We hit the road as soon as we finished breakfast to explore the heart of Tuscany – the picturesque rolling hills. We took the scenic Tuscany road – SR2 from Siena to Pienza where we’ll be staying for 3 nights. The first stop was the famous cypresses of San Quirico. Unexpectedly, just after we got… Read More Siena to Pienza – the Heart of Tuscany
It was a long travel day to make our journey back to Italy….a 5 hours drive from Menton, France to Siena, Italy. The ride wasn’t smooth at all as it was pouring so made traffic worst! There was a car accident near Genoa so we wasted half an hour sitting on traffic. We made a… Read More Siena and San Gimignano
The best time for photos of Isola San Giulio is morning till noon when the island is light up by sunlight. When we arrived at Orta San Giulio in the afternoon the day before, the island was covered in shadow which made a big difference for photos. Our hotel’s breakfast room faced directly toward the… Read More Isola Bella – The Gem in Lake Maggiore
Since our last year’s visit to the beautiful Lake Garda and Lake Como, I have set a goal to visit more Italian lakes. I had the opportunity for this trip to re-route my itinerary due to my pregnancy so I decided to visit the other less known lakes in the Italian Lake District – Lake… Read More Back to the Italian Lake District – Lake Orta
We had a great night sleep except for the phone in our room rang at 4 AM!!! Who would call our room at 4 AM? No one answered; I hung up immediately and went back to sleep. The nice breakfast at least saved the morning. The croissants were freshly baked and they even have the… Read More Day Trip to the Flowery Town of Spello and Assisi
La Fiorita, known as the flowering of Castelluccio di Norcia occurs every year from the end of June to mid-July which turns this plain high up on the mountain into a magical and colorful field of wildflowers. I found out about this place when I was searching “the most beautiful flower fields”. However, the perfectly… Read More La Fiorita, the Flowering of Castelluccio di Norcia
We skipped the hotel breakfast and instead had our tiramisu from last night as a quick bite before our 2.5 hours drive to Bellagio, Lake Como so we could save time. I was a little bit disappointed that the tiramisu wasn’t that great 🙁 We already notified the hotel that we’ll be leaving at 6:00… Read More One Day in Lake Como – Bellagio and Varenna
Morning breakfast at Hotel Flaminia was decent with a view over Lake Garda…even though inside. After breakfast and on our way walking to the parking lot to get our car, we stopped by Castle Scaligero for photos without the crowds. The lovely town was quiet early in the morning so it was the best time to get… Read More Lake Garda’s Colorful Towns
Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy that’s often overlooked due to its famous cousin – Lake Como. I have to admit, I never heard of it until I saw in Instagram a photo of the amazing “castle” surrounded by emerald water – Rocca Scaligera in Sirmione. Since then, I started to research Sirmione and Lake Garda… Read More Sirmione, Where I had the Largest Gelato Ever!
We finally saw Mount Enta cleared up but that was the moment we were about to leave the hotel for our 3.5 hours journey to Palermo Airport. The drive to Palermo was okay until we almost reach the city – traffic! Our flight was at 12:45 pm and we returned the car, walked into the… Read More From Sicily to Tokyo: The Morning Commute Challenge
