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Europe September 2024
  • Ella Balagula
  • Ella Balagula

Europe September 2024

A 20-day adventure by Ella Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 5, 2024
    Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    One of private residencies from the 15-16 centuries
    One of many Wallace fountains that were installed to give people access to fresh clean waterThe two 13 century buildings that are thought to be the oldest in Paris11Another private residence that is a government building now11112Beautiful park in Marais1This book was "only" 100 years old1

    Tour of Marais neighborhood

    Aug 30–31, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We arrived to Paris on Friday afternoon, and after napping (me) and working (Igor), we went to our first milonga which was in a nice studio ballroom, but the level of dancers was unimpressive, and we didn’t stay very late. On Saturday morning, despite the jet lag, we embarked on two (!!) 2+ hours each VoiceMap tours. The first one was of Marais neighborhood. Part of it used to be Jewish area with many nice falafel restaurants and large 15th century mansions that now are government buildings. They are called hotels particulaires because hotels is basically any building and particulaire means private. We walked through some beautiful small parks and even stopped by at a public library that features a lot of very old books, many of which are easily accessible. We then had our first of upcoming many buckwheat Brittany type savory crepe (finishing with the sweet crepe)! The highly rated cafe Breizh has several locations (a spoiler - we visited all of them! 🙈)Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Amore mural with I love You in many languages
    The man who could walk through wallsFrench love their bachi ball!1Steps of Montmartre2Tofu marinated for 8 hours! Delicious

    Tour of Monmartre

    August 31, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    After lunch, we decided that we still had time and energy for another VoiceMap tour and went to explore Montmartre, with the same guide that we quite liked. We really liked to learn different stories and tales about this Bohemian areas, including the one about the man who could walk through walls, and eventually got stuck in one wall. This was commemorated in a cool statue. We walked through narrow streets, small parks, and eventually came to a large church with the famous steps of Montmartre hill. We then went back home, for dinner at a small modern Vietnamese place, where we had delicious chicken pho, duck dumplings and tofu marinated for 8 hours and topped with hazelnuts. In the evening, we went to a milonga, but had a funny adventure. Apparently we miscommunicated and went to the address that was located in a different area of Paris, as there are two of exactly same street, and it’s not a Main Street 🤣. Getting to the right address would take another hour and it was already quite late, so we decided to go to a very small milonga in a cafe very close to our hotel, and it ended up being a wonderful surprise - very small intimate cafe with just a few couples dancing, very Belle Epoque vibe. We had such a magical evening that I sadly forgot to take any fotos!Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Beautiful old clock
    The details on the stained glass are incredibleNotre DameGreat organ concertVery cool and unique experience of watching the organist in actionDancing on the boat

    VoiceMap tours galore continued

    September 1, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today we did another two VoiceMap tours. We started with the tour of the island where all the history of Paris is concentrated. We stopped by at the magnificent Saint Chapelle with the mind boggling stained glass. We both have been there before, but couldnt miss a chance to marvel at it again for a long time. We then walked around Norte Dame, where the restoration after the fire is still ongoing. They wanted to open it in time for the Paris Olympics but didn’t, and now are saying it’s December 2024. After listening about a lot of history, we were ready to listen about food and took a VoiceMap tour of the Les Halles, which was a food themed tour. We stopped by at some bakeries but sadly many great stores were closed because it was Sunday. We stopped by at a beautiful cathedral and were treated to an unexpected surprise - an hour long organ concert! The cool part was that we could see the organist up and close. We had delicious crepes and then in the evening went to a very cool milonga on a parked boat! It was great - fantastic music, good dancers and great atmosphere!Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    This is Picasso bust of a guy who stole Mona Lisa. Google itYet another buckwheat crepeLuxembourg palace inside the Luxembourg gardenThe garden is really stunningDelicious escargot in the edible bread shellsDuck two ways

    St Germaine and Louxemburg Garden

    September 2, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Surprise! Today we also did two VoiceMap tours. We started with the tour of St Germaine which is a really beautiful and hip neighborhood, where we saw many interesting sites. My favorite was a story how Picasso was framed as if he stole Mona Lisa from the Louvre, which he of course didn’t. The thief was named Apollinaire. Google it! We then went on a tour of the nearby Luxembourg gardens, which were absolutely gorgeous and we spent a pleasant hour strolling through the gardens and listening to the stories. We had yet another buckwheat crepe for lunch, again at a Cafe Breizh, this time in a St Germaine location. In the evening, we went for a delicious dinner in a small restaurant in Marais.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Beautiful D'Orsay
    From the museum, we could see the Olympic flame balloonGreat views of Notre DameA gargoyle on a church in Latin QuarterMany churches have these amazing stained glassMilongaPacked milonga

