There simply is no way to tour Europe and not be awestruck by its scenic beauty, epic history and dazzling artistic and culinary diversity.
Early Start to the Day We were up very early, before our hotel breakfast started, so we took a walk and found a caffè that was open early. The best part about getting up early is the empty streets. So peaceful! By the time we got back, it was almost time for the hotel breakfast, so we...
Teatro La Fenice We started the day with a fantastic self-guided audio tour of Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix), a very famous opera house in Venice. It rose to fame in the 19th century when it became the site of many famous operatic premieres at which the works of several of the four major...
Departing Venice We began the day with an early (6:30am) walk through a deserted Venice. After coffee and cannoli at the only open caffè we could find, we returned to finish packing, then had a more robust breakfast at our hotel. We finished just in time for the water taxi that we booked...
Santa Margherita Ligure We began our first full day in Genoa by leaving town. We took the train from Genoa to Santa Margherita Ligure where we were meeting a guide to take us to Portofino, which is a 15-minute ferry ride from Santa Margherita Ligure. It was just us and 2 other couples in...
One of the reasons we decided to visit Genoa, aside from the fact my family came from Genoa, is the town of Cervo is a short distance up the coast. We’ve recently learned, after hiring genealogists in Genoa to research our family, that my great-great grandfather (who came to America...
We caught an early train from Genoa to Milan. Our hotel in Milan was a 6 minute cab ride from the train station. We couldn’t check in until 2:00pm, so we dropped off our luggage and found a caffè to get some breakfast. After breakfast we bought hop-on-hop-off bus tickets and used...