Arthur's Seat, hiking in the center of Edinburgh

After weeks of 90+ degree temperature here in Milan, we were looking forward to the cool climate of the United Kingdom. We were not disappointed as a nice breeze greeted us immediately after stepping off our EasyJet flight. Despite the warnings we'd received of the terrible Scottish rain, we were so lucky (as our taxi driver told us, over and over) to have bright blue skys straight away!

While our friends from London would be meeting us that evening to explore the city for the weekend, we decided to make the most of the weather and after depositing our suitcases at our hotel, we headed straight for Holyrood Park. Our stroll along the Royal Mile was full of interesting sights and sounds since the Fringe Festival was going on right under our noses but more about that later.

Like Rome, Edinburgh is a city built on hills and Arthur's Seat is the highest at a little over 800 feet. It's not a particularly difficult hike though some of the parts on our path were pretty steep. However, the peak provides some spectacular views of the city once you make it up the scraggly rocks. The way up is very highland-esque, a comforting thought since we'd regretting not extending our vacation to allow for a trip to the Highlands.

350 million years ago, Arthur's Seat was an active volcano. Long extinct, it's now the home of lots of native flora and fauna, including some lovely lavender.

From the top, we enjoyed the amazing panorama views but quickly noticed the storm clouds approaching. It was super windy and we had to pull the sweaters out once we reached the top but apparently we dawdled too long.

That strong wind pulled the storm close quickly and we ended up SOAKED as we much more carefully made our way down from the peak. My talented husband managed to negotiate the least muddy path and soon we had a crowd following us down to avoid slipping! A foodie festival taking place at the base of the extinct volcano provided us with whisky and dry tents to warm up - too bad every rainy day doesn't end that way!

Gone Hiking

Marco went hiking a couple of weekends ago back to Piano di Bobbio (I blogged about it last month). This time, the guys took the funicular all the way to the top of the lift and went hiking through the top ranges.


The lift itself only went halfway up the mountain so there was lots to keep them busy up there. Cooper particularly enjoyed the cold mountain lakes.


This is NOT the trip where the guys went mountain biking in Piano di Bobbio and Marco came back with a gigantic red scrap on his neck. No pictures from that trip, I feel certain that had photography come into play then broken bones would've surely followed.

Lazy Saturday in Milan

I've blogged before about how Milan empties out during summer weekends. Families pack up their children, pets, and belongings to head towards one of several nearby bodies of water. While it sometimes seems a bit boring, it also means that that there's a lot more s p a c e in this city for the rest of us.


A mid-afternoon Saturday trip on a mild day would typically mean that the dog parks are super crowded. This past Saturday, there was plenty of room for Cooper to run...


and sniff around and play with some of the few other dogs hanging around. When it all gets too hot and tiring...


there's lots of coooool mud puddles to chill out in.

Three Sides to Las Vegas

The City of Sin, Las Vegas, February 2008

1. The Las Vegas Strip during the day....

and at night. The view of the Bellagio's fountains from our room at the Planet Hollywood.

2. The Hoover Dam, up and down.



3. Red Rocks Canyon


Missing picture: the amazing sportscar that we miraculously scored when they were sold out of our economy rental.

The Country Home in Umbria

For the May day holiday, we decided to take advantage of a travel deal we found and stay in country for the long weekend. Waking early to beat the rush of traffic (Milanese are dying to leave Milan on normal weekends - long weekends are even worse), we loaded Cooper into the car and set the Tom-Tom towards Orvieto, Umbria.

The weather was definitely in our favor. We stayed at an agriturismo about 25 minutes from the town of Orvieto. An agriturismo is basically a government-subsidized farm. Part of the program means that these still-working farms or vineyards receive government funds if they lease out rooms or homes on part of this property. Our agriturismo owned several acres in the region and rented out a two bedroom stone house to us and our accompanying friend. Our friend's husband was out of town but she brought her two boys anyways and everyone seemed to enjoy watching the kids chase Cooper around the open yard.

While the Umbrian countryside is dotted with charming medieval towns, we spent most of our time at our rented home. We took some long walks with Cooper and spent a lot of time relaxing and reading in the fresh air.

Our agriturismo sponsored a wine tasting on Saturday afternoon that we happily attended. We toured their wine-making facility and tasted their four local wines, enjoying the crisp white Grechetto so much that we brought home four bottles. Mark is becoming a snob, he later remarked that he was unimpressed since we've gotten much more thorough tastings and tours in the past.

