Category - Featured

15
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 11

Today we spent the entire day touring the back roads of the area. Our first stop of the day was the Damilano winery in Barolo. Damilano has consistently been scored at over 90 points by Wine Spectator magazine on their reserve Barolos. After a short visit we proceeded to the village of Barolo. They have […]

14
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 10

After breakfast we made a quick exit from Verona and we were off to the Italian Alps. The journey to Alba took us about three hours on the autostrada. Our destination was the Vila d’Amelia, a Virtouso property just south of Alba. They have several different categories of rooms and we chose a junior suite overlooking […]

13
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 9

Today we cruised back into the magnificent city of Venice. After an early morning arrival, Darlene and I hopped on the waterbus to head up to Piazza S. Roma where we picked up our Europcar rental. After some short formalities we were on the road to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. The hotel […]

12
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 8

We were advised late yesterday that the ship had some mechanical difficulties and that we would be docking in Rovinj, rather than Pula. Rovinj was one of the most important towns of Istria under Venetian rule. The town is an absolute delight to walk through and during our visit the annual art festival was being […]

11
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 7

Arrived in Sibenik at 0800 and we were off for a walk through the old city. Sibenik is the oldest native Croatian town on the Eastern Adriatic and was first mentioned 1066 AD. Influenced by the Venetians, the Habsburgs, threatened by the Ottomans, occupied by Italy during World War 2, it sustained a heavy attack by […]

10
Aug

Arend & Darlene’s Excellent Adventure to Italy and the Dalmation Coast – Day 6

Dubrovnik was known as a conduit between the Venetian empire and the Ottomans. They remained neutral through much of the middle ages and prospered as an independent state.  It was heavily bombarded by Yugoslav troops in the fall of 1991 through to the spring of 1992. Damages were repaired by funds from UNESCO and the […]