Choosing Planes, Ships, Trains, Buses or Automobiles

Our six-week European Swing was designed around my daughter’s wedding in Scotland’s Guthrie Castle. It was indeed memorable. But it was also highly educational. It gave us a great view of the differences among the different modes of transportation.

The first two weeks were in Scandinavia and Russia through a combination of airplanes and a ferry (from Finland to Russia) to transfer from one country to another. We used public transportation in Oslo, Helsinki, and Stockholm. In St. Petersburg, we were on a bus excursion from the ferry. We found that car rentals and fuel were sky-high.

The next two weeks were spent on an MV Explorer cruise through Denmark, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, and England. We embarked in Stockholm, Sweden, did city walking tours in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lerwich, Scotland, Isofjordur, Iceland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, and took bus excursions for Rekjavik and Akureyri, Iceland.

The last two weeks were in the UK. We disembarked in Southampton, England. It was a Sunday and car rental companies were closed during the season because their entire fleet would have been rented out for the weekend to be returned only on the following Monday.  So besides car rentals, we used trains (and other modes) for road trips across the UK.

First, when it was just my husband and I, we walked the towns and used trains from Southampton to Brighton, Brighton to Canterbury, and Canterbury to Gatwick. That’s the airport where we picked up my daughter and her two daughters.

The five of us then rented a Renault Captur, big enough to carry us and five bags. In two days, we covered Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath from our hotel  in Warminster. Then we toured the Cotswolds and southwestern Wales from an Airbnb in Cheltenham for the next two days. On the last day, we visited Windsor Castle from Heathrow Lodge.

Third, after my daughter’s wedding, we joined our BFFs and partners using trains, buses, a private car, cabs, and the tube, whatever was appropriate and available, touring London, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. 

Here is what we learned. Cruise ships can be the least expensive mode, especially if you get a highly discounted one like we did through Groupon. Organized excursions, however, can dramatically raise the cost. Use them when necessary and explore by yourselves, whenever possible. The biggest drawback, however, is you get the least sense of a place and people with just 8 hours at port. But if you are a foodie, you can get the best variety and quantity of food on a cruise ship. There is also a ready like-minded community to travel with. Finally, there is no need to pack or unpack!

Planes, trains, cabs, and buses are less convenient, having to haul luggage through different means of transfers, especially on windy, damp, and cold days. But these road trips can give you the best sense of place and people because you can stay as long as you want. The longer you stay, the cheaper the lodging becomes.

Even if you must drive, a road trip by car may be even more cost-effective (car rentals become cheaper the longer the period), as long as parking fees and the cost of fuel aren’t exorbitant. But maybe not in the UK since driving is on the wrong side of the road, the back roads are very narrow, and the speed limits are higher than those in the US. It can sometimes be quite scary!

We concluded that a road trip gives you the best sense of place and people. We always prefer to travel by car but if fuel and parking costs are not reasonable or driving conditions are unfamiliar, then trains, buses, and planes are the next best. We will reserve cruise ships only as an exception. One such exception is short ferries from one country to another. But when in town, walk around and use public transportation!  

            

Are a Few Hours Enough to Enjoy a City: Vienna and Salzburg

Are A Few Hours Enough to Enjoy a City?

We were already in Innsbruck, Austria so why not visit Vienna and Salzburg, too? Vienna is two hours east of Salzburg, which is two hours east of Innsbruck. The solution was simple. Leave Innsbruck by 7:30 am, arrive in Vienna by 11:30 am, and retire in a Viennese Airbnb by 6:30 pm, giving us seven sight-seeing hours. The following day, we leave at 8 am, arrive in Salzburg at 10, and head back to Innsbruck at 5 pm, giving us seven hours, too. Or so we thought.

The Case of Vienna

We lost each other at the Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof (Main Railway Station). As soon as we found each other again, we jumped onto the train that was leaving. When the conductor checked our tickets, he told us we were going to Munich, in the opposite direction! We reached Vienna at 1:30 pm and had only five hours to enjoy the city of 2.6 million!

We still covered quite a few landmarks (StephenPlatz, Mozart Haus, KarlsKirche, Secession Building, Hofburg Palace, Museum Quartier), but we were running from one to the other with just time to take photos. It was not how to enjoy a city. Long lines at the Café Sacher prevented us from tasting the original Sacher torte, and we ended up having those ubiquitous puffers being sold on the sidewalks for lunch.

At the end of our frenzied walk, we had a quick dinner at Café Raymond, enjoying some wine and a slice of, albeit not the original, sacher torte. Our Airbnb was only four subway stops away, so we slept well but felt sad. Even seven hours would not have been enough for the Viennese allure.

