Travel does the heart good
My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
Michel de Notre-Dame, as we all know as Nostradamus, was an apothecary by profession, and published in the year 1555 a book called Les Prophéties (The Prophecies). In his collection of 942 poetic quatrains, he predicted various future events that experts, and many amateurs, find a way of interpreting into related events occurring in the present day. Some historical evidence suggests…
This is going to be a short post. Sanremo is a city on the west coast of Italy, in the province of Liguria. It is the capital of the Riviera dei Fiori or Riviera of Flowers. Its casino also makes it a sort of Italian version of Monte Carlo. This large building in Art Nouveau…
Vivid green pesto, great wine and fabulous walks … Genoa is a city of indulgence. Driving in the city, noticing it’s fabulous big secession buildings it reminded me of the importance of Italy: banks, trades, imports of goods and businesses… Genoa was a medieval rival to Venice. It’s not been primped for tourists like Venice, though.…
Rapallo was never on my list. I never thought there could actually be something about this city. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, just between Cinque Terre and Genoa. As a girl from Croatia, I know it from the history books as the Treaty of Rapallo was signed there, in Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola. A treaty…
The five Cinque Terre villages are situated in northern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, just 3 hours by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence. I have arrived by car and totally enjoyed the national park that spreads across the five villages. La Spezia My journey started in La Spezia. This was the very first stop as I…
Tintine was slowly climbing up the hills of San Marino. Not much pressure should have been put on this car as she had enough of the shocks in the last year or two. The hills around us were rising and soon we found ourselves surrounded by an amazing view. It was San Marino surrounded by…
My Life in Sicily finished after a year spent on this island. It was time to turn on my Tintine (a beautiful red car), hop on a ferry and say goodbye. I was nostalgic as a was driving through Reggio Calabria. But soon I was in Puglia – the region with the best Italian cheeses.…
The most picturesque and photogenic city I have ever seen is Cuenca in Castile–La Mancha in central Spain. Located on the rocky hill which intersect Júcar and Huécar rivers, it is dating […]
The most picturesque and photogenic city I have ever seen is Cuenca in Castile–La Mancha in central Spain. Located on the rocky hill which intersect Júcar and Huécar rivers, it is dating back from the Roman times as an important strategic location, although inhabited. Soon, in 8th century the Muslim Arabs captured the area and realized the value of this strategic place and built a fortress (called Kunka) after which the city was later named.
Around the 12th century the Christians, living in northern Spain during the Muslim presence, started to slowly recover the Iberian peninsula. The Muslim Kingdom, Al-Andalus (nowadays Andalusia – the name of famous spanish region) started slowly to be besieged by knights of Aragon, Toledo and finally Alfonso VI of León and Castille.
From that time it is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace and Saint Julian from 11 century. It is he first gothic style cathedral in Spain thanks to the influence of Alfonso’s wife Eleanor, daughter of King Henry II of England and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who introduced the Anglo-Norman style.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace and Saint Julian from 11 century
The entire city of Cuenca is a magical sight, dramatically standing on the cliff above the mentioned rivers, with the houses that are hanging, small strettes that are more like passages and steps.
The bridge of Saint Paul (esp Puente de San Pablo) was built in 16 century, over the river Huecar’s Gorge, aiming at connecting the old town with St Paul convent.
My friends and I really enjoyed the city, although it was cold and windy up on the hill and the wind was somehow mystically passing through the small streets and got every corner of this magic place…
RED RIDING HOOD 
Love the rooftop shot. It’s unique.
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