Postcard from Genoa, Italy

On June 18, 2017June 22, 2017 By TanjaIn Italy59 Comments

Bel paese (meaning beautiful country in Italian) is definitely a great term for Italy. While most of the people visit Venice or Florence or Rome, I doubt that many have ventured to historical port city of Genoa. Perhaps you went on a cruise along the Mediterranean and you embarked on your cruise ship in Genoa? But did you roam its gritty streets and have you seen its baroque palaces and lively squares? Did you know that Genoa is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and that it once was a powerful merchant republic just like Venice? It even shares its flag with England ( St. George’s flag). A part of the old town of Genoa is inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) which is just another reason you should visit Genoa one day. And no, this isn’t a sponsored post 🙂 I dare you to give Genoa a chance.

aquarium in Genoa — the biggest aquarium in Europe

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Postcard from Zagreb, Croatia

On May 8, 2017May 17, 2017 By TanjaIn Croatia41 Comments

Zagreb

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Postcard from Antibes, France

On March 14, 2017May 4, 2017 By TanjaIn France74 Comments

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Sirmione (Italy): a photo-diary

On February 7, 2017February 10, 2017 By TanjaIn Italy61 Comments

Sirmione is a charming little Italian town on the Lake Garda. When it’s not overrun with day-trippers it offers tranquility and spa treatments at its many hotels. The symbol of Sirmione is the Scaliger castle (13th ct). You can climb its tower to get a nice view of the Lake Garda and the entire town. Once you cross the castle’s drawbridge you enter historical Sirmione. Another noteworthy attraction is the Grottoes of Catullus, the remains of a Roman private house, the largest such uncovered in the northern Italy. This villa is mentioned in the poems of the first famous resident of Sirmione who lived there in 1st century BC (the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus). There are several interesting small churches too. But the town’s claim to fame are its thermal springs. Many famous writers visited Sirmione such as Alfred Tennyson, Ezra Pound and James Joyce. I shouldn’t forget to mention the famous Italian writers Giosuè Carducci and Antonio Fogazzaro who wrote about Sirmione as well as the notorious Gabriele D’Annunzio who found the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro in Fiume (Rijeka, Croatia) with himself as the Fascist leader. English writer Naomi Jacob made Sirmione her home. One of the best opera singers of all times had a villa here too: Maria Callas.

Scaliger Castle, Sirmione — Scaliger Castle

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Snapshots from London (May 2016)

On May 15, 2016May 3, 2017 By TanjaIn London, Travel78 Comments

Some things always bring a smile to my face: chocolate, cats and the sight of Big Ben, just to name a few. I love travelling and I’m sure that a lot of you fellow travellers have a favourite city, place, region or even a country but I also know that it might be difficult to explain to other people why you prefer one place over another when there are so many gorgeous places in this world.

London is loved by many but you might wonder what made someone from a small country by the sea (Croatia) fell in love so much with such a huge city. I’ve tried to explain it a bit before but I’ve come to realize that love cannot be explained. We are who we are and we love what we love even if it defies logic or reason. I’ve first visited London in 2006. Since then I’ve been coming back almost once a year, always finding new things to discover and always re-visiting my favourites. It was a coincidence that I booked my eleventh visit to London on 11 of May, 10 years after the first visit. I usually go to London with my best friend ( I also showed London to my husband when we visited Scotland) but this time I went alone.

I arrived to London on Wednesday evening and returned home on Sunday morning so I had 3 full days in London; 72 hours to wander, to admire, to take photos, to say goodbye. I’ll write about my adventures but for now just a teaser of what’s to come. Enjoy 🙂

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Snapshots from Stockholm (April 2016)

On April 26, 2016February 4, 2017 By TanjaIn Stockholm74 Comments

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Hello! Have you missed me? 😉 It’s been a while since my last post. Well, just 8 days exactly but it’s been the longest period between two published posts since I’ve started this blog. But I’ve got a good excuse. You see, I got back yesterday from my weekend trip (22.-25.April) to Stockholm, Sweden. My husband and I fell under Stockholm’s charm hard. He’s even said that Stockholm earned a place on his ˝best cities˝ in Europe list (FYI London’s not on that list! I know, a shocker!). I’ll write more about our Stockholm trip but for now let me show you the beautiful city of Stockholm:

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