We love the beach in September, it’s hot but bearable, accomodation is much affordable and it’s less crowded. Sure, you have to be lucky enough to be allowed to take some time off work.
We often choose Sottomarina because it’s close to home and it’s well organized. There’s a nice cycling path along the beach and in town, the old centre is alive and full of cafes and shops. Plus it’s close to Chioggia, which is a lovely little town verly similar to Venice, which makes a great day off the beach.
In Chioggia there’s a lovely fish market that s a great place to watch people and buy the catch of the day.
What I also like about a holiday in Sottomarina is that from Chioggia you can take a boat to Pellestrina, and if it’s cloudy or you want to take a break from the beach, it’s a nice day trip. I don’t think we would have been able to do a trip like that, with our bikes, on a hot day in July or August.
In September there’s a chance it might rain or be stormy. The air can get chiller soon, but storms make the overall much more interesting. Plus I love the sea and the beach in all seasons and with all weather conditions.
In the years we tried different camping sites (I think camping and mobile homes are the best options with a toddler) and we like to go back to the Oasi camping. It’s at the Southern end of the beach, very quiet, the mobile homes are not too close one to the other and big trees make a pleasant shade.
So, if you’re lucky enough to be able to take time off work in September, consider this month and Sottomarina for your beach holiday.
Bolsena, a medieval village on the shore of a lake with the same name, on the day of the Corpus Christi becomes even more beautiful with the Infiorata.
The infiorata is an exhibition of drawings made with flowers, seeds, leaves and peat along the streets of the town.
(Bolsena is also famous for the hydrangeas, there are plenty around town and there’s even a festival a couple of weeks before the infiorata, dedicated expressely to this flower)Â
Unfortunately in 2020 and 2021 the event was canceled due to Covid, but now it’s back in full swing and in 2023 it’s due in June 11, day of the Corpus Christi.
I was in Bolsena during the Infiorata in 2019 and I took loads of pictures, that I obviously would like to share.Â
but first, a bit of history…
In 1263 AD in Bolsena during Mass a consecrated host started to bleed, as if it was flesh. This miracle was considered proof that the body of Christ is in fact in the Eucharist.
So the following year Pope Urban IV established the feast of Corpus Christi, that previously was only celebrated in Belgium.
From that date, during the Corpus Christi the Eucharist is exhibited and carried around the towns.
In Bolsena the procession is particularly important because with the Blessed Sacrament there’s also a “Sacred Stone” that is taken around, the stone where the blood dropped.Â
Moreover, since 1995 the celebration got even bigger with the Infiorata.
Getting ready
Works for the Infiorata start a few days before the Sunday on which the procession will take place.
Along the streets of Bolsena you can meet groups of women that separate petals from the flowers, the main material used in the Infiorata.
The Infiorata and procession are held on a Sunday, but some groups start to draw on Saturday night, because it’s very hot during the day and it’s more difficult to work in the sun.Â
Creating the drawings is a team work, everybody is busy, from the youngest to the elderly. It’s a nice party of the town that involves everyone.
Sunday
On Sunday works start early in the morning and continue without break.
Before
After
Flowers are kept wet throughout the day, so that they stay fresh and they don’t fly away.
Here are two galleries of images (click on the arrows to see all the pictures)Â
Many drawings represent religious images, but there’s more.Â
The procession
At 4 pm starts the procession during which Eucharist and Sacred Stone are carried around the town of Bolsena, followed by representatives of the town, of the Church and of the communities.Â
The procession follows the drawings on the streets. Only the priest carrying the Sacred Stone can walk on the flowers, the others must walk on the side.
Once the procession is finished you can walk on the drawings. If you are strong enough.Â
Personally I didn’t feel like ruining these works of art that took days to prepare, just an hour after they were finished. Â
Another gallery. I took so many pictures, and the drawings were all so special, it would a shame not to share them all.Â
I was impressed by the quality of the drawings made with products found in nature
and there are actually many people involved in the making of the Infiorata, with great care and attention
Where to enjoy the best views of London for free (or almost)
London has a beautiful skyline that keeps changing and hunting for the best panoramic view spot is a favorite pastime.
It’s almost impossible not to see the skyline while in the city, a simple walk along the Thames offers great glimpses, but here are my favorite places with the best views.
