It’s the simple moments that make travel so enjoyable.
One of our joys is observing people from different countries, how they live their lives and what makes their lives different from ours. When the opportunity arises, we engage to ask questions and reciprocate when they enquire about our lives at home. There is nothing more pleasurable than staying in neighbourhoods, enjoying a cup of coffee with the locals and dining at the local restaurants for the authentic experience.
We also love walking through the local markets to observe neighbours catching up with each other as they do their daily shopping. And, we take notice of families in their neighbourhoods, individuals sitting on their doorsteps watching passers-by like us or gossiping with neighbours who stop to stay “hello”.
One of the highlights of our travels is coming across a wedding celebration on our strolls around town. We often come across happy gatherings while wandering through backstreets, or as occurred in Rome, find guests who unwittingly assist us in finding what we had set out to see.
Guests gather for a wedding in Rome
There was the pleasure and honour in being invited to be part of a simple and happy wedding celebration in a back alley in Istanbul as we walked back to our hotel after doing a little last minute shopping. We’ve stood with other tourists outside the Basilica we were about to enter in the Tuscan town of Arezzo to watch a bride arrive at her wedding on the back of a Vespa and experienced the simple happiness of families as they gather to toast happy couples as they emerge one after the other from the Registry Office at the town hall in Nuremberg. The highest privilege of all is when the happy couple takes time away from their festivities to pose of our camera. There have been many such occasions.
Our daring Italian bride made an entrance arriving on the back of a Vespa
A happy couple releasing doves outside the Nuremberg Registry Office in the city’s main square, Hauptmarkt
We are looking forward to sharing some of our favourite shots taken over the years in the coming weeks on our social media pages. Join us for “Wedding Wednesdays” by following on our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram, or click on the links on the right-hand side of this post).
We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy reminiscing as we share.
Stylish Parisian newlyweds posing in front of the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel by the Jardin des Tuileries
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We have a spare day in Dubrovnik. Do we take a ferry ride to visit some of the charming islands off the coast or spend the day exploring the natural beauty of Montenegro away from the summer crowd? Kotor is less than 100 km away! We decided to take the quieter option.
Still relatively untouched by mass tourism, this little country has much to offer. It is the ideal place to experience a mix of history and natural beauty.
Kotor port and marina
Rather than rushing from one town to another, we idle away a few hours in the medieval town of Kotor walking along the city walls and then through the labyrinth of streets and alleyways wandering in and out of squares admiring the baroque churches and locals going about their daily life.
We spent the day wandering the narrow streets and alleyways, and in and out of the little squares of the Kotor’s Old City
We are concerned about our return journey to Dubrovnik. Our Dubrovnik apartment host advised us to leave early in the morning to avoid the long queues that build up at the Croatian border as Montenegrins and Croatians move between the two countries. At times the wait can be two hours or more. The evening wait time can sometimes be longer!
We stop for lunch at a small café in a quiet square in the Kotor’s Old City and were lucky to chance upon an informative café owner. While discussing our apprehension, he suggests we make our return trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina. He often takes this route. He reassures us the journey is scenic. The travel time will be the same so we jump at the opportunity to have a taste of driving through the countryside. Of course, the idea of avoiding languishing in a long queue also helps us make the decision.
With instructions on where to turn off the main road, we set both GPS devices with the details (our lease car’s GPS is more than adequate, however, we also take our trusty TomTom GPS unit with us too when we travel – just in case!).
Both GPS devices instruct us to turn off the road just out of Kotor onto a quiet little backroad which soon turns into a country lane and then into a goat track. We wave down a decrepit ute driving past us in the opposite direction to make sure we were on the right path. He can’t speak English but he waves us on indicating we are going the right way.
We drive on expecting the road to improve and join a major arterial road. To our horror, the road narrows further as climb uphill on this vertiginous track with nowhere to safely turn back. There is no option but to crawl forward at times reaching 20km/hour. Not to mention the 30 or so hairpin bends we encounter over this hair-raising drive with sheer mountain drops (and stunning views). However, we are intent on staying on the track and don’t dare take our eyes off the road until we reach the top where we came across two hikers taking a relaxed hike along the road. These are the only humans we have seen since the man in the ute. A little further on, join the road we are actually supposed to have been travelling on.
The bypass is so new that it didn’t feature on either GPS units.
We are fortunate. He is an accomplished driver and contains his racing driver spirit until we arrive on the highway to continue a most enjoyable time through the Bosnia and Herzegovinian countryside surrounded by rolling hills, through green valleys alongside gently flowing streams and creeks and quaint towns arriving back in Dubrovnik without incident.
