full of tacky Murano glass knockoffs made in China and souvenir shops selling tacky magnets of the Rialto. Gondola rides are 80 euro for a 30 minute ride and there are so many it’s like a Disney ride on a track. They were so overwhelmed by the number of tourists and the damage they were doing they literally outlawed cruise ships from docking. Now, cruise ships put Venice on their itineraries but have to dock 2 hours away in Trieste or Ravenna

Yet , get off the beaten track, walk down a narrow alley that ends at a canal or an ancient palazzo or take a stroll at night in deserted streets and this place is downright hypnotic.

The views everywhere are beautiful and the architecture is stunning.

We stayed at the Danieli. A former palazzo built in the 17th Century and one of the worlds most famous hotels . Luckily, I used points so we essentially stayed for free. Who knew all those nights In Cincinnati would pay off.

The food though not Bologna is excellent especially if you have a local friend like Rosanna who knows where to send you.

It’s really hard not to be blown away by the vistas and canals you find here. It may be the most beautiful city in the world and that’s enough for me.

I first came to Bologna in 2002. I was working for a Danish company called NetDoctor and we were establishing office in most European countries.

To be honest ..I have no idea why we chose Bologna or even how it was chosen.

It was my job was to open a new office there and start getting content translated into Italian

Of course, I didn’t know tmuch about Bologna. Situated between Firenze and Venice it is sort of off the tourist trail despite its amazing historic center, the 23 remaining family towers built in the 15th and 16th century and the largest University in Italy . It’s a famously left of center place with huge ties to historical labor and leftist movements…my kind of place .

However, you don’t really come for the history or political leanings or the towers .. you come for the food .

Many people argue it is the food capital of Italy and I agree! Within a 50 mile radius you find the core products of food that make Italy famous .

Parma ham , Balsamic Vinegar , Parmesan Cheese , Mortadella and yes the name of the city was bastardized to name Bologna and Bolognese.

We started our adventure in the hills above Bologna when we stumbled on an Osteria in the middle of nowhere. We had discovered it through a Google search that yielded 1700 positive reviews mostly in Italian. Situated on a winding mountain road it seemed an odd place for an incredible restaurant. However, this is Italy where it’s hard to find a bad meal. 

We sat in the garden, the only English speakers there and tried to bluff our way through the menu. We thought we had done well till platter after platter kept arriving. Clearly, we had over ordered The food was amazing and the view in the garden very peaceful. I easily could have stayed there all day.

Everywhere you go here you are surrounded by food . Huge Trattorias and small speciality shops . I think it’s very hard in this place to go hungry or be a vegetarian.

John and I got up very early on our first day here and met up with our new friend Mattei . He’s a bit of a food expert and he walked us around the city trying everything the city was known for .

We watched ladies making tortellini by hand as they have for 400 years and had a balsamic tasting in an old cellar of a 300 year old wine merchant . I can tell the 40 year old balsamic is something very special but at 230 euros for a small bottle I guess it should be . We settled for the 20 year old balsamic and a big slab of Parmesan. Without really knowing it we ended up following Stanley Tucchi’s trail on his recent CNN food special sampling food and wine from Simoni and Gilberti and Osteria del Sol . Osteria del Sole encourages you to bring in food since it’s a drinks only venue and Mattei put together a huge spread for us .

The big surprise was Mortadella. Now in the States Mortadella is some weird processed lunch meat that tastes like baloney with olives in it. In Bologna mortadella is thin and light honey that picture of us the laundromat could you send it to me now can you it should be on amigoand has a fantastic flavor of peppered quality pork . We loved it

We had a fantastic trip here and great experiences ….even doing the laundry at the laundromat was an experience lol.

We had a bit of an adventure leaving Bologna in our rental car as it turned out the only way out from our hotel was to drive through the central plaza negotiating through diners in cafes,

pedestrians and a very bizarre performance art group who were chanting humming and dancing in the square. They clearly weren’t prepared to have us drive through their performance but the show must go on !

If you’ve been following my blog (thank you ) you’ll have seen that Rome is not my favorite city . Everything I feel about Rome I feel the exact opposite about Firenze .