Greenwich
Greenwich has a village vibe and is a nice trip regardless. You can get there by underground (Cutty Sark or Greenwich DLR) from the centre of London, but my favorite way to reach the place is the ferry. Taking a public ferry from Westminster for example to Greenwich Pier is a nice river cruise at an excellent price (9.40 pounds in April 2023, 8.20 with a travelcard).
In Greenwich I recommend a stroll in town and a visit to the market for some shopping and food before you head to the park and the Royal Observatory.
Up on the hill, where the Observatory is located, you can see the famous line of the Prime Meridian and from there you can also enjoy a great view of the Docklands and the rest of the city.
View of the Docklands and City of London from Greenwich Park
Instead of taking the train (DRL) from Greenwich, for a different experience you could go back to Central London through the pedestrian tunnel that runs underneath the Thames and connects Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs, where you can walk to the closest DRL (Island Gardens). I would suggest to walk further more in that area, Canary Wharf is lovely with its skyscrapers and canals.
View of London from the National Portrait Gallery
On the top floor of the National Potrait Gallery there’s the Potrait Restaurant with a beautiful view over Trafalgar Square with Nelson’s statue, the Parliament and the Big Ben.
The NPG itself is worth a visit (entrance is free), I find it funny to see how fashion changed in the centuries!
You can have a drink while enjoying the view or ask if you can just take a look.
Unfortunately though the Gallery is currently closed for works but is due to open on June 22, 2023.
I have been on the London Eye only once (at the time there was a big discount if you had a Travelcard for public transportation, but I can’t find anything similar now; still, if you book online it’s slightly cheaper than on site, 30.50 instead of 40 pounds as of April 2023. It has become so expensive!).
From up there you get a nice view of the Thames with its bridges and lights, the Parliament and the Big Ben.
It’s the only panoramic view of this list that has a cost, I guess if you are visiting London for the first time it’s a nice experience.
In the South Bank, my favorite strolling area, there’s the Tate, a gallery with free entrance (excluding some temporary exhibitions that have an entrance fee).
On top of the building on the right (the Blavatnik Building), there’s a terrace with my favorite view of the city. I love to go there just before sunset and see how the light changes and the sun reflects on the skyscrapers.
There’s an amazing view of St. Peter’s, just across the river. Thank me later.
Sky Garden
This place is quite recent. The skyscraper hosting the Sky Garden was designed in 2004 and construction was completed in 2014.
The highest garden in London, it offers a 360 degree view of the city. A priceless experience that you can enjoy for free.
London seems to be back to normal life after the restrictions due to Covid. But with the pandemic and the Brexit, prices have gone up creazily! London can be very expensive, but it also offers a lot of free entertainment, like the views that I listed in this article and a lot of museums.
Because I travel mostly on a budget, I always look for the best things to do at the lowest price, and these views of London might be some of the best experiences you can gift yourself.
In June 2017 Luca and I went backpacking in Georgia.
It was a guy I met in Gjrokaster, Albania, who made me want to visit Georgia and Armenia. He said that these were his favorite countries (he visited plenty), but he decided to open and manage a hostel in Albania because he thought it had much potential. And I believe he was right.
Anyway, one year after Albania I was in Georgia.
Tbilisi, the capital, was the first stop. I was immediately fascinated by the elegant decadence of the Old Town.
We stayed in Tbilisi for a few days, I didn’t want to leave. The town is charming, food is delicious and guesthouse very welcoming.
The guesthouse!
Some pictures of the guesthouse, Skadaveli, that from outside seems to be falling down, but inside it’s all renovated and very warm and welcoming. In the historic centre of Tbilisi. So welcoming that I want to go back and just stay there for one month.
Breakfast was not included, but there was a small shop not far from the house selling fresh bread, cheese, tomatoes and eggs. The best breakfast.
There’s an antiques market in Tbilisi with many russian and Orthodox relics that I really liked. Sort of an open-air museum.
For a couple of days we walked around the Old Town, the markets, the castle, the Baths…
Davit Gareja
Public transport is quite efficient in Georgia, and moving from one part of the country to the other is pretty easy. But not to Davit Gareja, a monastery in a semi-deserted area at about 2 hours drive from Tbilisi, near the border with Azerbaijan.
To go there we took a tourist minibus leaving at 11am from the center of the town. You get there that it’s very hot, you can visit the monastery and in a couple of hours you can walk around the hill where you can see some caves with frescoes that are part of another monastery.
All very interesting. And amazing panorama.
