Most people know something about the reputation of Bologna as a university city, but the place has stayed off Italy’s well-beaten tourist track so far. Nevertheless, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, often called Italy’s gastronomic capital, makes a perfect weekend destination. Last weekend my daughter and I booked a trip to this beautiful city […]
World
ALBEROBELLO, THE TOWN OF TRULLI
Although I have visited the town of Alberobello several times, I wanted to explore it once more, but this time off-season. No wonder, a visit of Alberobello is one of the ‘must-see’ items on the itinerary of all tourists traveling to Puglia, which means that this ‘town of trulli’ is overcrowded during the summer season. […]
CHRISTMAS IN LECCE
There was a special reason for us to spend last Christmas in Southern Italy, with a specific accent on Lecce in Apulia (Puglia). Not so strange, as most expats in Montenegro miss the typical atmosphere that goes together with the (Catholic) Christmas time. Orthodox Christmas in Montenegro is celebrated two weeks later in a completely […]
MATERA, THE CITY OF CAVE DWELLINGS
Although I have crisscrossed Italy several times, I had never visited Matera, a town in the province of Basilicata, which is also known as ‘la Città Sotteranea’ (the Underground City) or ‘City of Cave Dwellings’. So when we spent our last Christmas holidays in southern Italy, one of our goals was to visit Matera – […]
A WINTER DAY IN AMSTERDAM
During our stay in the Netherlands this month, we got the opportunity to make a day trip to Amsterdam and visit the Amsterdam Light Festival. I had not been in Amsterdam for years: in summer I thought it would be too crowded and I could never guess that the city could also be attractive in […]
EATING BUGS IN CAMBODIA
The last country I visited during my round trip through Indochina was Cambodia. Once more, I had to change my western judgments and perceptions trying to understand how can people, after having survived the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime, greet you with a smile – amidst their heartbreaking poverty. And again, glaring contrasts, everywhere. […]
LAOS – ASIA’S FORGOTTEN COUNTRY
I have always been attracted to exotic and indigenous places. That is one of the reasons why Paul and I decided to make a round trip through the countries of Indochina. Moreover, as I didn’t know much about the wars that were waged there during the 60s and 70s, I thought it very interesting to […]
UNDER DUTCH SKIES
Although I have been living in Montenegro for almost five decades, at least once a year I visit my home country, the Netherlands. I must admit that my feelings towards these trips are rather ambivalent. On the one hand, it’s always a pleasure to visit relatives and friends. I also like to do some shopping […]
CLIMBING GRAN PARADISO
I woke up at midnight. Head throbbing. I can’t believe it’s too hot to sleep. I am in airbnb flat in a village in Aosta valley in the Alps. I know it’s midnight because the church bell sounds 12 times, and then every half an hour it rings again. I dreamed I was climbing and every […]
THE BARREN BEAUTY OF LANZAROTE
One of the Canary Islands that is visited all-year round by sun-starved tourists from Western and Northern Europe is Lanzarote. With a population of 132,000 and a surface of 810 square kilometers, it attracts around 1.5 million visitors annually. The barren beauty of Lanzarote is certainly unconventional: a series of volcanic eruptions rocked the island […]