Fantastic views of the bay and Adriatic Coast at the Bosnia and Herzegovina border
First stop is the city of Reims. The unofficial capital of the Champagne region in the northeast of France is the perfect place to base ourselves for a day or two to explore the region.
Reims is not only the centre of the Champagne. It is home to some architectural wonders, including the imposing Notre Dame Cathedral (where French kings came to be coronated), the beautiful City Hall, the Basilica St Remi and many admirable squares.
Reims Town Hall
The Basilica
Many of the regions Champagne houses including Taittinger and Mumm are headquartered in Reims and offer tastings at their cellar doors. Their houses are accessed through grand entrances and beautifully manicured gardens. An indication of the high esteem the French hold for champagne.
After admiring the city, we spend a couple of days exploring further afield.
Day 1 is a short 25km drive to Epernay, the home of the world’s highly acclaimed champagne houses.
On arrival, we find the streets deserted and not teeming with tourists as we had expected at the height of the European summer. It is lunchtime and everything apart from eating establishments are closed for lunch.
The Avenue de Champagne is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful streets we stroll along. Even more stunning when you have the street to yourself. We wander in and out of the grand champagne houses amidst beautiful grounds and gardens. These are the best champagne producers in the world!
The beautiful grounds of Moet and Chandon
We are disappointed at our first stop, the famous house of Moet and Chandon. The cellars are closed for refurbishment until after summer. We are directed a little further up the road to the House of Mercier. A partner of Moet and Chandon and owned by the LVMH group of companies, Mercier champagne is the most popular champagne in France. Eugene Mercier established his champagne house with the intention of making champagne readily available and affordable to all so that it was not only consumed for a special event but so it would become part of everyday occasions. The tour of the underground caves (18km long), on a laser-guided autonomous tram, provided an insight into champagne production, the different stages of the ageing process along with an added surprise – the remarkable basal reliefs that decorated the walls of the underground caves.
The ageing process – inside the caves
The huge champagne barrel which was carted through the streets of Paris to be displayed at the Paris Exhibition in 1889
Of course, the tour would not be complete with a tasting. We enjoyed tasting the “wine for the people” complete with a lesson on how to distinguish between the different varieties. Though not connoisseurs, and now having tasted both Moet and Mercier champagnes, we agreed, both were not dissimilar!
The day ended with a leisurely drive back to Reims through the vineyards around Verzenay.
Day 2 is a beautiful summer day to take a slow 30-minute drive along the backroads among grapevines and vineyards to Hautvillers, home of another vintage champagne, Dom Perignon. The roads are quiet and we wonder why we have the roads to ourselves, there is not another vehicle in sight. It appears that everyone else is in a hurry and prefers to take the motorway.
Dom Pérignon (1638–1715) was a monk and cellar master at the Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers, a quaint French village. His tomb is in the little Abbey and remains devoid of tourist traffic.
We wander through the village and along the narrow lanes to find picnic grounds at the top of the hill. The views over vineyards and down to the little village of Cumieres and the aqua waters of the River Marne are breathtaking. This is heaven.
Looking down the hill to Cumieres from Hautvillers
It is decided, we drive back to Reims via Cumieres on roads set amongst the vineyards and the gently sloping countryside through small champagne villages. The perfect end to a perfect day.
Our road trip had just started and we continued our journey through Burgundy, Provence, Bordeaux and the other wine producing regions of France. However, we will cherish our few days in Champagne.
If you are planning a visit to Paris and have a couple of spare days, take a short sojourn in the Champagne region, you will not regret it.
P.S. A short champagne lesson:
Brut – 40% pinot noir, 45% another white wine, 15% Chardonnay, contains 9% sugar. Brut is aged for 2 years and is then ready to drink. It should not be kept for more than 3 years.
Rose – has red wine added.
Demi-Sec is much sweeter with up to 40% more sugar. It is a dessert wine.
Brut Reserve has more reserve wine added and the taste can change from year to year depending on the reserve added.
No year on the bottle – no vintage!
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One of the benefits of travelling independently is being able to choose where, when and what we are going to eat. No hotel buffet breakfasts, no dashing from the tour bus into the service station on the freeway for the obligatory 15-minute break to visit the bathroom and grab a quick lunch or themed dinners to attend. Instead, we take the many opportunities to sample local delicacies by visiting small cafes and restaurants that we come across during a day of wandering or eateries recommended by our apartment hosts.
Sometimes, when we are travelling for a long time, we tire of eating out. We crave for a simple meal without menus or waiters. Our solution is easy and always enjoyable and is easier when travelling in warmer climes.
Our favourite stops on our early morning walks are the vibrant daily markets found nearly everywhere we travel selling fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, poultry, meats and fish, freshly prepared meals.