The Case of Salzburg

But we had seven hours in Salzburg, smaller with a population of 150,000. From the Hauptbahnhof, we walked to the Mirabell Palace on the way to the Old Town Square. It was at this beautiful palace and garden where Maria (Julie Andrews) and the von Trapp children sang Do Re Mi.  

Across from the Palace, there was a raging Thursday farmer’s market at the Church Plaza. How lucky could we be? It was a haven for local food, produce, plants, and even dry goods. We did not leave until Bill had a version of the famous apple strudel and I got a 15-euro leather purse.

A bridge glistening from the number of love locks (the sun shone on it just right) led directly to 9 Getreidegasse where Mozart was born. Just a block away is the historic center of Salzburg called Residence Platz, a large stately square named after the Residence of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. In front of the building, beside the Cathedral, and in the middle of the Square is the beautiful Residenzbrunnen fountain, another point in the Sound of Music Tour.

The Salzburg Cathedral, St. Peter’s Abbey, and the Residential Building define the lovely Dom Platz where carriages can be hired for tours. Happy newlyweds were doing it at the time. You can see the Salzburg Fortress up the hill (you can also see it from the Mirabel).Finally, aA huge golden ball embellished the interesting craft stands.

The Visitors Information Center at Mozart Platz (with a statue of the man) recommended Swelter’s for an early dinner. My husband had wiener schnitzel while I loved my griesnockerlsupp. Wine capped our memories of the Sound of Music and Mozart, street food and shopping, and the love bridge. 

Yes, we enjoyed Salzburg and felt we didn’t miss a thing. But if a city is big, it would be better to allow for more time. We didn’t regret visiting Vienna, however, since we may not pass that way again, but we certainly enjoyed Salzburg a whole lot more.

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Lessons from the Road: It’s All About Attitude

 


This article was published first in Travel Awaits on Oct. 13, 2019. It was republished in this blog on March 26, 2021. I have updated it today. 

 
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.” Yes, unfortunately, luck has two sides to it. For travelers who put themselves in foreign or new lands and in the middle of many unfamiliar activities, luck comes into play many more times than normal. Sometimes a travel day turns out good. Sometimes it turns out bad. How do we navigate such differing situations?

You Can’t Control Everything

One of the worst days of our life happened in 2018. My husband and I were at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington DC to board a flight bound for London where we were to catch a connecting flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Our tickets had been bought at the unbelievably discounted price of US$250 per person but we ended up paying more than ten times that, even after the refund.

While we were en route from Phoenix, our airline Primera declared bankruptcy. All its flights were immediately canceled. Understandably, I was terribly upset. And you don’t want to be near me when I am! But my husband said, “It’s just money.” When we arrived in London, he immediately looked for an English pub at the airport. The Scottish/Irish fellow delighted in a classic English breakfast he had been missing. Clearly, he had already put everything behind him.

Don’t Be Stymied. Go Ahead with Your Travel Plans

Without hesitation, we went ahead with our travel plans because the Slovenia trip could not be postponed. It was dependent on the schedule of our two hosts whom we met on the road in the Philippines a few years earlier. In fact, we hosted them in the US two years later.

The apartments they had reserved for us were fully booked before and after our visit. Our room at her B&B was at the foot of the Ljubljana Castle, in front of the huge daily farmer’s market in Old Ljubljana. In Bled, his apartment was right on the famous lake with postcard scenes from the balcony. We couldn’t have asked for more. And it was a reunion of great friends. Our week in Slovenia was priceless, even if it cost us $3,000.

Be Easy on Yourself: You Are Allowed to Make Mistakes

From our base in Innsbruck the following week, we wanted to explore more of Austria. We decided to take the four-hour train ride to Vienna, stay overnight, then stop at Salzburg, midway on the way back, the next day. At the Hauptbahnhof, I got a brochure from the ticket counters while Bill bought a bottle of water at the store. Mixed signals gave us almost zero time left when we finally found each other again. That’s how we got on the wrong train, the one going in the other direction. Instead of Vienna, we found ourselves in Munich.

In short, we got to Vienna mid-afternoon instead of before lunch as we had planned.  I was so stressed. And you don’t want to be near me when I am! Dear husband said, “Charge it to experience; we’re allowed to make mistakes.” We made it to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Mozart House, the Opera House, Karlskirche, the Hofburg Palace, and the Museum Quartier, missing only Schonbrunn Palace from our Vienna bucket list.

But we had to “run” from place to place. It was great that they were so close to each other. We even ended the day with dinner complete with sacher torte at a Viennese Coffee House. We preferred to go to the Hotel Sacher for the original but, as luck would have it, they have an outlet in Innsbruck, Café Sacher. 