While lunch the prior day had been at the agriturismo's restaurant (fantastic deal and amazing food) and dinner had been made in our own kitchen in front of the fire, we headed into old town Orvieto for dinner on Saturday. Orvieto is built on top of a tall mountain and I'm sure this was of great use in defending the town - you could see for miles. We had a delicious dinner of fresh pasta followed by a steak with balsamic sauce - steaks from the Umbrian/Tuscan region are deservedly famous.

And speaking of famous, we even spotted a celebrity out while out at dinner! The restaurant's owner was serving us and paused to ask how we'd heard of his restaurant. It was truly word of mouth from a friend in Milan but when we asked why, the owner was practically popping with pride as he announced that Rick Steves was interviewing him back in the kitchen. I had to see it for myself so I popped back and came face to face with the famous tour guide. While I've always been more of a 'Lonely Planet' girl myself, I'll have to flip through the 2010 or 2011 Rick Steve's Italy guide to see if the Trattoria dell'Orso made the cut.

We were sad to wake up early on Sunday and make the drive back into Milan. The six hours to Umbria was a little long but the weekend in the country was amazing and we've now resolved ourselves to find a piece of this countryside paradise a little bit closer to home.

The Cliffs of Capri

We returned from our Amalfi Coast trip just a few days ago and I've already been back to work. The relaxation that this trip brought, however, has not faded (unlike the slight tan on my face).

We based our trip from a small hotel in Sorrento. Picturesque Amalfi, Positano, and Capri tempted us but research guided us to touristy Sorrento as a better "jumping off" point for all the places we wanted to go. We took the train from Milan to Naples (5.5 hours) and switched to the Circumvesuviana (which means "around Vesuvius" because, well, you travel around the volcano) to get from Naples to Sorrento (1 hour). We were pleased to find that our hotel was very centrally located near the historical district and the train station - and only about 10 minutes from a view of the water and soaring cliffs. We rested and wandered around the historic center after arriving but went to bed early in order to be rested for our first excursion - the island of Capri.

We walked from our hotel to the Marina Piccola of Sorrento where we caught a ferry to Capri. The first view of Capri as the ferry pulled in could not have been more perfect. Sunlight glittered along the water and the brightly colored buildings dotted the coast.


Our first stop was at a tour boat stand where we climbed aboard a small vessel for a tour around the island's circumference. The boat pulled into several of the legendary Capri grottoes so that we could have a closer look at the coral formations and the turquoise waters. We were disappointed to learn that the infamous Blue Grottos was closed due to the strong waves (which would likely shatter the row boats against the interior caves) but we did marvel at the water in the Emerald Grotto (above) and admire the steep cliffs above.


The Punta lo Capo is a collection of rocks that had once fallen from a landslide and settled to jut out along the water. Perched above the largest rock is a statue of a young boy. He appears to be sitting back and waving to visitors as they come and go from the island. Higher up, colorful villas are precariously built on the cliffs with no visible roads. As our guide told us, small staircases from tiny docks along the shore lead up to these houses. However, visitors without helicopters must often climb over 400 steps to reach the house.

After our boat tour had dropped us back off at Capri's Marina Grande, we hopped on a local bus that would take us to the quiet, high-altitude village of Anacapri (981 feet above sea level). After surviving numerous hairpin turns with very little to prevent our bus from toppling down the cliff, we wandered around sleepy streets and took in all of the small details. A large part of the island's residents live in Anacapri and decorate their homes with the hand painted tiles and pottery that also litter the region's gift shops.


Even the benches in front of the church were made of handpainted tile with local scenary and legends. At lunch, we had to order the insalata Caprese (tomato with fresh mozzarella and basil) as it acquired it's name from this very island. Drizzled with a local olive oil, it was heavenly. Afterwards, I gathered up all of my courage to head up a mountain (yes, there was one higher than Anacapri) via chairlift. Mark hadn't even mentioned it since he knows all too well about my fear of heights but I knew he'd want to go and suggested it myself. I really came to regret that when, after we paid for a ticket, I realized that this chairlift was 12 minutes long and I would have to sit all by myself. I think Mark knew this too and that's why he jumped on his chair before I could even open my mouth.


It was really long. Most of it was really high off the ground. The lift made lots of nerve-wracking squeaky sounds. Other than that, I can't tell you too much about the ride up as my eyes were closed for the last half (i.e. the really high up part). However, once we'd reached the top of the Monte Solaro, the views were well worth it. While the mountain top was not very large, you could peer straight down cliffs from certain angles and take in a wide view of Capri and the island of Ischia from others. The way down the chairlift was a little easier to take and it was fun to see vintners working on their grapevines.


