Paris: The Marais

My trip to France last month was a whirlwind of activity. I can't believe how much we saw and did in just two short weeks. Unfortunately, after a few busy days of touring, the entries in my journal dwindled to nothing. But I'm ready now to start documenting the journey while I can still remember the details. First stop: Paris.

Place des Vosges, Paris

Avignon, City of the Popes

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit Avignon during a stop on a Rhone River cruise through Provence. The annual Avignon Festival was on and a brisk mistral wind was whipping through the streets –a whirlwind much like my visit. But last summer I spent a whole week there, staying at a hotel just outside the medieval ramparts only steps away from the historic city centre. This longer visit allowed me to see a quieter side of the City of the Popes, Avignon.

Medieval Rampart of Avignon

Promenade du Paillon, Nice

There's a coastal river that runs from the Alpes-Maritimes through the French city of Nice. But you won't be able to see it at the point where the Old Town and the modern city meet. This river, the Paillon, now flows beneath a 12-hectare public park, the Promenade du Paillon.

Gardens of the Promenade du Paillon, Nice

7 Sights on Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco seems to be on the itinerary of every visitor to Venice. Napoleon described the square as the finest drawing room in Europe; powerful doges ruled the Venetian Republic from a pink marble palazzo; and Caffé Florian served the continent’s first cup of coffee. From the Byzantine basilica that gives the square its name to a colourful zodiac clock, here are seven sights you’ll see on one of the world’s most famous squares, Piazza San Marco.

Dusk on the Piazza

The Market of Campo Santa Margherita

I love visiting markets when I travel, especially food markets. You can learn a lot about the local cuisine by browsing the stalls filled with seasonal fruit and vegetables, fresh seafood and beautiful flowers. The squares where markets take place are often a neighbourhood gathering place and this is true for Campo Santa Margherita, the largest square in the Dorsoduro district of Venice.

Campo San Barnaba, Venice

It's Oscar time! The 88^th Annual Academy Awards are coming up on Sunday night. In keeping with this yearly celebration of excellence in film, my post this week features a small square in Venice with a large presence on the silver screen: Campo San Barnaba.

At Last, the Venice of My Dreams

When I was planning my first trip to Venice a few years ago I dreamed of sitting on Piazza San Marco at twilight, sipping on a fruity peach Bellini while I listened to a café orchestra. But my dreams were squelched by an unfortunate spell of rainy weather. Where were the sunny skies I’d envisioned for my Italian holiday?

Rainy Day in Venice (2010)

Hidden Gems of Cannaregio

With few tourist attractions, quiet Cannaregio is a neighbourhood of Venice that many travellers never see. Before checking out of the Boscolo Venezia I took some time to explore the canals and narrow alleyways surrounding the hotel to see where real Venetians live.

Water Fountain in Cannaregio

Opera and Shakespeare in Verona

This week I’m back to my posts about Italy, picking up in the north as we journey from Lake Maggiore towards the Adriatic coast. At mid-day we stopped for lunch in  the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Verona, a city best known as the setting for Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet as well as its Roman ruins and summer opera festival.

The Verona Arena

The Top 5 Squares in Florence

In Italy, a public space is called a piazza and the top squares in Florence are found in the city’s historic centre. Some squares took their present form during the Middle Ages; others date back to Roman times. And a hilltop lookout named for a famous Renaissance artist offers panoramic views of the rooftops below. Today they all attract visitors seeking out the history, art and architecture of the great city of Florence.

Piazza della Signoria, Florence

Posh Capri Town

From Roman emperors to Grand Tour travellers and modern-day movie stars, the rich and powerful have vacationed for centuries on Capri, a small island off the Sorrentine coast of Italy. But Capri is also the name given to the larger of two towns on this rocky paradise, and it’s this town that is responsible for the island’s glitzy reputation.

The Isle of Capri, Italy

Naples and Campania

After two busy days spent exploring the great city of Rome, we travelled southward into the Campania region of Italy, the birthplace of pizza, Caruso and Sophia Loren. Before boarding a ferry to the next stop on our tour, the island of Capri, we visited the archeological site of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Then we took a quick stroll through central Napoli, or Naples, the capital of Campania.

Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius

A Taste of Rome on Piazza Navona

The highlight of my visit to Rome last summer was dinner on Piazza Navona, one of the city's most popular squares. Located in Rome's centro storico, historic centre, the square takes its oblong shape and dimensions from the Stadium of Domitian which originally stood here.

St. Peter's Basilica

On our first evening in Rome this summer we took a sightseeing tour of the Eternal City's famous buildings and monuments, which included a brief photo stop at St. Peter's Square. The next morning we returned to visit the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. 

St. Peter's Square at Dusk

Bernini's Colonnade

Eze: Perched Village of the Côte d'Azur

High above the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea, wedged between the scenic coastline and the rugged Alpes-Maritimes, Eze Village is one of the perched villages of the Côte d'Azur. The medieval town is referred to as Eze Village to differentiate it from the beach resort, Eze Bord de Mer, 400 metres below it on the coast.

Eze Village

Monte Carlo

St. Remy de Provence, July 2012 - We boarded our motor coach this morning at 9:00 a.m. and reunited with our cruise director to say farewell to Provence. We were about to embark on the final leg of our journey with Avalon Waterways enroute to the French Riviera and the tiny principality of Monaco.

A couple of hours later, Mont St. Victoire rose in the distance as we approached the city of Aix-en Provence for a mid-day lunch stop.

Mont St. Victoire

Afternoon in Arles

Arles, July 2012 - This was the last day of our Burgundy and Provence river cruise with Avalon Waterways. We'd spent the morning in the French countryside touring an olive farm and the hilltop town of Les Baux de Provence. Following lunch on board ship our afternoon was dedicated to a walking tour of Arles.

Tour de la Cavalerie and Arles City Gate

Dan Brown's Inferno: Venice in Photos

In Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, Robert Langdon leads readers on another thrilling chase through the streets of Florence and Venice. I've assembled my own photos of some of the locations in the book. (Update: There are more photos from a second trip to Venice in the post Dan Brown's Inferno: More Venice in Photos.)

After completing his quest in the historic centre of Florence, Langdon boards a train bound for Venice, La Serenissima, and arrives at Santa Lucia Station.

Dan Brown's Inferno: Florence in Photos

Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, was released on May 14th, just in time for a rainy long weekend. It was hard to put the book down as I followed Robert Langdon on another thrilling chase through the streets of Florence and Venice. And it prompted me to look up my photos of some of the locations from the book.

Inferno opens with a mysterious character running north from the Arno River, behind a palazzo with a crenellated tower, through Piazza di San Firenze toward the spire of the Badia.

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Piazza di San Firenze and the Badia Spire

Lyon - Silk and Gastronomy

Our second day in the city of Lyon begins with an optional excursion (39 Euros) to the city's Silk Museum and a foodie's paradise, Les Halles Paul Bocuse. The tour began at 8:30 a.m. with our departure for La Maison des Canut in the Croix Rousse area, where the art and history of silk weaving in Lyon were explained.

The Silk Museum of Lyon