    Musee D’Orsay and Latin Quarter

    September 3, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We started the day with the long awaited and wanted visit to the Musee D’Orsay. We entrusted the guiding duty to our old friend Rick Steve, but I found his tour of the museums highlights to be quite light. In addition, despite the timed entries, the museum was quite crowded, to the point that it was hard to enjoy the paintings. Finally, we didn’t love the fact that all the artists were mixed up together, while we felt that the likes of Monet and Renoir would be better off in separate rooms. So, after 1.5 hrs, we left a bit unsatisfied. We will just have to come back one day, hopefully off-season and with a regular audio guide. We then did a VoiceMap tour of Latin Quarter which was very nice. And we capped the evening with a milonga upstairs of a large restaurant La Cardinal. It was quite packed and tight (I guess crowded was the theme of the day) but we had a nice time dancing.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Beautiful Pompadour
    Eiffel Tower from the Pompadour escalatorThe view of the hill of MonmartreSome more Monmartre from the inside of the buildingOne of my favorite Dali paintings - it was in the section on Dreams1I just loved this painting. Grinding star dust in the meat grinder and spoon feeding the MoonThe grave of Oscar WildeAmazing Edith PiafSarah Bernhardt was the most famous actress of her timeThere was a giant crematorium on site and many colonnades with urnsOne of the urns belongs to Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer with very interesting history

    Surrealists and famous dead people

    September 4, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today Igor had to work and I was on my own the whole day, so I started my morning at the Center Pompadour where it was the first opening day for an extensive exhibit on Surrealism. As I went up the giant escalator on the side of the building and from the high floors, I was treated to amazing views of the city. The exhibit was truly fascinating, divided by 13 themes that influenced surrealists, such as Dreams, Dark Forests, Cosmos, Alice in Wonderland or Eros. The selections of paintings were also incredible, and I didn’t even notice that I spent over 2.5 hours there. After the exhibit, I ate delicious Taiwanese chicken dumplings nearby, and embarked on the exploration of the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery where many notable figures are resting. There was a Rick Steve tour, but it seemed light and I was a bit burnt by the lightness of his D’Orsay tour so I decided to go with VoiceMap. There were 3 separate tours of various sections of the cemetery, 1 hour each. After an hour of wandering around the graves, and listening to fascinating stories about famous people, I got a bit tired and decided that I need to leave something to return to on future visits to Paris and call it a day. The cemetery reminded me of Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires, just a bit less posh perhaps. In the evening, I went to probably the best milonga in Paris and really enjoyed dancing! I was hoping to have a “Last Tango in Paris” with Igor, but he sadly had to work and couldn’t come. Overall, incredible 5 days in Paris and we were ready to leave to the next chapter of our French adventure.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Main palace of the city
    The cathedralThe front facade is very beautiful and unique, with numerous columnsStained glass insideThe infamous owlThis is typical Dijon house design

    Dijon - not just the mustard!

    September 5, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    This morning we left Paris and drove a couple of hours to Dijon, a beautiful city on the way to Lyon, where our encuentro would take place nearby. I took a VoiceMap walking tour around the city and enjoyed its old charm beautiful. Indeed, Dijon is not just where a famous mustard recipe originated from, but also home to old building and palaces. I admired its beautiful cathedral, with gorgeous stained glass. For some unknown reason the church is famous for a small sculpture of an owl on one of its walls, which became the symbol of the city. Apparently if you rub the owl (but only with your left hand!) all the life’s goodies will be bestowed upon you. I reluctantly obliged.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    The rebuilt abbey
    Beautiful winding streetsClearly a medieval building that is reconstructed now into an art galleryTypical cluny architecture had columned windowsAnother 15th century buildingView into the abbey

    Medieval village of Cluny

    September 6, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We left Dijon in the morning and drove to Vienne, outside of Lyon, where our encuentro was being held. But on the way, we stopped at the medieval village of Cluny for a VoiceMap tour. Cluny had a giant abbey but it was destroyed during the French Revolution, which was going after the church. What is left of the abbey are just some buildings that were rebuilt in the 19tb century. But the village itself has lots of medieval buildings, some of which are being restored, and some that are in not so great condition. Very small and beautiful place and we really enjoyed walking around and soaking in the stories and the medieval magic.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    We found a very cool brunch place and went twice
    Bridge over the RhôneSunday brunch potluck styleMy new friend Vodka

