Tali Goes Travelling

Italy Makes Me Happy to Be Alive – Capri

Zooming around corners, crossing the non-existent median line, trying to stay standing on a packed bus after a bottle of wine with lunch, I had a major epiphany. I realised Italy makes me happy to be alive, for two reasons: 1) It is breathtakingly beautiful and 2) Sometimes there is so little regard for personal … Continue reading →

A Wanderweg in Bavaria

They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do… So I decided while in Bavaria, it was time for me to step into a German stereotype and get my hike on. As I’m not yet 40 I didn’t go so far as to get out my nordic walking poles for a flat path along … Continue reading →

A German Getaway

After an extended weekend of feasting in Heidelberg, we were lucky enough to be invited to stay at our friends’ family house in a small village half way to Frankfurt, called Zwingenberg. It was very quaint and stereotypically German: We took an excursion to Bensheim, where I loved the way they painted their buildings: … Continue reading →

Another planet? – Heidelberg, Germany

Arriving in Heidelberg was a complete shock to me. After some time in Rome, I felt like our plane had landed on another planet, not in another European country. Everything was so green and so clean, there was no rubbish in sight. Cars were driving carefully, obeying road rules and even stopping for red lights. … Continue reading →

Getting My Beach Fix — Sperlonga

Having grown up in a city surrounded by beaches, I get beach cravings if I go too long without seeing the sea. I had thought living in Rome would stop these cravings as it’s less than an hour from the coast so surely there must be some residual salt in the air. Not enough it … Continue reading →

Lessons Learnt at a Chocolate Festival — EuroChocolate, Perugia

When I was offered the opportunity of a wine festival in Tuscany or a chocolate festival in Umbria one balmy autumn weekend, there was no question. Chocolate it was, I did not lack wine in my Italian lifestyle (nor did I really lack chocolate either, but world-famous chocolate opportunities like this don’t come up every … Continue reading →

Tali vs Rome – Round 2

It was with great hesitation that Tali returned to Rome in early September. Still heavily affected by her defeat in June, she was nervous and unsure what to expect. Arriving with a job offer and being offered a second within days of her arrival helped to dispel her fears of this city. However, buoyed by … Continue reading →

A Day Trip to the Seaside — Santa Marinella

Upon our re-arrival in Rome and after a landlocked summer, we had to get to the seaside to finally dip our toes in the Mediterranean Sea. So on our flatmate’s recommendation we went to Santa Marinella. It was quite nice. We paid €2 to get onto the private beach: Which was well worth it compared … Continue reading →

A Jewel in Italy’s Crown – Florence

On a peaceful Sunday morning, while locals were in church and the tourists were nursing hangovers, I was wandering along the river. The proud home of ‘the Italian language’ (thanks to Dante), more art and art galleries than you could visit in your lifetime, large parks, statue filled fountains, good shopping and huge pieces of … Continue reading →

La Bella Toscana

It is a cliché: Tuscany is the most beautiful region of Italy, the one that everyone falls in love with, goes home and writes about – telling the world how marvelous Italy is and forgetting the difficulties of daily life in Italy in their portrayal of the beauty they found there. Italians hate this side … Continue reading →