There Are Many Good People on the Road

Our next base was Oberstaufen, Germany. This is where bad luck started to turn into good luck. After one of our long day trips, we missed the shuttle bus back to our resort. Tired and hungry, I must have looked so desperate when I found out the next one was an hour away. And you should not be near me when my tummy grumbles!

Without being asked, a German couple, who were also waiting at the station, rounded each of the stops, reading each poster (all of them were in German), and looking for an available alternative for us. They didn’t find any, but it didn’t matter. With the gesture, I totally forgot I was hungry.

The following day, we decided to look at Hotel Ludwig with its two rows of unique windows in Steibus, a village close to Oberstaufen.  It turned out that the couple we met were staying at their vacation condo right in front of the RV campground we found next to the Hotel. They invited us in for drinks.

The interesting thing was the man spoke very little English and my husband spoke very little German, so the wives were gesticulating a lot. Before we parted, they extended us an invitation to visit them at their home in Uberlinger, Germany.

The day before we left for France, we found the chance. At their deck overlooking the legendary Bodensee Lake, we enjoyed a typical German lunch. Then we toured the resort city which was hardly touched during WWII because of treaties. An hour of hunger was such a small price to pay for this GOOD LUCK in capital letters.

Let the Good Times Roll

“When it rains, it pours” had turned into “Let the good times roll.”  Bad luck turns into good luck, sometimes as quickly as it comes. And when our hearts fill with gratitude for the good luck, more of it happens!

In Paris, France we were even gifted with a fabulous upgrade from a studio to a one-bedroom apartment. For one romantic week, this elegant Parisian home was the base for many of our day trips to the highlights of Paris. In Brussels the following week, we didn’t expect to add another level to our travel experiences. I was always just for sightseeing. But in this Belgian capital, I turned into a food tripper: beef carbonnade, moules frites, fondues, waffles, chocolates, and beer.

What matters most, and what we can control, is how we react to others, things, and situations.  When bad luck strikes, we should quickly pick up the lesson and move on. And when good luck happens, we should give free rein to express our gratitude. It also helps to travel with people who remain positive. As you can see, I am blessed to have the best traveling companion...and husband.

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5 Things I Lost and 5 I Gained When I Retired

 

TRAVEL AWAITS: My 6 Favorite Islands To Visit In The World

The original article was published in Travel Awaits on Sept. 11, 2022

The Philippine archipelago is composed of 7,641 islands. I was born on one of them, so I am familiar with life on the beach. But I am highlighting these islands that I found on four different continents, not only because of beach life. These six are unforgettable because of one other thing or two—a natural formation, a place in history, a unique creation, or even something completely different.

Marietas Islands: The Hidden Beach and the Mexican Galapagos

The Marietas Islands are on southern Mexico’s Bay of Banderas, off the popular Puerto Vallarta. There are two, 900 meters apart. Both uninhabited, together they form a National Marine Park and UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) Reserve. It’s is said that an innocent Facebook photo of its Hidden Beach went viral and brought droves of tourists to the islands, damaging the area.

Strict new rules have since been implemented. We could only snorkel outside the string of yellow buoys that demarcated Isla Redonda, the smaller of the two,  because that is where Hidden Beach is located. Only 116 people per day can enter (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) so you have to go early. But you must swim through a 50-foot-long narrow water tunnel through the volcanic rock that leads to the beach below the crater hole. I cannot swim, and my husband didn’t want to go without me, so we just had to be satisfied with the fantasy in the pictures.

At Isla Larga, the larger island, we had to go barefoot to explore its own “hidden beaches” and a thousand-foot interpretive path. It was good enough, we comforted ourselves. The islands’ underwater life teems with rare fish species, sea turtles, dolphins, and manta rays. They are also a protected bird reserve with 92 species, including the world-famous blue-footed booby and large frigate birds, earning them the nickname “Mexican Galapagos.” We took many photos including those of Lion Head, Deadman’s Cave, Blowhole, and Stone Arch.

Pro-Tip: The boat ride from Puerto Vallarta is long so an alternative is to take a car, taxi, or bus from Puerto Vallarta to Punta de Mita, the closest point to the islands. The cost of the boat trip is cheap and you spot whales en route!

Palawan: Longest Navigable Subterranean River & A Prison Without Walls

I took my husband to only one other island in the Philippines aside from Luzon where I was born. Palawan is the fifth largest. Long and narrow, it juts out such that the westernmost point of the country is on its shore. It has consistently been named as one of the Top 10 Islands of the World because of its fine beaches like El Nido and Coron and the Tubbataha Reef, one of the world’s best dive spots. But what I am highlighting here is what made it win a spot in National Geographic’s “7 New Wonders of the World.”   

