After Tallinn and Riga, the next and final destination of our rapid tour of the Baltic States had us heading to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. We weren’t quite sure what to expect of Vilnius, neither had we done much research about it. Out of the three Baltic capitals, it seemed like Vilnius was the least well-known. Given that, we were looking forward to...
After spending three nights in stunning Tallinn, we hopped on a bus and four hours later we arrived in Riga, the capital of Latvia. Riga is a great city to explore if you love architecture because apart from its medieval Old Town, Riga also has a huge amount of Art Nouveau architecture. In fact, Riga is the Art Nouveau capital of Europe. Riga is also a university...
The city of Tallinn in Estonia has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Baltic states and in fact in Europe. Much of its newfound popularity is due to its beautifully preserved old town and easy access to its port for large cruise ships. Riga and Vilnius, the other Baltic state capitals, have for various reasons lost much of their original...
Helsinki is the Finnish Capital but it certainly doesn’t feel like a capital city. Helsinki is surrounded by islands and a third of the city’s space is taken up by parkland and green spaces. That makes it a haven for outdoor lovers! Do you prefer shopping? Don’t worry, Helsinki is the Design Capital too, so there’s plenty of shopping to be done; just don’t expect it...
Paris is one of the most loved cities in Europe. It’s known as the most romantic city in the world and one of the four fashion capitals of the world. For me, Paris is the capital of my home country, the country I lived in for the first 18 years of my life. But for many years, I only ever saw Paris on TV. Back then, many people living in the small country towns of...
When planning our two-week trip to Tuscany, we knew that we’d be keen to do some wine tasting, along with enjoying the beautiful countryside and quaint medieval towns. But we hadn’t really looked too much into it until we arrived in Italy. In Australia, wine tasting is a pretty straightforward affair. You turn up at the winery, follow the signs to the cellar door if...
When we decided to spend some time in Italy on the European leg of our trip, I knew there was one place we shouldn’t miss out on. That was the Cinque Terre. What is the Cinque Terre, I hear you ask. In Italian, it means “the Five Lands”. You might not know quite what it is but you’ve more than likely seen it. The Cinque Terre is that famous stretch of Italian...
Have you taken two weeks off and decided that Tuscany is the place for your next dream holiday? Good for you! Tuscany is an amazing part of Italy and if you are going to all that way, you may as well spend as long as you can there. Two weeks is a pretty good length of time to spend in Tuscany because let’s face it Tuscany is not just about Florence and Siena. There...
Lucca is a beautiful old town in the north of Tuscany. Only an hours drive from the more famous Florence, Lucca is known for its Renaissance architecture and its fortified old walls. With its well-preserved, centuries-old buildings and churches, a visit to Lucca truly lets you step back in time. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love with this stunning little...
Siena is a medieval city in the heart of Tuscany, just an hour south of Florence. Although you’re unlikely to get sick of Florence (how could you?), given that you’ve come all that way, you may still want to explore a bit more of Tuscany. Siena is the biggest of all the hill towns scattered around the area and one of the most visited. Because its historic centre is...