🧀Rochefort, Belgique

Ardennes are super fun to visit. They are cold but there is loads of trails to discover. Hence, after so many locations, Rochefort was on the route as well. Its ancient position at the crossroads where the route to Saint-Hubert crossed that from Liège to Bouillon required fortifying: the ruins of the old castle, which gave the place its name and a title to a long line of counts who had … Continue reading 🧀Rochefort, Belgique

Ragusa (Ibla)

Once upon a time, there was a little Ivana in Cuba trying to explain a poor restaurant holder that the pizza ragusa he is having on the menu is not some Italian name for some Italian city, but the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. Stupid girl. Ragusa is a city on the southern side of the island of Sicily It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, … Continue reading Ragusa (Ibla)

Tre Castagni

Located about 11 kilometres north of Catania, it is the perfect little commune to visit during the ottobrata – the local festivity that occurs every October here in Sicily, celebrating the fruits of the land: frutti di terra. The first encounter went wrong already 🙂 Approaching the booth with fruit, I have noticed quince – one of the symbolic fruits of the late summer/ early autumn. … Continue reading Tre Castagni

Aeolian Islands

If something is worth visiting in life, it is the Aeolian islands. Becasue it makes you think about winter in the south. It makes you think about simplicity of life. And it makes you realise how not to treat the tourists: just some bags of potatoes that need to be shipped from one island to another one. The islands are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said … Continue reading Aeolian Islands

Messina

I didn’t expect much from this harbour city, to be honest. I knew they have a great beer – Messina cristali di sale: a great Sicilian beer brewed since 1923 and one of the most loved Italian beers.  It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy. Located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of … Continue reading Messina

Senlis, France

Senlis is a city in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. Cute, medieval and charming. It offered us great peek into history: The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. Senlis is situated on the river Nonette. Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus. During the 3rd century, a seven-meter high defensive wall, about half of which still exists, was … Continue reading Senlis, France

Scala dei Turchi

The Scala dei Turchi is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano. The cliffs lie between two sandy beaches and are a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part of the name derives from the frequent piracy raids by … Continue reading Scala dei Turchi

Agrigento

Picture this episode: we parked on a roundabout. Some local approached us (my brother and me) – we thought because we should have not park in a roundabout, but then again they all did, so… in fact the guy just wanted to ask if we have cigarettes. Ok Sicily, episode n. At the roundabout is a Monumento a Don Bosco with a beautiful view on … Continue reading Agrigento