Tag: travel

Sunday in Trieste (May 2017)

On By TanjaIn Italy2 Comments

Trieste, Italy

What better way to spend Sunday than by eating cakes in some of Trieste’s oldest cafes? My best friend M. and I went on a day trip to Trieste, Italy with the sole purpose of enjoying ourselves. There was no fixed agenda apart from our wish to visit several traditional cafes/ patisseries. It’s been a long time since I had fun in Trieste because I usually just use it for flights/ train connections. When I was a child we used to regularly go to Trieste.

Anyway, it was nice to just wander around the city center leisurely and to take in the beautiful architecture of Trieste. Very much like my hometown Trieste has more of a feel of a Central European city than a Mediterranean city. Trieste is an important Italian port and a significant university center (especially for languages) but it’s also the oldest town in Italy by the age of its inhabitants. It’s seen better days and a vivid memorial of that is its grand main square Piazza Unità d’Italia. But there are other beautiful buildings and squares too.

Trieste, Italy
at the main square

Trieste, Italy

Trieste, Italy

another famous cafe/reastaurant
the terrace of Caffè degli Specchi

After some walking around the town our first stop was the traditional and yet still very trendy café of Caffè degli Specchi. It was opened in 1839. Since it’s right at the main square (Piazza Unità d’Italia) it’s a wonderful place for some people-watching. I was surprised when the waitress handed us two roses: it was Mother’s Day and they gave red roses to every woman in the café. What a nice gesture! My best friend had excellent cappuccino and I had equally good herbal tea. I also got a biscuit while my best friend got a small portion of some sweet cream. Again, don’t you just love it when you get something extra free of charge? It was an  unusually warm day and we enjoyed our drinks at the cafe’s shaded terrace. Since it was Sunday we came across two different food markets in the center: one was French, the other was German. We also saw a very unusual sports match, a kind of canoeing basketball (!?) at the Canal Grande.

at Caffè degli Specchi
Caffè degli Specchi
Canal Grande, Trieste
Canal Grande
what an unusual sport!

Then it was time to stroll to the next café. We did some window-shopping and some actual shopping too 🙂 Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get in one interesting bookshop because we first passed by it before its opening time and then again when it was closed for lunch. Yes, some shops in Italy still close for the lunch hour. The second café we visited was Caffè San Marco which opened in 1914. There’s a bookshop in it. It’s got a different atmosphere than the first café but it’s got equally interesting decor with ornamented high ceilings. This one is more bohemian while the first one is more classical. I had excellent tiramisu while my best friend had Sacher cake. We saw a synagogue nearby so decided to check it out and see whether it’s open for tourist visits. You can actually go inside for a tour but it was closed at the time of our visit.

Caffè San Marco

So we just walked back to the main square and the seaside promenade. There was a huge cruiser. I wonder where it went next. Trieste is also famous for its annual international sailing festival Barcolana regatta. We came across vintage cars show in front of a luxurious hotel. Our final stop/café was the Ginger-Tea &Cakes café. This is a rather new café/patisserie where you can also buy different spices. It’s famous for its cupcakes. Both my best friend and I had a very refreshing lemon tart and I also had freshly made ginger&orange&apple juice. Since my friend actually likes coffee unlike me she enjoyed excellent cappuccinos in all of the three cafes that we visited.

Ginger-Tea & Cakes cafe

Afterwards we walked to the train station and toyed with the idea of buying a train ticket and going somewhere further like Venice. But we didn’t do it. It was time to go home.  This was my first day trip abroad pregnant. I felt all right except from being bloated as usually. But when I got home I noticed how swollen my feet and ankles were. Oh, well. It was a fun day trip and I’m so glad I took it 🙂

Bye bye from Trieste 🙂

 

Let’s be social Twitter / Facebook / Google+ / Bloglovin’ / Instagram

Why we cancelled our Munich trip

On By TanjaIn life, Travel38 Comments
recently in Trieste, Italy on a day trip with my best friend:)