Oasi Club
Going back from Davit Gareja we stopped in a hostel-campsite for lunch/coffee/snacks. An amazing place, seems out of the world, with grazing pigs, horses, hammocks, good food, a lot of books. A place to go back to and stay for a few days, even though sleeping and eating there is slightly more expensive than in the city.
Other than Davit Gareja, we did another day trip while staying in Tbilisi.
Mtskheta
The spiritual capital of Georgia, Mtskheta isn’t very far from Tbilisi and can be reached by Marshrutky, the public buses of Georgia.
One early morning we left to go to Armenia, about which I will write in another post…
Below continues the trip in Georgia.
Akhaltsikhe & Vardzia
We went back to Tbilisi on a minibus from Armenia. After a short wait we got on another bus to Akhaltsikhe.
Along the road we passed through Borjomi, a quiet resort with thermal waters, surrounded by nature. Having more time, it would have been nice to stop there for a bit.
While backpacking it’s nice to stop in a quiet place to rest from time to time.
In Akhaltsikhe there’s a castle that has been recently refurbished, pretty but seems fake, but the town is famous for Vardzia, a caves village. Born as a monastery, Vardzia grew into a small town that could host up to 2,000 monks. A very special place, a Unesco Heritage Site.
Unfortunately with public transport you are not free to travel at the time you want, I would have liked to be there for sunset, but we had to take the bus back to Akhaltsikhe (I am traveling on a budget, I can’t afford a taxi for 60 km).
Akhaltsikhe town
Pretty and comfortable. Guesthouse brand new, very clean and very welcoming.
I must say that guesthouses in Georgia are very good.
Vardzia
Vardzia. Hot hot hot. It’s recommended to bring a lot of water from the town, as there are no villages near Vardzia, just a small restaurant with a nice terrace, but to visit the site you need a couple of hours and there’s no water on the hill.
The North
After Vardzia e Akhaltsikhe we went North.
We hadn’t booked any place for the night because we weren’t sure where we would stop.
The fist minibus took us to Kutaisi. I was thinking of stopping there, but it was very hot and the city seemed so big, I thought it would be difficult to find a place to stay.
So we took another bus to Zugdidi. We were also thinking of Batumi, a holiday resort by the Black Sea, but we didn’t have the time during this trip. We preferred to focus on other parts of Georgia.
Zugdidi seemed a bit anonymous. The interesting side of this town is that it’s near the border with Abkhazia, and in the last decades Zugdidi has hosted many refugees from this part of the world.
There’s a nice museum/palace with a beautiful park.
For many it’s the departure point for Mestia and the Svaneti mountains.
This is just a small preview of Svaneti, because I want to write a whole post about the trekking here. It was the best part of our trip in Georgia.
Mestia, Ushguli e Svaneti
Svaneti belongs to the Caucasus and it is the highest inhabited area in Europe.
From Mestia we hiked for three days up to Ushguli, three days in the nature, among fields in bloom, glaciers and old villages with the traditional medieval towers.
I didn’t really want to leave the little paradise that is Svaneti, but the trip must go on.
There was a minivan going directly to Tbilisi, fortunately, but the journey was quite long anyway, we arrived in Tbilisi at 7pm.
The Skadaveli guesthouse was fully booked, so we decided to rent a room in the new part of the town.
Very nice there too.
Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue is a walking street completely renovated, with pretty pastel houses, small restaurants and many clubs. Very touristic, but pretty nonetheless.
Tbilisi New Town
Kazbegi
The following day we left for Kazbegi, about three hours away, on a marhrutky.
Kazbegi is in the mountains (near the border with Russia), famous for a church on a hill overlooking the town.
Tsminda Sameba Church (not easy at all Georgian names) can be reached on a easy hike, the path is steep but short.
Unfortunately we couldn’t stop for too long here neither, there are some nice hiking trails to be tested.
The following day we left.
Marshrutky to Tbilisi (basically you need to go back to Tbilisi almost any time you move from one part to the other of Georgia) then another to Sighnaghi.
Kakheti
Sighnaghi
Kakheti is the main region for the production of wine in Georgia.
We stayed a couple of nights in Sighnaghi, a pretty little town, and we stayed in a guesthouse overlooking the valley.
On the way to Telavi
From Sighnaghi we took part to a tour organized by our guesthouse to take us to Telavi. We took advantage of this tour, so that on the way to Telavi we could stop at a monastery, at the house-museum of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, at a winery with a museum and the qvevri, large terracotta pots buried in the ground, the way wine is traditionally made in Georgia.