I love it here . The food , the shopping, the people and the sheer scenery and history that overwhelms you everywhere.

This is the city that truly changed the world . In a short span of time five to 10 families with money created the Renaissance. The employed great artists, built challenging architecture, redefined literature and spread ideas that at the time seemed unacceptable. Okay , so they eliminated their enemies , threw a bunch of folks into prison and were good with poisoning …the upshot was a changed world.

Everywhere you go in this city you see this . The Frescoes the redefined art , the engineering marvels like the dome that was deemed impossible to build , the sculpture that overwhelms you everywhere you turn .

It’s the home of my favorite piece of Renaissance art. The wooden carved statue of Mary Magdalene by Donatello. I first saw this stature in the 90s on a business trip to Firenze. I had an hour free and zipped into the Duomo museum primarily to see the doors of the baptistery .

I came across the sculpture suddenly and it literally took my breath away. This is no Renaissance buxom woman as Mary but instead a ragged , and disheveled woman in her 70s. Her hands and face are lined with wrinkles and the years of a rough and shattered life are etched deep in her face ..and yet in her expression you can see the pentinenance and redemption. It is such a moving piece of art . It’s now in a glass case so you can’t get as close as you once could but it still packs a punch. Next to the sculpture they have placed a polymer replica which they encourage you to touch and feel the lines in her hands and face. It’s an incredible experience. Oh yeah and those doors by Ghiberti are also there lol

Despite the huge number of tourists that come here it never seems overwhelming. It’s sort of a controlled chaos.

We stayed in a 14th century palace that was converted to a hotel about 100 years ago. The Loggiato de Serviti . It’s the hotel I’ve always stayed at when I come. It’s a bit worn at the edges and seen better days but it’s gorgeous and comfortable like a beautiful old dress shoe. I recommend it .

The food is of course also amazing and it’s a city made for walking .

We climbed up to dome . A Renaissance engineering marvel. The climb allowed us not only a spectacular view of the city but a spectacular view of the ceiling by Zuccari. It’s breathtaking..just like the rest of the city .

I know this city is a crazy tourist attraction. In the summer the place is overrun with tourists but in the Spring and Autumn the weather is pleasant , the crowds are smaller and the food is always great .

I really struggled to write this post. That’s why there has been a lag in my blogging .

I first came to Rome in 1976. I was just 19 and on my first trip overseas alone.

I was on an 18 to 30 year old camping tour and we camped in some place 20 miles out of Rome and took the metro in everyday. I remember being a bit overwhelmed by the sheer history ; The coliseum, the forum. , the Vatican and the sheer numbers of tourists. They were everywhere. It was July, it was hot and humid. I was grouchy and while I understood the incredible place this city held in Western Civilization, Rome and I just never bonded.

Years later I would come back a lot for business. I’d fly in have a meeting and fly out . So Rome and I have a checkered history.

I do have three great Roman memories.

When I worked for Elsevier they had a global executive meeting there. One evening they had a reception at the Vatican. Suddenly I found myself with 4 people all alone in the Sistine Chapel. Instead of the thousands of tourists being herded through it was just myself , two colleagues and a guard . I plopped myself on my back on the stone floor and spent 30 minutes gazing at that incredible ceiling without any sound or trampling tourist groups . I’ll remember that till the day I die.

Memory 2. Shortly after our marriage John and I visited Rome. I was resistant as ever. John, suggested we rent scooters and drive around . I was incredulous. I kept reading him stories from the internet of tourists who rented scooters and got shipped home in a box. Finally, he convinced me . I honestly don’t know what came over me . Suddenly I was Marcello Mastroianni racing up one way streets and over sidewalks. I ended up ditching John as he was just not keeping up . We later managed to rendezvous at a parking lot near the Borghese Gardens . It truly was one of the best travel days of my life

Memory 3. This trip. We passed an antique bookstore and we wandered in. I have always wanted an Italian edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Don’t ask me why . I asked the aged owner in very bad Italian and he smiled and went to a locked cabinet. He rifled around for a few seconds and pulled out a 1859 edition. I bought it immediately.

On this trip we focused on just walking and eating. We stayed in an amazing hotel with a terrace that had a 360 degree view of Rome and a great breakfast. I began to revise my opinion a bit . We had fantastic meals , great walks through the streets until we took a shortcut through the plaza where the Trevi fountain is .. OMG. It was like a Walmart Christmas sale. Thousands of people fighting and shoving to take one selfie after another . Street vendors selling tacky magnets of all sorts of things Roman and some not. Do we really need a magnet with Only David’s genitalia on it in purple ?

I was talking to an American taking selfies with his wife and I pointed out the sign that said Marcello forever . He had no idea who he was . I realized he wouldn’t go home and watch La Dolce Vita and the famous fountain scene was lost on him. Barbarians ! John had to calm me down with a coffee lol. So we finally escaped by car to Firenze through the gorgeous Landscape of Umbria and Tuscany. Leaving Rome behind …until next time

We normally don’t take shore excursions when on a cruise. We find them crowded , usually too brief and feel like we’re part of a herd

However, on Sunday we docked in Livorno and having been there before I really couldn’t think of much to see or areas I wanted to saunter through. John and I are big saunterers. We average between 8 and 10 miles a day on vacations so we took the plunge and took a day excursion to Cinque Terre billed as “ On your Own “.

To be fair once we got there it was on your own . However, getting there was definitely unpleasant.

It involved a small bus built for school children, a driver who wasn’t sure where we were going and a very chatty guide ! He was quick to share his feelings on everything from marble to a 20 minute lecture on why gas station coffee in Italy is doing good.

However, once we arrived and spent hours walking through two of the five villages and eating really amazing lunches, as always the drive was worth it…we’ll sort of . Though I do have to ask who sends a child’s school bus for adults. Several of our large bottomed guests really struggled to fit. Luckily that’s one issue I don’t have lol

The day was beautiful and the villages who have really suffered without mass tourism seemed very welcoming. Mass tourism is such a blessing and a curse . We will discuss that next time. I need to go for a swim ! Lol

1991 was a strange year for me. I quit my job in Chicago and moved to Ireland . I couldn’t find meaningful work in Dublin so I ended up going to London to stay with my friend Guy and look for work . I eventually took a job at OUP and one weekend I ended up going to Barcelona for a long weekend to visit friends who lived there. They were very much into the Catalan culture and took me to late night dinners, art displays and even to Pamplona for the running of the bulls. I became a bit addicted to the city and the area and started going for long weekends and vacations there whenever I could. I went to the Olympics there in 92, I spent summers wondering through streets and spending hours in cafes.

I took the train to Sitges to have beach days. I seriously thought about moving there but life as it often does interfered and I ended up taking a job in London and staying in the UK for the next 20 years off and on .

I still love Barcelona , I love the pace l, I love the food , I love the architecture full of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and of course the amazing Gaudi the founder of Barcelona Modernism and the architect of the still unfinished Sagrada Familia.

The first time I entered it there was no roof , no altar, no completed lighting. Funds had dried up and many thought it would never be finished. I’ve watched that change in the last 30 years as it now has a roof , the pigeons are gone and it’s actually a church. They say it will be finished in 2026. I’ll be back to see that

In the meantime I walk down the Ramblas repulsed to see both a Starbucks and Dunkin next to each other on the main shopping street. Chain coffee in Barcelona! Sacrilege!

I walk through the city market chasing images of my younger self and still loving this amazing city.

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. Who knew? However, it has a very laid back feel as opposed to very busy Barcelona. We spent the day on rented Bikes and cycled from the port into the city. I was really blown away by the “City of Arts and Sciences” complex. I love modern architecture when it has something to say and when it’s open and welcoming. I always marvel when a city actually approves and pays for daring unique architecture and not just metal boxes. I could have spent the day here just exploring every part of the complex. Luckily we had time to also ride through the city gardens and into the old city .

The gardens were beautiful and literally hundreds of miles of bike trails made it really easy and pleasant.

I’m still trying to decide if the children’s playground shaped like Gulliver from Gulliver’s travels was whimsical or a bit bizarre….