    French encuentro

    Sep 7–9, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    From Cluny we drove to Vienne, a small town not too far from Lyon. Apparently there were massive Roman ruins that we discovered only on the last day, and a cool looking museum on French Gaelic culture. We didn’t have time to go to the museum but walked around the ruins. We found some pretty good food - a great brunch place where we went twice (and ordered the same things 🤣) and a delicious Armenian (how random!) restaurant for dinner. In the brunch place I made friends with a tiny 3-months old Frenchie, named Vodka!! The encuentro was in a beautiful restored medieval building, facing the river. It was (only) 4 milongas, as opposed to usual 6-7 over the long weekend. It was mostly attended by the French and some Germans, and we were just astounded by the incredibly high level of dancing, given that most people came from smaller French towns. On Sunday there was a huge potluck style brunch, but we only came towards the end for desserts because most of it was very pork heavy. Not speaking French was also a bit of a challenge, severely limiting our communication abilities. Overall, we had an amazing time dancing and by the end of Sunday were ready to leave with our hearts full.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Water wheel for the millsThe water wheels remained on the river from the medieval agesMassive Palace of the PopesCourtyard of the palacePalace gardenOne of the palace courtyardsGiant reception hallView from the palaceView from the palace rooftopFamous bridge of AvignonA very stylish and poised fashionable French catThe square outside of the Palace of PopesThe palace in the golden light

    Avignon and the Palace of the Popes

    September 9, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We decided to spend a couple of days exploring Provence, one of the few regions in France that we never visited before. On Monday morning we left Vienne and drove a couple of hours south to Avignon. We didn’t really know much about it, and I was distressed that there was no VoiceMap tour. But apparently, Avignon once was the center of the Roman Catholic Church
    and all the Popes for about 100 years moved from Vatican to Avignon. Not entirely sure why they decided on Avignon, but naturally they needed to build a place for them to stay and the result was a massive and gorgeous Palace of the Popes. The interior unfortunately been all destroyed or looted during the French Revolution, but the palace itself is in great condition. And it’s enormous ! I spent a couple of hours exploring it and relaxing in its tranquil garden. In the evening we took a one hour quick walking tour of the center and saw the famous Avignon bridge (its original from the 11th century) and walked around the city.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Monument to Van Gogh in a small park
    The Romans were very active in this part of France, so there is a giant amphitheaterVan Gogh foundation that hosts exhibitsDelicious lunch - eggplant dish and seared swordfish with ratatouilleDelicious chocolate cake for desertI'm Aix de Provence I went to a small but very interesting museumFoe gras appetizerDelicious fish main courseThe best cheesecake (more like pannacota) with poached figs

    Van Gogh and gastronomical adventures

    September 10, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    On Tuesday, we left Avignon and drove to the nearby town Arles, because there was a VoiceMap tour there, about Van Gogh who lived in Arles and painted many of his most famous paintings there, including the Starry Night 🌌 and the Sunflowers 🌻. Even though there are no apparent sites to see, the tour was very interesting, truly diving into the life of this tormented creative genius. We then went for lunch to a beautiful small restaurant with super cute courtyard and shared delicious eggplant dish and seared swordfish. We then drove about an hour to Aix-de-Provence where we would be staying overnight. Igor had to work but I went for a quick visit to a small but very rich art museum and capped the night with solo dinner a a small organic restaurant recommended by Frommers. It was a one man show - the owner is a chef and server. He used to work in top world restaurants but then decided to open this small place with 6 tables and tiny menu. It was divine!Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Picked up delicious fresh figs at a fruit marketMarseille OperaMedieval hospitalHospital also was a refuge for poor and piligrimsVery cool street art.Entrance to the main cathedralAn enormous cathedral towers above the portMuseum of Mediterranean civilizationsThe underwater cave museumBeautiful port