So close, no matter how far…the lyrics of Metallica’s song Nothing else matters relate to my wish to visit Germany. I’d really like to go to Munich but somehow there’s always something that gets in the way whether it’s another trip or something completely different. I booked the hotel for Munich finally and planned our Bavarian trip for March. But then I had to change our plans because of two reasons and I’ve decided to postpone our Munich trip for May. The first reason was that I’d have my tourist guide exams in the first week of April just after a few days of our planned trip. The second reason was.. well, it’d be really early to travel in March because.. I’M PREGNANT! 🙂

Continue reading “Why we cancelled our Munich trip” →

Your UK Survival Guide: Don’t Forget These Last Minute Tips

On By TanjaIn England, Travel16 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Heading to the UK in the coming weeks or months? A trip to Britain is one you’ll remember for years to come, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t preparation steps you’ll first need to adhere to. Today, let’s run through five tips you’ll need to remember ahead of your next adventure.

  1. It isn’t the fairy-tale you imagined

 It sounds like we’re kicking things off on a downer – and I suppose in a way we are – but the UK isn’t the picturesque postcard image you might have come to expect from years of stereotypical television portrayals. That’s not a bad thing though, with the real UK offering far more grit and character.

 As the Huffington Post debunk, most commonly held stereotypes about British people simply aren’t true. While they do drink a lot of tea, you aren’t likely to stumble across many gentlemen tipping their hats to you on the streets of Slough or Birmingham.

  2. UK airport customs

 Just like with any of the world’s more influential countries, the UK has sadly become something of a target in recent years. As such, there’s a relatively strict procedure in place for what you can and can’t bring through customs.

 1cover highlight what is and isn’t allowed through, with a maximum of the following being the absolute most you’ll be able to bring into the country:

  • 16 litres of beer (or 1 litre of alcohol)
  • 200 cigarettes (or 50 cigars/250 grams of tobacco)
  • A “reasonable” amount of perfume

 3.Avoid larger notes  

When you convert your currency into UK pounds, make sure you avoid getting any £50 notes. If you’re unfamiliar with British sterling, this amounts to an excessive level of money (enough for 3 people to eat a starter and main in a pub), and is unsurprisingly not accepted in most stores as a result.

 Even a £20 note is often frowned upon by most cashiers, but it will at least be accepted. The main reason for this is the amount of change which’d have to be handed back to a customer would make managing the till for the rest of the day basically impossible.

Continue reading “Your UK Survival Guide: Don’t Forget These Last Minute Tips” →

Throwback Thursday Photo: London 2016

On By TanjaIn London20 Comments

City of London

Exactly a year ago I visited London. It wasn’t my first visit nor it would be my last. On 11th of May 2016 I visited London for the 11th time! And it was the first time that I actually spent several days in London on my own. Previously, I’ve been to London with my best friend and occasionally on my own for a day trip but this was the first time that I got to spend  3 full days roaming the streets of London just by myself. And it was great!:) I blogged quite a bit about it so I’m just going to remind myself (and you, dear readers ) of some of the highlights of that trip.

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday Photo: London 2016” →

Travel as a menu #travellinkup

On By TanjaIn Travel51 Comments
a dessert in Paris

Quite an interesting topic for this month’s travel linkup: comparing travel to a menu. Now, usually the dessert part of a lunch or dinner is my favourite part of the entire meal and I often choose what I want to eat for dessert before I even choose the main. But I guess most people don’t do that  🙂 So, let’s start at the beginning. What place is your starter? Tough question. Since I mostly just travelled around Europe almost all of those places could be classified as short-haul. I didn’t really do any long-haul flights e.g. going across the Atlantic to the USA or flying to Dubai or visiting China or New Zealand like some other travel bloggers. So, I’d need to divide my destinations into short-haul (starters) and long-haul (main) even when they aren’t that far away from each other. Regarding the dessert part of my meal, oh boy, there are several amazing places that have left a lasting impression on me.