A two-hour van ride from the capital Puerto Princesa will take you to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking on wooden planks placed on the floor of a green forest inhabited by monkeys and monitor lizards, we reached the Underground River where small paddle boats were waiting for us. The world’s longest (8.2 km.) navigable subterranean river, it flows directly into the sea as a natural phenomenon subject to tidal influences. A thing of beauty with the striking limestone karst mountain landscape outside, stunning cave formations followed inside its deep chambers. The light at the end of the tunnel was not welcome because it meant the tour’s end. 

Another reason we cannot forget the island was our tour of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. It’s a “prison without walls,” housing about three thousand inmates on about 45,000 hectares (originally) of land. The only real barriers were in the maximum-security section. Minimum and medium-security prisoners were provided with some land and farm animals to build a livelihood. Some practiced crafts, and we bought some of their products at the gift store. Nobody attempts to escape because it was certain death in the mountains.

Pro-Tip: There is a lot more to see in Puerto Princesa: caves, mangroves, wildlife refuge centers, refugee camps, and island hopping so a few days may not be enough.

Shetland Islands: The Broch And The World’s Smallest Pony  

After Iceland, our cruise ship docked at Lerwick (population 7,500), the capital of the northernmost islands of Scotland called the Shetlands (population 23,000). A city walking tour showed us stone buildings whose foundations were on the water. We toured Fort Charlotte, the Lerwick Town Hall, the Shetland Museum and Archives, and the Old Town Center.

There was time left before we had to go back to the ship. We had a choice of a site where humans had lived since the Mesolithic period, accessible by bus, or join a Shetland pony tour. We dared ride the bus to get to the Broch of Clickimin. Constructed in the first century BC, it’s a very dramatic Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found only in Scotland.

With unbelievable luck, a Shetland pony was grazing on the bright green grass around the Broch! Originating in the Shetlands, the world’s smallest ponies stand only up to 42 inches, sport a heavy coat, and have short legs. Still, they are used for riding, driving, and packing because they are very strong for their size.

Gozo: Older Than the Pyramids of Giza And The Stonehenge

Once I took time off with my BFF to visit the Maltese archipelago. We heard that many movies were filmed on Gozo Island, the other island of about 26 square miles. So we took the 25-minute ferry ride from Malta, the bigger island, through the Gozo Channel.  But instead of movie sets, we saw something else.

We were quite lucky we saw the Azure Window, a rock bridge arch on the beach because two years later, it collapsed. We were also fascinated by the Fungus Rock which hosts a promising medicinal fungus plant, the artifacts of miracles at Ta’ Pinu National Shrine, and the statue of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the beach on Ramla Bay.  

But what impressed us the most was a huge pile of old blackened rocks propped together in some parts by support structures. It was the Ġgantija Temple Complex, older than either the Pyramids of Giza or the prehistoric Stonehenge and the second oldest only to Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.  Together with the other temples in Malta, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the earliest of the series, erected during the Neolithic Age (3600–2500 BC).

Pro-Tip:  We took one of the 'Hop-On Hop-Off' buses to these stops. A taxi would have allowed us to stay longer at the Temple.

Ile St. Marguerite: The Man In The Iron Mask In The French Riviera

During an anniversary, my husband and I chose to be on the French Riviera, visiting Antibes, Cannes, Nice, Grasse, Eze, St. Paul de Vence, and Monte Carlo from a base in Mougins. While in Cannes, we found out about the Lerins Islands, a group of four small Mediterranean islands off the coast. The two largest and inhabited are Ile Saint Honorat with a historic Cistercian monastery and Ile Sainte Marguerite where a fortress has the cell occupied by the Man in the Iron Mask.

We chose the latter. From the ferry dock, we hiked to the top of the hill to what is called the Musee de la Mer. My husband loved the Man in the Iron Mask’s dark cell where he was held captive for 11 years. But I loved more that we were able to bring home photos of an entirely different view of the Cote d’Azur, Cannes harbor, and Palais des Festivals.

Waiheke: World-Class Wines

Waiheke Island is the second largest and most populated island off Auckland, New Zealand. It was ranked fourth/fifth best island destination in the world for a few years. From the ferry dock, we rented a car and proceeded to the southernmost part of Orapiu Bay. After some photos, we drove east through rough coastal roads, unfarmed fields, idyllic scenes with flocks of sheep, and rich olive groves.

At the easternmost part, we lingered at the Man O' War Bay, where we photographed the lovely event sections and sampled the best sellers of this only world-class waterfront winery on the island. Satisfied, we resumed our trek up north and then west where most of the 9,000 islanders’ beachfront residences are. Farther west on Ocean View Road, we found the enviable holiday homes of 3,000 affluent Aucklanders, visiting one owned by a friend.

Back to the ferry side, where most of the art galleries, shops, restaurants, etc. were located, we chose to have late lunch at the prestigious Mudbrick Winery and Restaurant. The Chef paired world-class wines with our meal and explained each dish we ordered. We chose to sit at the beautiful open garden on a hill rather than the extended balcony or the second-floor deck. From each, there was a mystical view of Auckland and Rangitoto Island. For dessert, we moved to the nearby Cable Bay Winery to sample after-dinner wines and to get another view of Auckland from the wide expanse of greenery rolling down to the waters below.    

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Why Soriano Nel Cimino is One of My Favorite Places in Italy

TRAVEL AWAITS: Why Soriano Nel Cimino Is One Of My Favorite Places in Italy

The original article was published in Travel Awaits o Aug. 21, 2022

After a night in Sorrento and a day in Pompeii, we drove to Soriano Nel Cimino, our favorite base in Italy. As a small, picturesque charmer with lots of history, the town not only gave — and gives, as we have a timeshare space there — us the chance to experience Italian life but also to explore the province of Viterbo in Central Italy. It helps that our room is in an old castle! Furthermore, it allows us to revisit Rome and Florence in just one trip.

Soriano is one of my favorite places in Italy. Here are the reasons why.

1. It Is A Small, Idyllic Italian Town

Imagine a town overlooked by one of the highest peaks in the Monti Cimini range. Breathtaking! Down the valley, before dining at the excellent restaurants around (we found one where we had to return a second night), you can walk around the Fontana Vecchia (“Old Fountain”), built in the 15th century, and the Porta Romana, a replica of the Porta Pia in Rome. You will be surprised to find three lovely places of worship for its 8,000 residents: the small Romanesque Chiesa di San Giorgio, built in the 11th century; the Chiesa di Sant’Eutizio, built in the 15th century; and the Cathedral of San Nicola di Bari, built in the 18th century.

One afternoon we wanted to get the best vantage point for an iconic picture. When we found it, we realized we did not bring our tripod with us. Luckily, a sweet old man walked by. He spoke no English but understood our dilemma and gladly took our picture. We went on to peek at lovely Italian homes and gardens, found winding cobbled alleys on hills, and spotted one of the tiny sidewalk gas stations Italy is known for. The flowers about town reminded us that it was still spring, and the small fruit and vegetable shops, as well as the little grocers and bakers, gave us a good taste of life in Italy. We even discovered a small eatery (just four seats) behind one of the stores and loved their homemade meatballs and spaghetti. And, of course, a local gelato was easy to find afterward.

Pro Tip: It would be good to schedule your visit during Sagra delle Castagne, or the Chestnut Festival, that Soriano is known for. It runs from the end of September until the beginning of October.

2. It Has A Long And Eventful History

At the town’s highest point stands the Orsini Castle. Built by Orso Orsini in the 13th century, the castle was the summer residence of Pope Nicholas III, Orsini’s uncle. It became a high-security edifice until the 1990s, and today it is managed by the University of Viterbo as a tourist attraction.

After imagining the past splendor of Orsini Castle’s courtyard and great room, as well as visiting its dim prison cells, we navigated a small circular stone staircase fit for one. From the castle top, we saw the town’s history expanding outward.

Soriano nel Cimino’s history can be traced back to the Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization first mentioned by the Roman historian Livy — who wrote that in 443 BC, the Etruscans were “easily defeated” by the invading Romans. The area, especially near the neighboring town of Bomarzo, is full of Etruscan inscriptions, tombs, and medieval ruins connected by trails in a 4-hour hike.

3. You Can Sleep In A Castle

We stayed in a castle called Palazzo Catalani, part of our timeshare network of 300 resorts worldwide. It’s a small 14th-century castle of marvelous architectural design and delightful decor that blend Renaissance style with Roman elements. To get there, we could walk up either of two winding cobbled pathways from parallel streets to the top of the small hill where the castle is located.

Our room was an astonishing studio with original murals, large antique furniture, and more period decor. It was conveniently located right beside the reception office and the well-appointed bar. We even had a small kitchen where we prepared breakfast in the mornings and cocktail food some nights. (We had our first evening’s dinner at an a la carte restaurant serving delicious Italian specialties and other European dishes.) The sauna and heated pool soothed us in preparation for our night’s rest. But it was the excellent customer service from the highly experienced staff that we cherished most.

4. It Is A Great Base For Exploring Viterbo

Soriano is also a great base for exploring the province of Viterbo, which, being so close to Rome, is a great place to see the deep influence on Italian life the Roman Catholic Church has always had and will continue to have. Here are three fanciful old-world towns worth visiting — as well as the provincial capital, Viterbo, once a Papal Seat.

Civita

Civita di Bagnoregio is 75 miles north of Rome and 45 minutes from Soriano. Its striking position will amaze you: atop a small plateau of volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber River valley. Its edges began to fall (and continue to fall) when a major earthquake happened at the end of the 17th century. As the pace of erosion quickened two centuries later, it became a spectacle of an island hill, leaving buildings on its edges to crumble.

Its population is now just 12 during winter (about 100 during summer), but it is so wonderful to explore because its relative isolation has left its non-edge architecture unaltered. In 2006, it was placed on the World Monuments Fund’s Watch List of the 100 World’s Most Endangered Sites.

Civita and Bagnoregio used to be parts of the same town until the bishop and the municipal government relocated to the village in the valley after the earthquake.

Montefiascone

Montefiascone lies around Lake Bolsena, a caldera (or large volcanic crater) that formed in the Vulsini Volcanic Complex. Fifty-nine miles north of Rome and 30 minutes from Soriano, the town has numerous camping sites and bed and breakfasts. But its crowning glory is the Montefiascone Cathedral, also known as the Basilica of Santa Margherita, which has the fourth largest dome in Italy, behind the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Florence’s Duomo. It really looked like the whole church was under the dome.

Caprarola

The third town we visited was Caprarola, just 31 miles northwest of Rome and 25 minutes from Soriano, also sitting in the Cimini range of volcanic hills. I wanted to see the massive pentagonal-shaped Villa Farnese (not to be confused with the Palazzo Farnese in Rome). The Rennaissance villa was planned in 1530 to be a fortress to protect Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, but construction was discontinued when he was elected Pope in 1534 as Paul III. His grandson commissioned the construction of an estate on the completed pentagonal base.

Villa Farnese dominates the entire town, and everything was rearranged so that the main road leads directly to it. Each room is filled with oversized murals, and I was happily surprised to find that the Philippines (identified as Philipina) was on the Asian map in the Room of World Map. The maps were painted in the 1570s and depict cartographers’ understanding of the Earth at the time.

Viterbo

The capital, Viterbo, lies 50 miles north of Rome and 20 minutes from Soriano. Its historic center is surrounded by medieval walls, still intact, with ancient gates as entrances. They were built during the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 14th century, Viterbo became a Papal Seat and part of the Papal States. In fact, four Popes were elected in Viterbo. But when a foreigner got elected, the townsfolk invaded the Papal Palace while the longest conclave in history was being held. Two Cardinals were arrested. After this incident, Popes began to avoid Viterbo, and the city fell to secondary importance.

5. Florence And Rome Are Easily Accessible

Saving the best for last. Because Soriano is just 8 miles from the A1 Motorway, right smack in the middle between Rome and Florence, it was convenient to visit the two must-see cities of Italy. Rome is just an hour away by train, and Florence is two hours away by car. While it’s always fun to see the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Vatican, and the Spanish Steps, there are still many piazzas and attractions to discover. And although we have been to Florence’s Accademia, the Duomo, Santa Croce, and the Leather School, we still have the Uffizi, Palazzo and Ponte Vecchio, wineries, and more to explore.

We hope to go back to Italy when we resume flying. We have missed our room in Palazzo Catalani, and there are always new things to discover in Viterbo. Besides, this is truly the best base from which to revisit Rome and Florence in one trip.

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TRAVEL AWAITS: Why This Quaint German Town Was A Perfect Base For Our European Adventure

The original article was published in Travel Awaits on May 21, 2022

We have been fortunate in our travels. One of the factors that make it so is that we have stumbled upon surprising places as a perfect base for our explorations. When we were RVing, for example, our campground network gave us many towns from which to make day trips. Now that we have shifted to three timeshares to travel the world, the luck has stayed.

We usually decide on a destination based on the availabilities of the properties in the companies’ inventories. When we needed a location in Germany to cut the long train trip between Innsbruck and Paris, we were presented with Oberstaufen in Germany as an option. How I wished it had been Munich or Berlin or a popular tourist spot like that. But let me tell you how lucky that choice turned out to be!

Oberstaufen, Germany

The small town is host to many lodging options, including a hidden gem of the Mondi-Holiday Hotel, a frequently awarded resort and spa chain in Europe. Our “chalet” was a one-bedroom unit that felt very much like home so we were motivated to shop at the local grocer and cook some hot meals. Between day trips, we also spent a lot of time at the Wellness Center for fitness routines, spa therapies (dry or infrared sauna, steam or dampfbath, and swims and soaks at the heated pools and tubs. There were also table tennis, billiards, and bowling facilities. We even dined at the exclusive Italian restaurant on site.

We soon learned that Oberstaufen was a haven for German hikers in summer and skiers in winter. Only 2,595 feet in average elevation, it features a unique topography of undulating hills that create bowls of lush greenery punctuated by clusters of homes. The 7,000 residents and the seasonal tourists are served by a small and quaint downtown area where we were able to explore lovely shops, admire the charming homes, and worship at the yellow and white church. There was a convenient bus depot and a cute train station that connected the town to elsewhere. So from this wonderful restorative base, we discovered four  off-the-beaten-path towns in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Germany.

St. Gallen, Switzerland

It took us about two hours on the train to get to St. Gallen, Switzerland, close to the German-Swiss border. We had very low expectations. We just wanted to tick off Switzerland as another country we had visited together. But, walking on the way to the Old Town, we stumbled upon a few blocks that were all carpeted red. It was called Red Square. Soon I was asking my husband to photograph this aging “model” beside a red car, sitting on a red bench, and going up some red stairs.

At the Old Town Center, the Tourist Information Center told us that there are 111 exquisite balconies that adorn the buildings around the city of over 75,000. Just outside and around the Center, we readily chanced upon six of them. But they said that we should not miss the entire Abbey of St. Gallen since it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

The Abbey's Cathedral is downright gorgeous but it is the Abbey Library that took our breath away. It put us back in pre-medieval times when books were treated like gold. The ceiling is one of a kind, not just painted, but a three-dimensional work of art. The shelves are of heavy wood and they open up to reveal more secrets behind. And the lovely old floor had to be protected by soft cloth booties we had to wear!  We found out that St. Gallen was from Ireland, a true cultural and spiritual leader in the 900s. He was credited with spreading his influence into what was considered the “heathen” Germany of the time.

Vaduz, Lichtenstein

And we were so happy to discover that Lichtenstein, another country that we could add to our roster of visited nations, is only two hours and a half hours away, first by train to Feldkirch, Austria, and then by Bus 11 to Vaduz, the capital of under 6,000 in population. In fact, the whole country has only 35,000 people, the 6th smallest country in the world.

Vaduz has a lively tourist industry, however, despite being one of the very few capital cities in the world without an airport or railway station. The Old Town Square is a pedestrian area walkable in slow exploratory fashion in just an afternoon, from the Cathedral just off the Government Building, the small but gorgeous Parliament edifice, on one end, and the Rathaus (City Hall) at the other. The whole walk is strewn with interesting sculptures that will capture your fancy, including giant ladies’ strappy shoes. The ruler of the country, a young prince, lives up in the castle on the hill that looks over the entire city but we didn’t have the time to hike up there. Just outside the tourist area, we found an excellent restaurant patronized by locals. Their cuisine is an interesting fine mix of German and French food.

Steibus, Germany

On our return trip from Vaduz, we missed the bus going to Mondi-Holiday and got stranded at the bus station for an hour, stressed and hungry. A friendly German couple read every German poster to find us alternative routes, to no avail. The following day we took the bus to Steibis, a smaller town up another hill across from downtown Oberstaufen. We were told that there was quite a popular ski hotel, Hotel Ludwig, with unique and artsy windows.

Just behind the hotel is a Wonmobile (RV) campground.  And that’s where we found, at a condominium building across the street, the same helpful couple we met at the bus depot. It turned out that Dieter and Inge owned a unit there. Equally surprised by the happenstance, they invited us in for drinks and pretzels. During the merriment that ensued, despite my husband’s broken German, Dieter’s broken English, and the ladies’ inability to participate, they extended to us an invitation to see their other resort home in Uberlingen, Germany.

Uberlingen, Germany

The next day was our last in the country and we had planned on packing and going to the Wellness Center again. Instead, we decided to accept the couple’s  invitation and took a two-hour train ride to Uberlingen. The city is on the northern shore of Lake Constance otherwise known locally as Bodensee (see headline photo). With a population of 22,000, the city is the second largest, after Friedrichshafen, in the Bodensee district. The lake is huge and the city is a resort town that has attracted many retirees and tourists. In fact, when we were there, preparations were on the way for the 2020 Garden Show.

Dieter and Inge treated us to a hearty brunch of German sausages, liverwurst, cheeses, and bread at their lovely maisonette’s open deck overlooking the lake. Then they walked us through the City Garden, past the hot springs, and up to the Gazebo where we had a great view of the city and the lake. We continued walking to see the oldest section of town, including parts of the Wall that protected the city when the Swedish invaded. Much of the city was spared because of treaties previously signed.

Then Dieter took one of his two Jaguars and drove us up a hill to the beautiful Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers situated among the vineyards. And that was not the end of it. He also drove us up another hill to the Meersburg Castle, the oldest inhabited fortress in Germany whose construction started in pre-medieval times, 630 AD. From both these vantage points there are even more beautiful views of Bodensee, the grand lake.

We belatedly found out that Zurich was less than three hours from Oberstaufen, Munich two hours, and even the magical Neuschwanstein Castle, less than an hour. In fact, Innsbruck, Austria, our base for the previous week, was only two and a half hours away. If we had made Oberstaufen our base for two weeks, we could have made a total of eight exciting day trips, with alternating days of cooking, rest, and spa, from this part of Bavarian Germany.

