Italy
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Rome’s Spanish Steps and an Afternoon in Bracciano: A Travel Guide
It was another bright, sunny morning as we made our way to Piazza di Spagna to climb the Spanish Steps. The square was already crowded with tourists around the fountain at the foot of the steps known as the ‘fountain of the old boat’. The fountain resembles a sinking ship and is thought to be…
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Rome Travel Guide: Gianicolo Hill and Trastevere Neighbourhoods
On our final morning in Rome we started the day with a visit to the Gianicolo Hill viewpoint, one of the highest hills in Rome. It’s located above the Vatican and Trastevere districts to the west of the Tiber. Our phone map suggested taking the train to S. Pietro station and following a path from…
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Travelling to Malta
Finding a good deal online for a winter week in Malta seemed irresistible and as it’s somewhere we haven’t already visited it’s an opportunity to explore a ‘new’ country. Flights during the winter are infrequent, so we opted for an early morning departure from Manchester. Rather than risk the weather and drive to the airport…
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Exploring Valletta, Malta: A Complete Guide to the City’s History, Culture, and Attractions
After a good night’s sleep we enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant and then walked the short distance to the Bugibba bus station to catch a bus into Malta’s capital Valletta. It’s possible to take the 31, 45 and 48 buses and the journey takes approximately one hour on each service. Valletta is…
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One Day in Gozo: The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Gozo by Ferry from Malta
Drawing back the curtains we were dismayed to find it was raining heavily and a strong wind was blowing. Not to be deterred, we kept with our original plans and caught a bus (No.221) to the Gozo ferry terminal at Cirkewwa, taking approximately 30 minutes. During the winter months ferries depart for Gozo at 45…
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Sliema Travel Guide: Explore Malta’s Premier Resort Destination
Thankfully, we woke to a bright, sunny morning after yesterday’s heavy rain and strong winds so after breakfast in our hotel we caught a bus to the large resort of Sliema situated in the north east of the island. Buses are frequent but don’t expect to arrive at your destination very quickly as roads are…
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Travel Guide to Mdina: Discover Malta’s Silent City
This is what we had been waiting for – clear blue skies and a warm sunny morning, just perfect for our visit to Mdina which is easily accessible by bus (No.186 taking 45 minutes) from Bugibba. As vehicular access is limited to residents in Mdina, buses stop alongside the Howard Gardens in Rabat which are…
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How to Spend a Perfect Day in St. Julian’s Bay, Malta
Fortunately the warm sunshine is continuing so after breakfast we took the Sliema bus (No.212) as far as Spinola Bay located in St. Julian’s. This charming, photogenic small bay with traditional fishing boats is lined on one side with numerous bars and restaurants and contains the largest proportion of 5 star hotels on the island.…
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Complete Guide to Valletta, Malta – What to See, Do & Eat
A dull, breezy morning for our second visit to the island’s capital, Valletta. Buses from Bugibba run at approximately 15 minute intervals taking about one hour to reach Valletta. Roads are both narrow and congested and the constant stop start motion of the bus always seems to make us feel drowsy. It was bustling as…
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Our final day in Malta
As we had arranged a late evening flight back to the UK we still had a complete day to relax in Bugibba. Check out time was 11.00 am so we popped down to the spa for a post breakfast sauna before vacating our room. We were pleasantly surprised to be able to retain our wristbands…
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How to spend a day in Pisa
The four days we spent in Florence flew by but we managed to see most of the main sights and some of the many art treasures in this beautiful city. We checked out of our apartment after breakfast and headed back to the railway station for the one hour journey to Pisa, which is…
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Visiting Treviso and Venice
It was an early start to the day as our Ryanair flight to Italy’s Treviso airport was departing from Leeds Bradford airport at 06.40 am. The upside of this being that we were enjoying coffee and croissants in Piazza dei Signori (Treviso’s main square) at 10.30 am. The town centre is only two miles…
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Riding along the Grand Canal, Venice
Our first task after breakfast was to walk around to the Academia Vaporetto station and buy tickets (72 hour passes) for unlimited travel on the water buses. Our accommodation was midway between two routes, Academia and Zattere giving us plenty of options. It was so lovely taking to the water and riding along the Grand Canal,…
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The Venice Lido
It was raining heavily but with umbrellas at the ready we took the water bus out to the Lido (Lido de Venezia). It’s very different out there as we encountered roads and cars, so the magic of Venice with its canals and gondolas was lost. It’s a barrier island separating the Venetian lagoon from the…
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A Vaporetto ride to Murano and Burano, Venice
It was raining once again at breakfast time but we still decided to visit the outlying islands of Murano and Burano as planned. On arrival in Murano we headed indoors to the famous glass factory where we were just in time to watch a glass blowing demonstration and then look around the factory shop. Sheltering…
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A walk in central Venice
After two rainy days, we woke to bright sunshine and were able to enjoy breakfast sitting out on our roof terrace. The plan was to explore the very attractive neighbourhood between the vaporetto stations of Zattere and Academia where we were staying. The long, wide waterfront promenade of Zattere, away from the hordes of tourists…
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A short break in Bergamo, Italy
We were up early as we had booked a 6.00 am flight to Bergamo. As it was such an early start to the day we fell asleep before take off and didn’t rouse from our slumbers until we were touching down in Bergamo Airport. In the airport we purchased 72 hour travel passes for the Bergamo…
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A day in Milan, Italy
After breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant we walked to Bergamo’s railway station and bought return train tickets to Milan. Trains depart frequently and the journey time is one hour. On arrival in Milan’s Central Railway Station we marvelled at the ornate hall with its large, curved roof adorned with frescoes and chandeliers. We rode the…
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Visiting Lake Como from Bergamo
Following an early breakfast, we boarded a train to Varenna. Unlike the Milan service, this train was very old and not particularly comfortable but it arrived in Lecco one hour later, on time and it was only necessary to cross the platform for the connecting service to Varenna. This second train was crowded with school children…
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Final morning in Bergamo
We went down to breakfast promptly when the restaurant opened at 7.00 am as we had a morning flight back to the UK. The Cristallo Palace had been quite a good choice of hotel, rated as a 4 star but probably more of a 3 star standard. Staff had been friendly and the W-Fi worked…
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