Telavi
Telavi is a bit too modern maybe, with some picturesque corner, very welcoming indeed.
Once we put foot out of the guesthouse to visit the town, we met a guy on a bench who invited to his house to drink Georgian wine and eat some snacks (probably I don’t have big memories of Telavi because we spent most of our time with our new friend).
At dinner we decided to eat at the guesthouse. The host cooked so much for us! And everything was delicious, another proof of the quality of Georgian cuisine.
Last days in Tbilisi
And here we are, at the end of the trip. Last couple of days in Tbilisi before we go back to Italy.
We walked around the old town again, always charming, we also went back to the new town to take some pictures in the night, and one early morning we flew back home.
A few years ago I traveled to Iran with my boyfriend. When I told family and friends where we were going, many asked if we were crazy, to go to such a dangerous country. I guess it’s the media who give the impression that Iran is dangerous.
Well, a few years after we went, there was some politial turmoil, and for this reason I recommend to check the latest advice from your Country Foreign Affair Ministry for updates on how the political situation is, because it might change. But normally Iran is not dangerous at all. When we went, in 2015, it was one of the safest places I’ve traveled to, and it’s so charming it’s a shame it’s not more popular.
Here are the 5 things that I liked most about Iran.
Things to love about Iran: the urban architecture
There are some places in Iran like no others I’ve seen before.
Like Kashan, not far from Tehran, with its amazing traditional houses, many of which are open to public or have been converted to guesthouses or boutique hotels. They all have large courtyards surrounded by rooms, roofs everyone walks on, fountains and mosaics.
There’s an hammam in Kashan, a Turkish bath, maybe the most beautiful in the whole country, with peculiar little domes on the roof, made with majolica and tiles. The inside of the hammam is also beautiful, definitely worth a visit.
Another town that I particularly liked was Yazd. Its old town is made of clay and straw. Amazing. You could walk for days in its tiny alleys, framed by high walls that hide what is behind them, so it’s always a surprise when a door is open and you can see behind the wall a courtyard, a shop or a beautiful house.
Things to love about Iran: the mosques
Mosques could probably be included in the beautiful architecture of Iran, but they deserve a spot on their own because they are special.
First of all, most of them are open to no-muslims and to women, which is not allowed everywhere.
They are intricately decorated, imposing and fascinating. Every town has one or more important mosques. Maybe the best are in Isfahan, at Imam Square, one of the largest and most beautiful squares I’ve ever seen.
Things to love about Iran: the bazaar
The bazaar are huge shopping centers all developed at street level (or on two levels maximum), that follow one or more streets, usually covered by roofs or drapes, where locals go shopping and where you can find the most curious things.
Colorful spices, beautifully sewn carpets, dried fruit of all types, wedding dresses and tea houses.
Furthermore, they are like labyrinths, with streets crossing and leading you to a mosque or an hammam, where you can meet men coming out after their daily bath or doing their ablution before their prayers.
They are definitely one of the first places to visit when in a new town.
Things to love about Iran: the food
I guess not everyone is open to foreign food like I am. I love to taste different dishes, the strangest the best, and Iran is amazing in the kitchen.
The bread, that we were given at every meal, breakfast included, is amazing. Usually freshly baked, the most popular is a long, flat, soft bread.
We tried many dishes we don’t even know what they were. But one in particular we enjoyed and we try to replicate at home from time to time: the dizi. It’s a ram soup cooked with chickpeas and more stuff, and we had it every time we could. Eggplants were also particularly good in Iran, with tomato and I don’t know what else, they were a delicious vegan main dish.
We also ate a lot of fresh onion and cucumber, that we loved.
Most times we were offered tea when arriving at a new gueshouse. Nice tradition. Served with a lot of sugar and dates.
Best things about Iran: the hospitality
I kept this as last because it was what impressed us most: local people’s hospitality.
We are not used to something like this. Foreigners are truly welcome guests anywhere in Iran. We were invited to people’s houses many times.
We will always remember when we were in Shiraz, taking a picture of a door that I liked, and the owner of the house that was going back home in that moment invited us in. He offered us bread and cheese, everything he had at home, we sat on the floor and really enjoyed the food and the company, even though nor him or his son could speak English.
I miss that.
Iran is definitely a place to visit, it has a lot to offer, it is easy to travel to and around, you can get a visa at the airport if staying less than 15 days, so nothing is stopping you (unless you are a US or Israel citizen, or from a few other countries) and I encourage you to visit, you won’t regret it.