    Aix-de-Provence and Marseille

    September 11, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We spent the night in Aix-de-Provence and in the morning did a VoiceMap tour of the center. Basically, there is one large super wide boulevard and on one side is the old medieval town and on the other side much more posh Renaissance palaces of the elite. We walked around and then drove to Marseille to spend the night before our early morning flight. There was sadly no VoiceMap of Marseille and I tried to attend a guided walking tour but it was cancelled so I resorted to just walking around the city with Frommers suggestions. The city, being a port, with a reputation for grit, reminded me of Napoli. I walked the medieval old town which is now a center of graffiti street art. I went to what on the map said Cathedral Mayor, and a major, utterly massive cathedral it was! I think it was from the 19th century and very lavishly decorated inside. There are a few interesting museums but they were already closed - Museum of Mediterranean civilizations and a complete replica of an underwater cave with some incredible cave art that was found not too long ago. Next time will definitely need to see! After walking around the port, I had a quick dinner and went to a local milonga. It was not the best, but quite friendly and I enjoyed dancing there!Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    On the way from Zagreb airport, we stopped at a local restaurant for delicious cevapces and veal
    The ballroom ready to receive the dancersUnreal strudel and cakesBuckwheat is center stage here! Buckwheat salad served as a "snack" at evening milongasAbundance of apple strudelVinyls play all day long in the hotel bar

    Amazing Slovenia Embrace Encuentro

    Sep 12–16, 2024 in Slovenia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    There is a reason why we continue to return to Rogaška Slatina for a dose of magic. We love absolutely everything about it - it’s my happy place. The amazing combination of highly skilled and friendly dancers, wholesome delicious food and fairytale ballroom create a truly unique atmosphere, very blissful. We had three magical days there and I was really sad to be leaving. It was raining the whole time we were there and somehow we didn’t even notice that we didn’t step outside. 3.5 days, 7 milongas, 31 hours, 75 (estimated) tandas that I danced. Most that I ever danced in an encuentro. Very sore feet, but happy and full hearts! We have to return soon!Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    The only da Vinci in the Vatican
    Incredible triptych by RafaelFamous Greek statue of LaocoonNot only art is incredible but also the buildingsAncient greek statue of Pan taking our a splinter from the foot of ApolloIncredible frescoes in a hallwayHall of maps - highly accurate depictions of various geographical maps in the 15th centuryRafael's famous School of Athens portraying various philosophers all togetherI stole a picture of Sistine Chapel, despite the No FotosExit staircaseBeautiful scene on the walk back to the hotel. A medieval Papal Castle in the backgroundJust a column with a cute elephant

    Vatican

    September 17, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    On Monday we slept in late after the most incredible very late night last milonga of the encuentro. We then drove to Zagreb airport where igor worked in the lounge and we waited for our evening flight to Rome. We arrived late and very excited for the VoiceMap extravaganza in Rome. We started our adventure on Tuesday by going to Vatican museums where there was a four hour VoiceMap tour. We really enjoyed it, and it was much better than the own Vatican audioguide which we used when we last visited in 2022. We really liked the stories about the artists but most importantly enjoyed learning about the evolution of art history. We spent 4 marvelous hours, and then Igor had to leave to work and I stayed diving deeper into the optional sections of Rafael frescoes of the Papal apartments and the incomparable Sistine chapel. Vatican is truly the most incredible art museum of the early to Renaissance art.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Interior of the Pantheon
    Incredible DomeThe dome of Florence cathedral and even San Peter's were modeled after this Dome. 1 century ADTrevi fountainTrevi fountain overrun by touristsSpanish Steps were a little less crowdedThe Stumbling Stones are all over Europe- commemorating Jews taken from the houses in the HolocaustThe Grand Synagogue of RomeInterior of the synagogueThe synagogue is very richly decoratedThe site of the oldest synagogue in Rome - interior did not survive.Roman ruins in the middle of the city

    The heart of Rome and Jewish Ghetto

    September 18, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we accomplished a lot of sightseeing! Even though there is an abundance of VoiceMap tours in Rome, most of them were of certain neighborhood or theme and we felt that we needed a general overview. We decided to trust Rick Steve’s and did his Heart of Rome tour, plus his inside tour of Pantheon. Once again, the tour confirmed what I remembered about Rome from 15 years ago - it’s a layer cake of slices of history, often overlapping and incorporated in the same buildings. I should mention that in general Rome was very crowded - we were able to snatch two last Vatican tickets for yesterday and all the other days were sold out. And all the touristy sites were packed. Trevi fountain was overrun by packs of selfie snapping and instagram positing tourists. We also went inside the Pantheon which we never visited before. The buildings dome was absolutely mind blowing especially for the fact that it’s for the first century AD!! The building was a temple to Roman gods, later converted to a church and now housing the remains of many famous people, including Rafael. After the tour, we felt sufficiently oriented and did a VoiceMap tour of the Jewish Ghetto. It was once again a reminder of a familiar theme of antisemitism and prosecution. We visited a grand synagogue of Rome from the 19th century which is stunningly beautiful. We then walked back home snapping pictures of seemingly random Roman ruins in the middle of the streetRead more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Stunning mosaicsStatue of Catherine as she was found

    Tour of Trastevere before leaving Rome

    September 19, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Today, we woke up early and went on a VoiceMap tour of Trastevere - an area on the other side of Tiber river. It used to be a poor side of Rome, with many medieval buildings in bad state, but a couple of decades ago it started to become a hip local neighborhood with many shops and restaurants. We walked some beautiful streets with local butcher, cheese, wine, and bakery shops. We also stopped by at some churches. One was with stunning mosaics from the 11th century, and it had a sculpture of Saint Catherine. The story goes that Catherine was a devoted nun during Roman pagan times, propagating conversion to Christianity. Then she was captured and tortured by Roman soldiers and beheaded, but had to be beheaded several times and after her head was barely attached, she still lived for three days. Then some centuries later her body was found and this sculpture commemorates that. We learned a lot about various saints on this trip. It was great to wander a local non touristy neighborhood of Rome, and then we left to drive to the Adriatic side for our next encuentro.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    The medieval streets of Assisi
    Huge buttresses of the St Francis cathedralOne of the modern Franciscans, probably a pilgrimSt Francis basilicaThe crypt where st Francis is buriedThe box with his remainsFrescoes depicting poverty, chastity and obedienceThe courtyard of the basilicaIn the upper basilica the ceiling had the most amazing hue of vibrant blueOne of pivotal moments in his life - denouncing earthly possessions including clothesSt Francis is talking to the birdsSiena main square

    Assisi on the way to Tuscany

    September 20, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Well, a bit of change in plans! We arrived to the encuentro near Ancona and went to the first milonga. Let’s just say it was extremely uninspiring, bordering on unpleasant. The place was in a very rundown camp-like bungalows, with paper thin walls. The level of dancers was very mediocre and the real deal breaker was concrete cement floor, so very challenging to dance on. Considering that we were coming from Slovenia with the fairytale ballroom and magical dancers, the perspective of spending 3 more days with 6 milongas was out of the questions. Luckily, we were in the middle of Italy with the car. So we consulted VoiceMap and Rick Steves and decided to spend the long weekend in Tuscany instead. On the way, we stopped at Assisi because there was Rick Steves tour there. And it was really fascinating! Apparently Assisi is the hometown of St Francis, the saint who grew up in a rich family but at the age of 18, declined all the earthly possessions and became a hermit, preaching poverty, chastity and obedience. Franciscans even today are quite a big Christian denomination and after Saint Francis San Francisco was named! In Assisi there is a giant and gorgeous two level cathedral dedicated to him. Also St Francis preached being closer to nature, and often talked to the birds (as depicted in frescoes) - Igor promptly reminded me that he talked to birds too on one occasion in New Zealand! We really loved the tour and the city. We then drove to Siena where I had a nice dinner in one of the trattorias and marveled at the famous Siena square, lit by the full moon.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    Beautiful marble fountain in the middle of the main square
    Throughout the day we kept coming back to the square to reset, sit, and eat delicious gelatoThe beautiful hidden courtyardStopping for coffee in a place courtyardMagnificent Siena cathedralOne of the most striking cathedrals I have ever seenBeautiful mosaics of the Zodiacs. And the ever present shewolf in the middleI love how the dog is giving a "Shake" to the lionIncredible domeMany frescoes in the librarySome 9th century booksThe cathedral was supposed to be larger but was never finished. What's left of the unfinished wingThe main square houses annual horse race but today it was an old car race!Beautiful view of the cityA movie-like scene captured from the main square. It wasn't a photoshoot.Coming back to the main square for the golden light and sunset

