Tag Archives: Beth

Friends, Hotels, Travel - Italy

Le Violette – A Bed & Breakfast Full of Charm

You know when you visit a charming little restaurant or hotel and turn to your significant other on the way home and say, “what a wonderful place.  I wish them all the success in the world – I’d love to come back soon and relive this experience all over again”?  Or, have you ever been so impressed with someone personally that you truly want them to succeed at whatever it is they decide to do with their life?

Well, when we recently visited Le Violette in Lucca, Tuscany; I had the rare occasion to think both of those things.  Le Violette is such an inviting place and its proprietor, Elizabeth is such a warm and genuine person that it is impossible not to fall in love with the entire experience. Continue reading Le Violette – A Bed & Breakfast Full of Charm →

Friends, History, Humor, Photography, Travel - Italy, Tuscany

“Lucca Over Here… This Tuscan Town is Amazing”!

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If you read the title of this post with your best impression of an Italian accent, then you probably nailed the pronunciation of one of our new favorite Italian towns.  Lucca has been on our bucket list to visit for quite some time and now we can happily say we’ve been.

Lucca, Italy
Lucca, Italy viewed from the Torre Guinigi
Torre Guinigi - Lucca
Another angle from Torre Guinigi
Lucca viewed from the city walls
Lucca viewed from the city walls

The city is renowned for many things, not the least of which is the giant annual gathering of comic book nerds and fantasy film geeks. Lucca plays host to Europe’s version of Comic-Con, the Fiera Internazionale del Fumetto (International Festival of Comics) or as it’s commonly referred – Lucca Comics and Games.
lucca_comics_and_games_2013-questione-di-stile

Some participants of Lucca Comics. Photo courtesy of Francesco Petrucci
Some participants of Lucca Comics and Games. Photo courtesy of Francesco Petrucci

Continue reading “Lucca Over Here… This Tuscan Town is Amazing”! →

Food and Drink, Landscape, Photography, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Italy, Tuscany

Edward and Bella – We’re Here!

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Well, we didn’t run into Edward Cullen, Bella Swan or that creepy little girl that can induce pain in people’s mind (I suppose the world’s largest and most powerful coven of vampires was in hiding) during our visit to Volterra in Tuscany.
Now this is Tuscany!

For the Tibetan monk that has been living in isolation in Bhutan… and my sister, the only two people in the world that haven’t a clue who Edward or Bella are – I am making a playful reference to the Twilight Series.  Buddhist monk and Michelle, listen up – the premise of the fictional story is simple. Girl falls in love with boy.  Boy happens to be a blood-sucking vampire.  Girl also falls in love with another boy.  Boy happens to be a shape-shifting werewolf.  Love triangle ensues.  They all get in trouble when the Volturi (fictional Vampire royalty from the non-fictional town of Volterra, Italy) get involved.  Giant battle rages.  Extend story over five books.  Produce six movies and collect hundreds of millions of non-fictional dollars.  You know – your classic love story. Continue reading Edward and Bella – We’re Here! →

Cooking, Family Stories, Food and Drink, Holidays, Humor, Landscape, Photography, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Italy, Tuscany

Facebook Brought Us To Tuscany

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Facebook is great for a lot of things.  First of all, it’s a wonderful time killer.  It is a spectacular medium for sharing funny videos about cats.  The site is also great for shameless self-promotion of your unimportant blog (ahem).  Facebook keeps me and Jen apprised of popular youtube videos and trending pop-culture stories we would have otherwise missed living in another country.  But perhaps best of all – it helps reconnect people after many, many years.

This is how you “like” a post on Italian Facebook

This was recently the case when my wife re-connected with a high school friend of ours, now living in Tuscana (Tuscany).   Continue reading Facebook Brought Us To Tuscany →