Freshly prepared meals in Nimes, France
In many countries, a visit to markets to purchase fresh ingredients for the days’ meals is an integral part of daily life. It’s lovely to see what the local people are buying and selling. The markets are more than that though. They play an important role in the community’s social life. Cast your eyes around any marketplace and you will see neighbours stopping to chat with each other, sitting down for a leisurely coffee together or simply sharing a joke with a stall holder.
The colourful morning market in Zagreb, Croatia
For us, visits to the markets are made more exciting when we decide that it is time to take a break from eating in restaurants. We can pretend for a short moment in time that we are part of this community. We are no longer bystanders or tourists taking snaps of mouth-watering food. We are on a mission like everyone else. What are we having for dinner tonight?
We’ll take a stroll around the stalls to decide (so much to choose from!) stopping at the various stalls to ask advice or taste test those local delicacies. When we’re ready, we take another turn around to make our purchases. We’ll select a good bottle of local wine, buy a selection of cheeses, olives, bread, fruits and other accompaniments.
The next step is critical. Where are we going to enjoy our goodies?
Sometimes, our apartment will have a balcony where we can sit and enjoy an al fresco meal. However, the best meals are when we join the city dwellers who take their dinner out to the local park for a picnic.
Savouring French wine on a beautiful summer evening in Paris
Picnic in the park in front of the Palais Real in the centre of Madrid
Relaxing over our meal, often in front of a beautiful monument, listening to a small group of musicians or simply doing a little people watching is one most rewarding parts of our travels.
Travel’s a picnic! We recommend you try it on your next travel adventure.
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It was another bright, sunny day as we drove up to Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) just outside of Tivoli. We had spent a couple of weeks walking the tracks between the villages in the Cinque Terre, wandering the streets of Florence and Sienna, and roaming the Tuscan countryside. The drive, surrounded by endless fields of sunflowers through Umbria and into Lazio was beautiful, and Tivoli was our final stop before reaching Rome.
With parking restricted at the entrance, we parked in a neighbouring suburban street, found a little café for lunch in preparation for an afternoon wandering through the ruins of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
We were delighted to find there were no queues at the entrance. And, upon entering, only a few people inside the complex.
Hadrian’s Villa is a large complex of buildings, gardens, pools and fountains, dating back to 118AD. Emperor Hadrian built this rural retreat as his summer getaway from Rome and today, much of the site remains unexcavated. The unearthed ruins though, leave it to the imagination about how spectacular buildings and grounds of this original Villa were!
Entranced by the beauty of the Villa, we hadn’t noticed the dark clouds gather. Suddenly there’s a feeling of eeriness around us. Thunder starts to rumble and flashes of lightning rapidly crack across the sky. With more to see, we don’t let this deter us and carry on admiring willing the skies to clear – we still have much more to see.
The Gods take pity and it is not until we reach the Museum that it starts to pour with rain. The model recreation indoors gives us an insight into Emperor Hadrian’s appreciation of architectural styles and how beautiful the Villa originally was.
It was time to leave and with no sign of the heavy rain subsiding, the decision was made. He gallantly sprinted to find our car while I took cover.
And, so it was that we continued our short drive into Tivoli to find our little B&B in the small piazza just outside the amazing Villa D’Este. We will have a couple of hours to explore the famous gardens before dark.
With light rain still falling by the time we unpack and settle, we decide that a tour of the Villa apartments would be best before exploring the gardens. We are not disappointed, the apartments reveal stunning frescoes and stairways with glimpses over the gardens and beyond through the windows. This villa was the home of the very wealthy Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.
The grand finale is the amazing gardens, fountains and waterfalls – indescribable. The opulence of times past is difficult to understand these days, however, we are grateful that the Villa has been well preserved for us to enjoy and imagine times past.
Hadrian’s Villa is located outside of Tivoli and while we travelled by car, we understand there is a bus service from Tivoli which delivers you very close to the entrance (pop into the Tourist Office om Piazza Garibaldi for details).
Just over 20km from Rome, Tivoli can be explored on a day trip. However, we recommend that you stay at least one night in this small town to be able to explore the main attractions at a leisurely pace. Or, stay longer to use the town as a base as you explore the region of Lazio. Either way, do not miss the opportunity to go off the tourist track and pay a visit.
P.S. If you decide to stay in Tivoli, we can recommend staying at the lovely B&B Villa D’Este situated right next to the Villa D’Este. Our host, Fabio was very polite and accommodating providing us with a delicious homemade breakfast on the rooftop terrace. Make sure you request a room overlooking the piazza. They also provide complimentary parking in a car park close by. There are plenty of unique restaurants and cafes close by.
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