Running a little too short on time to make the hike from Anacapri back to Capri town, we opted for the bus once again, hugging the handrails. Back in the main square, we visited the obligatory Duomo then ducked into the winding streets that were filled with fancy hotels and posh stores. Some of the designers (Dolce and Gabbana, I'm looking at you) hadn't opened up their stores yet for the summer season but plenty of other stores were available for window-shopping. It was all so fancy that even the directional signs were made from hand-painted tiles.

It was a little too early in the year for celebrity sightings so instead we had time to leisurely stroll from the town back to the Marina. Conquering a very steep downhill slope, we caught more beautiful tile work (like the one below which warns intruders to beware of both the dog and the head of the household) and picked up the scent of dozens of lemon trees. We were back in Sorrento in time to catch the sunset over the water and excitedly anticipate the next day along the Amalfi Coast.

For our last day in Belgium, we stuck around Brussels for the tour de E.U. It was a little drizzly all day so I was happy to have the brand-new umbrella that I bought in Ypres (so I guess that counts as an extra souvenir). The umbrella is black with a large red poppy on the outside - it does a lot to brighten up a grey day!


Our first stop was the European Council building to check out the Czech installation that pokes fun at E.U. member states. It's a bit difficult to tell why from the above picture but you can get the general gist. France is represented by a giant 'Greve' sign (meaning 'strike'), Italy by obscene soccer players, Austria by nuclear power plants (due to their firmly anti-nuc stance), Sweden by a giant Ikea box, and the U.K. is represented by an empty space in the top left corner. The Czech Republic commissioned this installation, called Entropa, and believed that it was being created by 27 artists from the different member states. Instead, it was all part of an elaborate scam by Czech artist David Cerny - a fact not revealed until the start of the Czech Republic's six-month term in the E.U. presidency. Bulgaria is particularly upset by the national stereotypes portrayed as their nation is represented by the base of a Turkish toilet. Our timing was fortunate - several days following our departure, the Czechs bowed to Bulgarian pressure to cover their portion of the installation.


After a stroll through the Park Van Brussel, we came out the other side to two sights. The famous one was the Palais Royal de Bruxelles. While it was once the home of Belgian kings, it is now only used for the king and royal family when conducting business. While not in any guidebooks (at least, none I know of), my preferred site is pictured below. I think this lion had the funniest expression on it's face - like if the Wizard of Oz's Cowardly Lion was frozen in cement.


After coffee, lunch, and more walking, we made it to Mary's Chocolatier. I mentioned the yummy chocolates we bought and the marzipan but I did NOT mention the chocolate sculpture of the famous Mannequin Pis.


Before heading to the Petit Sablon to get more expressos and hot cocoas, we took in the scene overlooking Brussels. A new way to see a very familiar city.

Back from vacation!

We've been incommunicado for the past 10 days, spending our time leisurely strolling around Dublin and London for vacation. So leisurely, in fact, that we didn't get to all of our vacation "goals" - like the planned short trips to the Ring of Kerry in Ireland and Bath, England. Instead, we slept til 10 most mornings and spent all our days soaking in the cities and all that English being spoken! We had a great time and I'll post more later but wanted to put up a few teaser photos first.

One of the (many) Dublin pubs we ran into when it got too windy/cold.


The obligatory pint at the Guinness Storehouse.



Can you spot the names on these personalized bottles of Jameson? Jameson Distillery, Dublin.


Big Ben


The London Eye and the City district - view from St. James Park.


Vintage aircraft at the Royal Airforce Museum, London.

More to come!

I Giardini Pubblici

We've been trying to get out-and-about as much as possible lately. We don't need too much encouragement - the weather has been beautiful and pleasantly cool. Fall has fallen in Milan. We've spent some recent weekends and evening in the Giardini Pubblici (the Public Gardens) that are a short walk from our apartment. We're so lucky to have this close-by as it provides over 170,000 square meters of green space in a city that can often feel industrial and sometimes cold. Mixed in with the park are a couple of off-leash dog facilities, a gazebo (we've caught an impromptu concert there), and lots of children's activities like bumper cars, balloon sellers, and a trenino (little train). The train is my favorite. It always makes me giggle to see the adults (especially the "conductor") riding along.


See? Funny.


The dog run:


Cooper attempting to chase pigeons by the lake:


A little boy and his bicycle of wood: