Anthony Clark

This place reminds me of a packet of Fruit Tingles. Burano is an island a couple of kilometres from Venice, a bit further out on the lagoon. The homes there were (apparently) originally painted bright colours so fishermen could spot their homes from the sea. Today, it’s done for the tourists more than anything. We also visited Murano, famous for Venitian glass.

This truly is one of the most photogenic places on Earth. We arrived here after catching a high speed train from Florence. After a bit of mucking around with our accomodation, we finally checked in to our flat. It’s huge! We front onto a canal, in a quieter part of Venice. We are also just a short walk from the Accademia bridge, where I watched the sun come up and go down today. Today we walked around the city, up and down streets, over bridges and somehow ended up not getting too lost in this rabbit warren of a place. […]

Warning. There’s lots of blue skies, blue water and gelato ahead. We’ve said goodbye to the incredible Cinque Terre area, after spending a day exploring and enjoying the cool blue water. We even managed to find some sand – or what Europeans refer to as sand. We caught a ferry from Riomaggoire to Monterosso, enjoying the coastline. At Monterosso, we cooled off with a dip. It’s not cheap though. €25 for two beds and an umbrella. But again, worth it just to keep your arse off the gravelly beach. It wasn’t quite sand. More like ground up gravel. But better […]

Greetings from Riomaggoire, at Cinqueterre. This is a quaint little coastal town known the world over. After a long train trip here, and a long struggle with our packed bags, we finally made it up the hill to our room, commanding an amazing view over the town and port. We walked to a nearby beach for a swim to cool down. It was a struggle getting in and out thanks to the giant pebbles. Yep, I fell on my arse. Maybe thongs weren’t the best idea. After another gruelling walk up the hill, where we seemingly took a wrong turn […]

Culture. You can’t go to Florence without soaking up some. We spent Saturday wandering around the city, visiting the Uffizi and doing a great walking tour, learning about the Renaissance, the medieval part of town and the art. Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael… And there was even a turtle in the main square.

Let’s be honest. Our day trip to Siena didn’t get off to the best start. After catching a regional train, we struggled to find our way… out of the train station. Running out of time, we caught a cab to the other side of this historic walled city, ready for our tour. This was a tour with a difference. This was our tour vehicle. The tour wasn’t great, as we soon realised that most cars, including our little three wheeled lawnmower, are banned from the city centre. We couldn’t even get close to the main sites in the city, despite […]

Having been curtailed in our travels by not being able to get a rental car, we decided to do a tour of the Tuscany region as part of a small group. In the end, it was a much better idea as we could enjoy the wines (and let me tell you, they serve big tastings). We visited two wineries and trying the famous Brunello wines, before checking out Monteriggioni, surrounded by 12th century walls. Then it was on to Val d’Orcia, which is a world heritage listed area of farming country which looks much the same as it did centuries […]

If the first day of my 40s is anything to go by, entering my fourth decade ain’t so bad. But Tuscany is one a bit out of the box. Our day started early. Really early. Like 4am alarm early. We were met at our accomodation by Francesco, our Italian driver, standing beside his shiny black Mercedes Benz. We headed to Florence to watch the sun rise over this incredible city. At Piazzale Michaelangelo, we were given a picnic basket filled with fresh food like salamis, cheeses, fruit and bread. No need to push towards the front of the crowd. It […]

We timed our trip to Positano perfectly. August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, and the Italians take their religion very seriously. I thought the fireworks were for my birthday at first. Apparently not. The Feast of the Assumption is a celebration especially felt by the people of Positano for their devotion to Our Lady of the Assumption considered the protectress of the village. In particular, it recalls an ancient legend that tells of a ship, carrying a Byzantine icon of the Madonna, blocked by dead calm in the bay of Positano. And only when the sailors donated the […]