There are many treasures one can find in places that are truly off the beaten path like the ones we discovered from our German base. And, if you are extremely lucky, sometimes you will even meet generous and helpful people with whom language barriers cannot pose even the tiniest hindrance to a great friendship. That is why we say we are extremely lucky in our travels.

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You Must Travel to Discover Great Food

"20 Best Examples from our Recent European Tour"

During our all-inclusive three-month stay in El Cid Resorts of Mazatlan, Mexico with its ten restaurants in four hotels featuring Mexican, Argentinian, Italian, Japanese, and International food, I cannot help but think, feel, breathe food. I will write about this later but I had promised to write about Slovenian cuisine. In this post, I write not only about that but all the twenty-two best examples we discovered during our tour of five European countries last October 2018.

Slovenia

Katrina treats us to a great Slovenian dinner

We were so lucky our friend’s mother owns the national Slovenian cuisine restaurant in Old Town Ljubljana. Katrina treated us to dinner there. That’s when we found out about the secrets to Slovenian cuisine: all natural ingredients. In fact, very little sugar or salt is added because natural sugars and salts are used to flavor dishes. In fact, all Slovenian households have small gardens in their lots where they plant their favorite vegetables and even fruit trees. In addition, water is so naturally good because crystalline water sources abound in the very green countryside. One thing to note, usually, dishes have no names. Menus list all the ingredients used instead.

Slovenian meat dishes and sides

kremna rezina

During the dinner, Bill especially liked Slovenian sausages paired with those special buckeye wheat dumplings. But it is the cake called prekmurska gibanica that stole my heart. It is a layered pastry cake with fillings including poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts, apples, and cream. It has just a hint of sweetness. This dessert experience was only topped by the kremna rezina which another friend Jure introduced to us when we visited him in Lake Bled. It is what every tourist looks for: a vanilla pie made out of vanilla custard, whipped cream, and two very thin puff pastry layers. If you are a lover of sweets, Slovenia is definitely the place for you!

Austria

dumplings in soup

As soon as we arrived in Innsbruck, we went to the grocery and found astringent persimmons in season. They were so soft, mushy and sweet! But the next day, I was downed by intestinal flu. I starved myself until I discovered the dumplings in soup one can buy from the rail bar as we were traveling on a train between Salzburg and Vienna. What a great comfort food! When we were in Salzburg, I found it again at a Viennese restaurant in Salzburg while Bill relished his wiener schnitzel. Before that, Bill relished the home-cooked apple strudel at the street market in front of the Mirabella Palace and Gardens where some scenes of the Sound of Music were filmed. And in Vienna, Bill had a sample of the famous sacher torte, of course!

apple strudel from the street market

Dieter and Ingga preparing to feed us

Germany

We were lucky to meet a couple, Dieter and Inga when we missed our bus at a station in Oberstaufen. They were so concerned and “adopted” us. The next day we happened to see them again when we were checking out the RV campground. We had drinks at their vacation home in the building just across the street. So they invited us to their maisonette in Uberlinger, two hours away, fronting Lake Bodensee. The liverwurst they served us, among all the sausages and cheeses Bill loved, was the mildest and best-tasting I have ever had. 

France

pannetone

French macarons

Our most wonderful discovery in France is a bread we found it in the street market near our apartment at Royal Vincennes Hotel in Vincennes, a Parisian suburb. I used to love fruit cake, then I took to the German stollen. Now, I am all for the Panetonne which is actually an Italian bread! But we also loved the French macarons my friend Yogi gifted us with some after our breakfast at Laduree. Bill and I each had great French twists to Eggs Benedict (headline photo). No wonder there are long lines at the Champs-Elyssee for both the breakfast AND the macarons!

Belgium

Belgian waffles

It is in Belgium, however, that we went all out for great food. That’s where we were greeted by displays of colorful Belgian waffles with all kinds of toppings. I also had a heyday with lots of premium chocolates, especially the dark ones of the Leonidas variety. Bill vouches for Belgian beer, too, especially the Duvel brand whose exclusive bar was right in front of the famous Maniekin Pis. A Visitor Center staff also advised us to have the best cheese fondue and beef raclette dinner at the restaurant of the same name. The, at one of the famous guild houses of the Grand Place of Belgium, we discovered the beef carbonnade, beef stewed in dark Belgian ale and the moules soup (instead of the more popular moules frites).

cheese fondue and beef raclette

From now on, I will pay attention to food during all our travels. It is a side of culture I had not focused on before. Now I am gung-ho about discovering great food. It just makes travel more satisfying, literally and figuratively!