itineraries Archives - Gazing and Grazing

Venice and the Prosecco Road

September 20th, 2017

Prosecco and Venice go hand in hand. Since Venice is just a one hour train ride from Conegliano, and the start of Italy's "Prosecco Road", it's easy enough to explore the area especially if you have a car. We drove down to Valdobbiadene, the town on the other end of the Prosecco Road, from Cortina. As we headed south, the jagged peaks of the Dolomites turn to green slopes planted with glera, the grapes that make prosecco. To find out more about this increasingly popular aperitif, we spent...

Four Days in Italy’s Dolomites

June 29th, 2017

Four days in Italy's Dolomites is not enough but it's better than none. This area is best known for its skiing in the winter. But it was great visiting in the early fall when you can walk the ski routes, and presumably nice in the summer too. I think I'll aim to come again in either late May or September when I imagine the weather will be close to perfect. The Dolomites are easily accessible from either Verona or Venice. It's a three hour drive from Verona to La Villa, where we stayed, or...

Cinque Terre – 48 Hours in Italy’s Prettiest Villages

April 20th, 2016

Cinque Terre has to be one of the most memorable parts of the world. The pastel buildings of the five fishing villages hugging the steep hills, encroaching into the pristine blue sea as seen in the photo of Manarola at dusk has to be one of the more iconic travel photos ever taken. This is great place for walkers and amateur photographers with the villages linked by a series of hiking paths and amazing scenery at every bend. The five fishing villages (hence Cinque Terre which means five...

One Day in the Cap d’Antibes

June 17th, 2015

Despite the rainy start, our morning in Antibes followed by an afternoon walk around the cape ended up being my favourite day in France's Cote d'Azur. Like many of the towns along this coast, Antibes is a fishing village but unlike its better known neighbours like Cannes and St Tropez, it's largely devoid of the glitzy commercialisation. And after our afternoon walk around the scenic cape (Cap d'Antibes), we celebrated with champagne at the majestic Hotel du...

Barcelona – Two Days of Good Tapas and Gaudi

June 15th, 2015

We only had two days in Barcelona - so what should we see while leaving time for good tapas? Luckily, Barcelona is generally an easy city to get around in and we were happy to walk. The first landmarks that came to mind were La Sagrada Familia and the Barri Gotic (gothic quarter) but we also added in a couple more Gaudi buildings and a visit to the beach.

I've not been back to Barcelona in some time and when I found out that it would be the first trip to this city for my travel...