    Gorgeous Siena

    September 21, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today we spent the whole day in Siena - a truly magnificent city, full of character, history and gorgeous art. We did Rick Steves tour of the city including its striking cathedral with the most amazing marble mosaics. The cathedral also hosts a medieval library with old theology books and the wall frescoes depicting the life of one of the Popes. But every corner of this city hold some special character and magic. One of my best memories was walking into a courtyard of one of the palaces, discovering a quiet coffee shop there and stopping to sip on a slow cappuccino, just chatting and soaking in the many centuries absorbed in the surrounding stone, colorful frescoes and airy marble water well in the middle of the courtyard. We absolutely loved Siena - it was fairly crowded with tourists but never overwhelmingly. Most importantly, unlike other medieval cities that have become just a collection of narrow winding streets filled with endless souvenir shops, Siena feels alive and breathing with the life of today. It has a university and there are many students whose presence is felt in hip small restaurants throughout the city. Siena is not a time capsule, it feels like the essence of change and evolution, where the old and the new are coexisting in harmony. In the evening we drive 15 minutes to a cultural center in the nearby countryside for a local milonga, with the Italian DJ that we knew from Slovenia. It was some lovely, if not exceptional, dancing.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    The view of San Gimignano with its many towers. Like a medieval Manhattan
    Delicious lunch in Volterra - fried polenta with porcini was especially amazing!Beautiful square in VolterraRuins of the Roman amphitheaterPorcini mushroom seasonThe many towers of San GimignanoDelicious ravioli in pear walnut Gorgonzola sauce and pasta with vegetables

    San Gimingano and Volterra

    September 22, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today, we actually found out where the crowds of the shoulder season in Tuscany were! In the morning we left beautiful Siena and drove 45 min to San Gimignano. As we approached the town , we were met with the Disneyland like lineup of the various parking lots that were all full and the attendants kept waving the cars somewhere in the distance. We tried some further away parking that supposedly had some buses shuttling from them, but we failed to see any aforementioned busses on the road. After driving back and forth for 20 mins and trying to find a spot in the hope that someone will leave, we realized that our only option was parking far away and walking for 30 mins under the open sun, along the car road. We decided that it was not worth it, and drove away, another 40 mins to Volterra. The parking situation there was much better and we were able to walk around and enjoy this medieval city. There was no VoiceMap so we felt a bit lost, but managed it, between lonely planet and Google. We had delicious lunch in a small cafe on a piazza and then wandered the streets - Volterra had many well preserved medieval building and even the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. Then, in the afternoon, around 5 pm we decided to try our luck at San Gimignano again, and what a difference few hours make! We were able to easily park in the most nearby parking lot and enjoy walking the streets without the hoards of day trippers. The city is famous for its many towers, and we admired many of them. It was great to sit in the steps of the main cathedral on ten main piazza without the crowds and enjoy the sunset. We then had delicious dinner and drove south to stay overnight on the way back to Rome.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope September 2024Traveler
    The internet photo of the macchinaMedieval 11 century tower right next to the modern apartment buildingThe palace of the Popes (they spent a bit of time in Vitboro after returning from Avignon1Cruise ship terminal

    Viterbo

    September 22, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today was a transition day - we were flying home from Rome early tomorrow and decided to stay somewhere within under an hour from Rome airport, that is also a nice place so I could explore and enjoy the afternoon while Igor worked. Our plan was guided by the available VoiceMaps. We first stopped at Viterbo - a medieval town in the heart of the region of Umbria. It was very quiet and nice - a bit of a an alive time capsule, with medieval towers often converted into the apartment buildings. The town is famous for its summer annual religious procession where people carry what is called the Macchina di Santa Rosa through the town. The macchina was frequently mentioned in the VoiceMap tour and according to Google images it is indeed very impressive and enormous. It reminded us of the infamous Zozobra, except it doesn’t get burned. We also learned that Viterbo apparently was the filming location for many Italian movies, including some famous Fellini movies and some modern TV series like Catch 22. It makes sense because the town is so well preserved but also not touristy at all. We then drove an hour to the seaside town of Civitavecchia with another VoiceMap tour where we would stay overnight. Unfortunately it was a bit less picturesque than I imagined it’s a major port where many cruise ships and ferries depart from, so the VoiceMap tour was targeted towards the cruise ship passengers and it starts and end a near the cruise ship terminal. It’s a bit of a rundown town, so maybe not the best choice for the night, but it was convenient and interesting to see an everyday non touristy town. We were ready to fly home in the morning, after such an incredible, deeply satisfying and beautiful journey through time and places.Read more

    Trip end
    September 24, 2024
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