I’d choose Italy as my starter. I’ve travelled extensively around Italy but there are still many places that I haven’t visited such as Sicily or Cinque Terre. If I have to pick a favourite place then it’d be Bologna. I already blogged about it so you can read why I like it so much if you want to. I’ve been to Florence  and Rome and Venice several times but I’d rather spend a relaxing day in Bologna hanging out with the locals than brave the crowds in one of the above places.

Bologna

The main. Well, there’s only one possible main for me. And that’s London. I could always go back to London (and I have, 11 times so far!). It’s like my favourite meal. I could never get enough of it and it always tastes great. You might wonder now what’s my favourite meal…but I won’t tell you 🙂 What would be the furthest I have ever travelled? If I look at the map and the distance from my hometown to a place, then the furthest place I’ve ever travelled would be Lisbon , Portugal  which is over 2 000 km from my hometown and which was definitely the longest flight I’ve ever took. I absolutely loved Lisbon and I’d love to go back.

Continue reading “Travel as a menu #travellinkup” →

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

5 unmissable Florence sights

On By TanjaIn Italy64 Comments

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Florence isn’t my favourite  Italian  city. There, I said it. But it’s undoubtedly beautiful and immensely important for world culture. After all, it’s the birthplace of Renaissance and artists such as Michelangelo created some of their best masterpieces in Florence. Having said that, it’s no wonder than many people find Florence daunting and even overwhelming because of an abundance of must- see museums and art galleries filled with so many iconic sculptures and paintings. Florence is also one of those cities where the tourists outnumber the local population in the period of April to October. So choose your time of visit wisely. I’d suggest to either visit in the early Spring or in the late Autumn. Definitely avoid the summer when it’s too hot to walk around the city. If you’re a first time visitor then definitely focus more on squares and palaces and ice-cream than on museums. Unless, you’re a real culture vulture and you simply have to see the original statue of David in Galleria dell’ Accademia. And book your museum tickets online to avoid waiting in the queue. Even if you only have a day in Florence you can manage to see all of the most important sights I listed below.

So here’s the list of 5 unmissable sights in Florence

  1. Ponte Vecchio

The oldest bridge in Florence (1345) is also the most beautiful one. The Americans call it the Golden Bridge because of all the high-end jewellery shops on it. It’s always crowded and you should take care of your belongings while admiring all the costly jewellery. If you cross the bridge and go left you’ll reach the Palazzo Pitti and the serene Boboli Gardens. Over the bridge is the Vasari’s Corridor which connects the new Medici palace (Medici family ruled over Florence and Tuscany for centuries) of Palazzo Pitti with the old palace of Palazzo Vecchio. The newest addition to the bridge are the so-called love padlocks. To take the best photos of the bridge you have to either go to the bridge after or before the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

Florence
Ponte Vecchio
  1. Piazza della Signoria

Once the political center of the entire region and nowadays a hotspot for locals and tourist alike this gorgeous square is also a sort of museum in the open. The dominating feature of Piazza della Signoria is the medieval town hall of Palazzo della Signoria or Palazzo Vecchio. You can enter it for free but if you want to see the upstairs rooms you have to pay for the ticket. On the right side of the palace is the world-famous museum the Uffizi and on the corner is the Loggia dei Lanzi with a number of interesting sculptures. There are many important art pieces at this square including the copy of Michelangelo’s David (the original is in the Accademia). There’s also the Neptune Fountain and the Cosimo I Medici sculpture on a horse. Occasionally there’ll be some temporary modern sculpture or installation too. You’ll probably notice a round marble plaque on the floor in front of the Neptune fountain. That plaque marks the exact spot where the infamous Girolamo Savonarola was hanged and burned after he was finally captured. He used to organize Bonfires of the Vanities in the 15th century and burn books and artworks. There’s a water tap behind the Neptune’s fountain so you can fill in your water bottle. If you fancy a cup of pricey coffee you can choose one of the two historical cafes at the square.

Palazzo Vecchio
the copy of David
Neptune’s fountain

Continue reading “5 unmissable Florence sights” →