A Day in Lecce, Italy

A Day in Lecce, Italy

Known as the “Florence of the South” for its beautiful Baroque buildings. Surrounded by gentle hillsides dotted with enchanting villages, Lecce is a laid-back city with hospitable people, great food and natural and architectural beauty.  A university city and capital of the province by the same name in the Apulia (or Puglia in English) region…

Two days in Alberobello, Italy

Two days in Alberobello, Italy

Alberobello (direct translation is “pretty tree”), the UNESCO world heritage site is known for their signature Trulli houses. A Trulli looks like a hobbit or troll house, but is a small hut-like building with conical ceiling in the Puglia region of Italy. Originally used as a storage house, the rural Puglia roads are dappled with…

A weekend in Matera, Italy

A weekend in Matera, Italy

‘Tragically beautiful’ Matera has gone from rags to riches over the past century.  Evacuated in the 1950’s for rampant poverty and disease; Matera was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1993 and 2019 as the European Cultural Capital.  Matera has been inhabited since the Paleolithic time. In ancient times, cave-dwelling (not to be…

A four day itinerary in the Cotswolds, England.

A four day itinerary in the Cotswolds, England.

The rolling green hills are decorated with honey-colored limestone houses with stone shingled roofs. Each village seems quintessentially British with a local pub and tea shops downtown. With the industrial revolution and the development of cotton this region saw a major economic decline and many people left the countryside for the city. Now it’s a…

The ultimate long weekend in Barcelona: 3 day itinerary

The ultimate long weekend in Barcelona: 3 day itinerary

Barcelona, this vibrant coastal city buzzing with life, has long been one of my favorite cities in the world. The Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, modernized the city with colorful and eccentric buildings such as Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, and the Sagrada Familia church that add to the enjoyment of Barcelona make it more memorable. This…