Snaps during a week exploring Tuscany with friends, from big city sights to peaceful countryside.
Overview: Tuscany 2019
A group trip to Tuscany presented many opportunities to explore the region – from its famous cities to sleepy villages, via peaceful hiking trails (and a lot of gelato).
The Honeymoon Tour
An overview of our honeymoon trip across Europe: from our wedding venue in Rotterdam, to Taormina in Sicily, all by train!
From Rotterdam to Taormina, by ten trains
An overview of each of the train journeys making up our Honeymoon tour from the Netherlands to Italy.
Visting Etna and Alcantara from Taormina
Mt Etna in three courses: a gentle stroll around the Silvestri craters; a more demanding hike up from the cable car station; and paddling in the refreshing waters of the Alcantara gorge.
Gallery: Taormina
Having completed our long trip to Sicily, we spent most of our visit in the pretty cliff-top town of Taormina.
Gallery: Pompeii
Photos from a trip back in time.
Visiting Pompeii from Naples
The frozen-in-time Roman settlement of Pompeii was a bit of challenge to visit without joining a tour group – but it was easily worth the effort! Here’s what we learnt.
Gallery: Verona
Pictures from our second major stop, an old favourite of Alaina’s.
Gallery: The Bernina Express
Although a challenging environment – and one I wanted to enjoy! – I managed a few reasonable shots on the Bernina Express.
The Bernina Express
Getting from Switzerland to Italy in style – by narrow gauge railway across the Alps.
Across Europe, by train: planning our honeymoon tour
From a simple idea, our honeymoon plan grew into a five country, nine day train journey from Rotterdam to Sicily (and then a well-earned rest). This post covers the itinerary and logistics, providing a guide to booking something similar yourself (including an alternative start from the UK).
Rome 2015
An overview of our winter trip to Rome.
Gallery: Rome 2015
Photo highlights from our winter visit to Rome.
Villa Borghese
Art, boats and food were all to be found in these beautiful gardens on the doorstep of our hotel.
Eating our way around Rome
Breakfast, lunch and dinner picks from our trip to Rome – plus a bonus round of dessert!
Roman Murmuration
A small sample of an unexpected experience!
The Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri
Burning 90% of my Hilton balance in advance of a devaluation got me just one night at the Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri, a property normally far outside my cash budget. Of course, I then had to build a short holiday around this highlight… So, is it worth it?
Room walkthrough: The Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri
Video Walkthrough of my room at the Cavalieri. Read more [...]
Gallery: Rome
Highlights from the tourist trail during my first visit to Rome, June 2013.