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Today we righted a wrong. After two days in Paris, we finally had crepes for lunch. Nutella for Miss M, ham and cheese for Paul and I, and D had another croque Monsieur (and that’s after the three croissants he … Continue reading
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Today we spent the day exploring Paris. It’s Sunday, and our first morning waking up in Paris and therefore required strong coffee. Paul and I left the apartment around 8:30 in search of croissants and coffee, but didn’t have any … Continue reading
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G’day mates! Greetings from Sydney. On Sunday, I took the longest commercial air flight in the world — Dallas to Sydney. It departed Sunday at 8:30pm Dallas time and arrived Tuesday at 6:30am in Sydney. So I completely lost Monday. … Continue reading
Today we hired a driver to take us around the south side of the island. Five hours of touring and we barely scratched the surface of Mauritius. We started with a view of Trou aux Cerfs, a volcanic crater formed … Continue reading
I’ve always wanted to go on a safari. Visiting Animal Kingdom in Disney just doesn’t cut it, and our time schedule didn’t permit extending this trip for a true safari. So I was thrilled that we had the opportunity to … Continue reading
New items we tried at the hotel’s breakfast buffet today: makachia, a light and fluffy Mauritian style beignet flavored with coconut; vanilla + papaya jam and guava jam on crepes, and mini bananas. But the highlight of breakfast was the … Continue reading
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We’re having fun with all the Grand Cayman “wildlife.” Turtles: we saw 50+ large turtles and hundreds of small turtles that we could pick up and play with. Their skin was so soft and they flapped their fins hard on … Continue reading
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This week, the adventure continues in Grand Cayman. I was debating whether to blog about the trip, but so far my time at the Ritz and the island itself has been worth sharing! Day 1: I spent the afternoon working … Continue reading
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Today I visited Machu Picchu – an ancient city once inhabited by approximately 800-1,000 Incas spanning three generations, but abandoned when the Spaniards were invading Cusco. Over time, the jungle covered the region and it was rediscovered in 1911 by … Continue reading
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Friday — after a 2.5 rest, I followed the advice of my transfer escort and had some chicken soup at the hotel restaurant. It was so good! The soup has huge tender pieces of white meat chicken, one slice of … Continue reading
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Today I began part 2 of this Peruvian adventure. Departing for the airport at 3:30 AM was easy knowing there’s an amazing city and adventure awaiting me in Cusco. The Lima airport is busy and chaotic, but the flight out … Continue reading
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On Thursday evening I took a “Lima by night” tour which consisted of a driver, a guide, a cute couple from New Jersey and me. The majority of time was spent in the van as the driver navigated rush hour traffic, … Continue reading
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On Wednesday night, the conference speakers were invited to dinner at El Senorio de Sulco by the Dean of the local university. Similar to Tuesday night’s dinner, Wednesday’s dinner was also in the Miraflores district of Lima. Instead of being … Continue reading
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Well, two days into the Peru trip and I haven’t seen a single site recommended by a guide book. But boy have I had some yummy food! Today my work colleagues brought me to Punta Sal, a “cevicheria” with five … Continue reading
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Today we fly home from Italy – our three generation vacation that was three years in the making. Last night, after getting the kids settled for bed, Paul and I went out for a quick bite to eat. A last … Continue reading
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Today we slept in late and then spent the day exploring the main island. I took the vaporetto twice to San Marco – S. Zaccharia trying to make my way to San Lazaro island, but was unsuccessful. San Lazaro is … Continue reading
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Wireless at the hotel is up and running again. We are staying in the annex of the hotel, which is a separate building with more of an apartment feel. We have our own front door key to the building, and … Continue reading
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On Sunday we checked an item off our bucket list: a visit to a Parmesan cheese factory and a Parma ham producer. It was such a busy and exciting day, that I needed a night to process the day before … Continue reading
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Today we left Monte Melino after saying arrivederci to Megan, Lino, Isabella and Ugo the dog at Villa Rosa. Miss M was sad to leave Isabella and the pool….she really enjoyed the past week. We drove a few hours through … Continue reading
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Fitting that on our last day at the villa, Paul contributes a guest post on the beauty of this place: First of all, let me take a minute to thank my lovely wife for keeping this blog. It’s been a … Continue reading
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This morning, Papa watched D as Paul, Grandma, Miss M and I ventured out to find La Pucciarella, a local vineyard on the Strada del Vino – Trasimeno. We got lost on our way there, which typically would be fine, … Continue reading
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Some images of our life here in Umbria…explanations in no particular order. The chickens at Villa Rosa and rooster which makes a racket every morning. An image of Villa Rosa in the distance; La Casetta, the cottage we’re staying in, … Continue reading
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Today we traveled 45 minutes to the town of Assisi. First stop was two espressos for Paul and I…the 1 Euro espressos are the best! Then, the church and crypt of Saint Chiara where there was a chapel dedicated to … Continue reading
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Today (July 11,) Grandma, Paul and I spent the morning in Deruta, about a 20 minute drive from the villa. Deruta is the home of hand-painted ceramics and their pottery can be found in restaurants and stores around the globe. … Continue reading
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Today (July 10) the kids spent the morning in the pool at the villa while Paul and I went on a hike. It took us 45 minutes to go up Monte Penna (which translates roughly to feather in the cap.) … Continue reading
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A few notes on some random topics: The weather has been hot with clear blue skies. Very, very hot. The day we were in Pico, the car read 42 C which I think is 107 F. Most of the other … Continue reading
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After breakfast and a quick dip in the pool, we drove 90 minutes to Orvieto. Orvieto is a medieval city perched on top of tufa rock from the Etruscan period. We stopped along the way to fill up the car … Continue reading
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On Sunday we spent the entire day in Monte Melino. We woke to the bright sun beaming through our open windows and hearing many sounds of animals. We’re guessing that we heard cows and pigs, but not sure. Definitely seeing … Continue reading
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Today (July 6) is our last day on the Amalfi coast, so we had a quick breakfast and hopped on a bus to Amalfi. From Amalfi we took a high speed boat to the island of Capri (it stopped briefly … Continue reading
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(July 5) Today we hired Tony, our driver from yesterday, to bring us to Ravello – a town on the Amalfi coast which is different than Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Minori and others because it is high up in the mountains. … Continue reading
Lilla Travels 