Author Archives: lillatravels

Lefkada

Our third stop on this trip is the island of Lefkada, which is about the size of Martha’s Vineyard. From where our ferry docked in Vasiliki we drove to the town of Nydri where we hiked (in the shade) up … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | 1 Comment

The dream of the (Kefalonian) turtles

Staying in the town of Agrostoli has been great — tons of restaurants, a bustling community with a huge town square, lots of shops, fruit markets, groceries, etc. One of the Ionian University campuses is right down the road. The … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | Leave a comment

Zakynthos

Today we took a boat tour around Zakynthos – an island to the south of Kefalonia. For years we’ve been wanting to visit Zakynthos to see one of Greece’s most photographed beaches: Navagio. Navagio is also known as shipwreck beach … Continue reading

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Geology and Assos

Today began with another road trip in Kefalonia to see more of this beautiful island. The first stop was the Drogarati Cave where descended 60 meters to view stalactites and stalagmites in a pretty vast open cave. It wasn’t quite … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | Leave a comment

Myrtos beach

Search your social media platform of choice on “top beaches in Greece” and you’ll learn that the top beaches aren’t in Mykonos, Santorini, or the more popular Aegean island chains. Some of the top beaches in the country are on … Continue reading

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Ferry or cruise ship

Boarding the ferry with our Nissan Pulsar was easy thanks to a lovely energetic man who had Paul reversing up a ramp and into a spot. The ferry is like a cruise ship inside: a movie theatre, multiple styles of … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | Leave a comment

Mainland observations

This part of mainland Greece reminds me of southern Italy. In fact it’s disorienting. The same stucco buildings and boxy storefronts next to abandoned buildings with overgrown greenery. No clouds in the sky, corn stalks, palm trees, olive trees and … Continue reading

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Olympia

This morning we had a breakfast at our hotel of halva, eggs, breads and yogurt with various jams or honey. We hired a tour guide to take us through the museum and archeological site of ancient Olympia, where the first … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | Leave a comment

Geiá sou Greece!

Yesterday we began a family trip to Greece that was three years in the making: cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic; cancelled in 2021 due to Miss M’s torn ACL. And since things happen in threes we decided to … Continue reading

Posted in Greece 2023 | 2 Comments

Last day in Sperlonga

This morning D went to the court to workout, Paul went for a walk and Miss M and I shopped for peaches, croissants and Nutella stuffed donuts. By 10am we had four chairs and two umbrellas reserved at Blue Marine … Continue reading

Posted in italy 2022 | 1 Comment

Boat Day 🚤

Today we have a guest writer: Miss M. Enjoy! This morning Dad chartered a boat for us to go up and down the coast. We took the boat 8 miles down to the port of Gaeta and then worked our … Continue reading

Posted in italy 2022 | 1 Comment

Terracina

On Tuesday we slept in. It wasn’t until 1pm when we headed north to Terracina, another beach community. Terracina has been inhabited since antiquity and there was a Roman template perched way above the town that we could see from … Continue reading

Posted in italy 2022 | 1 Comment

Amalfi coast day trip

On Monday morning we drove south three hours through farms, towns, industrial areas, mountains, passing by palm trees, fruit trees, olive trees, the occasional herd of cows. So many spots I wanted to stop and take a photo of the … Continue reading

Posted in italy 2022 | Leave a comment

La dolce vita

Today was the first day D didn’t wake up and work out. We all slept in, D and I still aren’t feeling great, but Paul knows how to put a smile on our faces with Nutella-filled bombetti and croissants. We … Continue reading

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Around town

On Friday night the basketball court was used for a martial arts demonstration. On Saturday night Pinocchio came to town. The entertainers arrive, set up, and leave in a matter of hours. On Saturday there was also a magician in … Continue reading

Posted in italy 2022 | Leave a comment

A day at the beach

I woke up under the weather to a semi empty apartment. Paul went for a run, D worked out and played basketball with Francesco from Parma (age 13), and Miss M is a night owl and doesn’t wake til late … Continue reading

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Villa and grotto of Tiberius

Our relaxing Wednesday began with D playing basketball with Francesco again. He wakes up before everyone else to get a workout in. Then, more time for all us at the beach. For lunch, D and I went to a different … Continue reading

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300 paces

Walking from our door, down the stone pathway, to the main road/basketball court/beach is 300 paces. And along that pathway we pass olive, lemon and lime trees, a grape vine, a blackberry bush, and multiple flowering bushes and trees. There … Continue reading

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Conad

I love Italian supermarkets of all shapes and sizes. The “alimentari” on every other street corner sell delicious fruit, snacks, usually have a small dairy section and sometimes a deli counter. I would never buy from the small markets at … Continue reading

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Blue Marine

We found our beach club for the week: two umbrellas, four chairs at Blue Marine. Typically they rent by the day or by the month. We arrived late in the morning and were seated in the last row but were … Continue reading

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Una perla

When Paul told the Roman taxi driver that we were heading to Sperlonga for two weeks, he exclaimed “una perla!” which translates to “a pearl.” We arrived in Sperlonga around 6pm and by 9pm we were beachside enjoying dinner at … Continue reading

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Arrividerci Roma

A few final thoughts on Rome: There’s more to see. I still haven’t been to the main basilica in Rome, haven’t driven a Vespa, and I was hoping to get back to Castel Sant’Angelo…next time. Big D remarked, and I’m … Continue reading

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Pizza, pizza

This morning we slept in, bought me a Mkhitartyan jersey at the AS Roma store (even though he signed with Inter Milan last week), and got Big Ds hair cut at http://www.kissmedarlin.it in the Trastevere neighborhood. For lunch: four pizzas … Continue reading

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When in Rome

On Thursday we played tourist: we walked to the Bocca Della Verita, Colosseum, Roman Forum, the church of Cosmo and Damian (which was closed when we were here ten years ago), the Trevi fountain, did some shopping and got me … Continue reading

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Feels like home again

On Wednesday we flew from Munich to Rome. Pretty uneventful all things considered: a taxi strike in Italy led to an Uber ride from a very friendly Lazio soccer fan who was intrigued with our plans to visit Stadio Olimpico … Continue reading

Posted in Germany 2022, italy 2022 | Leave a comment

Auf Wiedersehen, Munchen

We spent the late-afternoon relaxing, shopping, and Paul and D rented scooters to explore the city further. After the kids and Paul had gelatos we went to the Ratskellar for cocktails. The Rat is located inside the new city hall … Continue reading

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Dachau

Today we took a guided tour of Dachau, the first and longest running concentration camp. Initially built for political prisoners, it’s been recorded that there were 32,000 deaths at that site. The campus was massive, the size of 32 soccer … Continue reading

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Surfers, (foot)ballers and more pretzels

Breakfast at the hotel of chocolate croissants, cheeses, meats, soft boiled eggs, an assortment of juices, and because we arrived to breakfast on the later side only two pretzels remained. On Monday the Marienplatz in Munich city center was livelier … Continue reading

Posted in Germany 2022 | Leave a comment

A little fishy

I haven’t written much about the German breakfast experience. D looks forward to this meal each day. It’s what you’d expect: a ton of pastries, yogurts, cheeses, meats, small containers of pickled items, tomato/cucumber/mozzarella salad, two types of scrambled eggs … Continue reading

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Pretzels are more than a snack

Every eating establishment in Munich offers pretzels on the menu. Breakfast at the hotel consisted of pastries, fruits, yogurt, meats and cheeses, eggs, and of course two types of sausage and a stand of pretzels. They are everywhere. This morning … Continue reading

Posted in Germany 2022 | 1 Comment