Glasgow

After we arrived in Glasgow we took a little tour through the city center and had our first fresh beer from the tap. I don’t know why some people always complain about British beers…they are fantastic.

On our way to Inverness

The next 2 days we’ve been on the road through the Highlands to Inverness and past lovely Loch Lomond, stopped in Glencoe, had wonderful views of the Highlands and Ben Navis on the first day and followed the Caledonian Canal after a night in Onich up to Inverness , where all the adventure should start for us. Hiring a Houseboat for the first time.

Following the Caledonian Canal

It has been amazing how friendly and helpful all people have been on that tour. Since we didn’t had any experience in riding a boat, mooring and using the locks we depended on the first days on those people helping us to berth and getting everything right. Thank you so much you friendly people. So we went all way down to Fort Williams and back to Inverness, seeing Nessy many times on Loch Ness, at least it looked like.

Elgin, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth

We really made it back from our boat trip and needed something else to do. So we followed the road again to Aberdeen and Perth. Dundee didn’t really like us. There was not much to see except a lot of water falling from the sky.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is just a fantastic city. It’s location, the historic buildings and the Castle on the hill is so unique…and by the way, I love Scottish humour

The southern part of Tuscany is a wonderful region in Italy. Not very touristic, at least not from the perspective of a Non-Italian, but has a charming countryside, unexpected pretty beaches and old cities that really do not need to hide behind the famous cities of Tuscany everyone is aware of. We had the chance to stay on the olive and wine farm Il Belvedere close to Massa Marittima. The wine they sold there had just been fantastic, directly from the barrel into the glass…what could be better. Massa Marittima itself has an amazing little historic center which is worth a visit.

Highly recommended, but far off the beaten track are the hot springs in Saturnia. Even if the weather in summer is already hot, it is still enjoyable to relax in the warm water for hours. It had been a 90 minutes drive, but the visit was worth beating all the bends.

Follonica has a nice beach with calm and warm water. This beach, with his shallow water, is perfect for children. And Cala Violina might be the most beautiful beach in Tuscany. It is a little walk from the parking area, but it is worth every step.

Gosseto is just another hidden secret and a gem. Strolling through the medieval center of this little city might give you an idea and feeling how life had been centuries ago and you still have a little time to relax from the crowded cities of Siena and Pisa…

…which of course we also had to visit. But at least we avoided the crowds in Florence this year. Still we had to got to Pisa and Siena…but nothing new…the tower is still leaning and the Piazza del Campo is still one of the most beautiful Piazzas in the world. Those had been 2 wonderful weeks. Ciao e Mille Grazie!

Once again I spent a great Weekend in Strasbourg and Colmar. Since it is only a two hour drive from here it is always worth a visit. Everytime it feels a little bit like vacation. Wonderful Flamkuchen and great beers. I would recommend the Flamkuchen menu at Flam´s close to the Munster in Strasbourg or at the Brasserie Les Brasseurs, where you can enjoy one of their Craft Beers acompanied by some Flamkuchen. Cheers

Corfu (/kɔːrˈfuː, –fjuː/; Greek: Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra [ˈcercira]; Ancient Greek: Κέρκυρα or Κόρκυρα; Latin: Corcyra; Italian: Corfù) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands and, including its small satellite islands, forms the northwesternmost part of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality, which also includes the smaller islands of Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi.

The city of Corfu stands on the broad part of a peninsula, whose termination in the Venetian citadel (Greek: Παλαιό Φρούριο) is cut off from it by an artificial fosse formed in a natural gully, with a seawater moat at the bottom, that now serves as a marina and is called the Contrafossa. The old town, having grown within fortifications, where every metre of ground was precious, is a labyrinth of narrow streets paved with cobblestones, sometimes tortuous but colourful and clean. These streets are known as kantoúnia (Greek: καντούνια), and the older amongst them sometimes follow the gentle irregularities of the ground; while many are too narrow for vehicular traffic. A promenade rises by the seashore towards the bay of Garitsa (Γαρίτσα), together with an esplanade between the city and the citadel known as Spianada with the Liston (it) arcade (Greek: Λιστόν) to its west side, where restaurants and bistros abound.

What a wonderful sunny day in the Valle dei Templi. I didn’t expect to see those nice Greek temples in Sicily. The Valle dei Templi  is an archaeological site in Agrigento (ancient Greek Akragas), Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy. The area was included in the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 1997. Much of the excavation and restoration of the temples was due to the efforts of archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1783–1863), who was the Duke of Serradifalco from 1809 through 1812. 

The Scala dei Turchi (Italian: „Stair of the Turks“) is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle, southern Sicily, Italy. It has become a tourist attraction due to its unusual white color, as well as by its mention in Andrea Camilleri’s series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano.

The Scala is formed by marl, a sedimentary rock with a characteristic white color. It lies between two sandy beaches, and is accessed through a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part of the name derives from the frequent raids carried on by Moors.

Riomaggiore is a beautiful little town located between and on the cliffs at the cost. It’s worth a visit.

One of my favorite wall arts I discovered recently. I just love it.

Pistoia is probably one of the best known secrets in Tuscany. A wonderfull little town that has everything what tuscan towns are famous for except a big crowd of tourists.

Zum Abschluss haben wir uns noch Lucca angeschaut. Hier noch ein paar Herbstimpressionen und dann war es das erst mal mit der Toskana. Mal abwarten, was als nächstes dran ist.