The bad thing about being on a cruise ship is that you never get the time to really explore a destination. However, it’s a great way to tip your toe in and decide where you’ll return to. Definitely Valencia is on that list

I came to Cadiz the first time sometime in the early 2000s. I was trying to think last night why I was there and how I got there. I felt suddenly old . I think I came for a meeting near Granada and must have rented a car and driven through southwest Spain and somehow ended up there. I remember I stayed at the Paradore as I accidentally “borrowed” a towel that said Paradores on it which I still have in my linen closet. It was a very nice towel . Lol.

The city is one of the oldest in Spain and is the city the Christopher Columbus sailed from on his voyage in 1492. In the 17th and 18th century Cadiz thrived from the trade with Latin America and many of its finest buildings date from this time

Anyhow, I remember Cadiz as a laid back town with a marine vibe and beautiful public gardens. It still is.

In fact, I think it’s one of those places you keep in your memory and when you return years later it feels exactly the same. It looks the same and has the same vibe it did 20 years ago. It’s still beautiful. It’s a town I could see myself spending weeks in.Strolling through gardens, eating in squares and buying my food from the huge public market. I love a bustling city market and Cadiz has one of the best in Spain

Hmm, maybe I need to rethink my retirement plans!

It’s been years since I’ve been here but the feel, the light and the character of this remarkable city remains the same.

To me, it’s one of the few European cities that exists primarily as a city for its inhabitants and not a set piece for throngs of tourists.

Yes, in the last few years it’s endured the onslaught of hop on hop off buses and tacky American burger chains but it remains a city built for the Portuguese by the Portuguese..visitors welcome.

When I wander around Lisbon I feel like I’m in a real working city where people work not where they take meetings and count tourists . Even the commercial streets are crammed not with tacky souvenir shops but with food stores and restaurants where Portuguese shop ,

I love the faded magnificence of it. Happy to be what it is and still thriving and doing the business of being a city. A beautiful one !

It is not a gracious DC or a pompous London or a romantic date that is Paris. It is a real , luminous, gorgeous working city.

Due to our schedule we only had a day to explore it. So we took a bus to the top of Paraue Edwardo VI and sauntered down to the bay . We explored small streets , interesting stores , road the funicular up to the mirador and walk and walked .

As we walked down through the Jardins de Avenida de Libertade and across the Praça dos Restauradores down through the crowded shopping street all the way to the bay; the sense of being someplace , A specific place , a place unique all around you is almost physical. I love Lisbon and could spend many evenings wandering it’s streets and boulevards. I’ll shut up now and just share the pictures

Three days ago I knew three things about the Azores

1 It is an autonomous region of Portugal.

2. It’s a long archipelago in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Christopher Columbus made an unscheduled stop there on his return from the New World when the Santa Maria was damaged.

I had assumed it was a collection of desert like islands similar to the Canaries and not all that interesting. Of course , I was wrong

It’s stunningly beautiful. Untouched by the mass tourism found in places like the Canaries and the largest tea growing region in Europe, who knew !

We started our day going on a hike to view the northern shore of the island. Rodrigo picked us up in his Land Rover and drove us to a small village on the north shore where we wandered through the town and then made our way to a path that led downward. When I say downward I mean straight down .

Protected by a thick canopy of Red Cedar we walked down to a river and sauntered along its banks. One waterfall after another. Totally deserted . Had it been a bit warmer we would have jumped in for a swim !

Finally we reached the coast and the last cascade that flowed directly into the sea.

The only problem with a steep three mile hike down means a steep three mile hike up . It was a killer. I was surprised Rodrigo and John didn’t leave me along the trail for the buzzards to find! I really can’t describe the views but check out the photos and imagine the reality was twice as stunning in person.

After a champagne lunch in which the other half drank almost entire bottle of Champagne we headed to the Lake of Fire ..crystal clear filling an old caldera and then back to the city of Ponta Delgada and a stroll.

9 miles of walking , back on the ship and then we found ourselves sailing away.

I often visit someplace and say “oh I will definitely return here”.In this case I actually see myself returning and exploring the 6 other islands. Until then I’ll just remember the blue of the water , those waterfalls and the three mile hike up the hill