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Castles...There’s just something magical about them—about their beauty, their strength, the ancient history we can all imagine within their walls. For me, they’re one of the big draws of Europe and one of the reasons I keep taking trains to small Swiss towns and cycling along back roads in the French countryside and hiking up Croatian hills to tumbledown ruins...
It was the middle of January and I was on a beautiful coastal walk with the sun warming my skin and a gentle breeze cooling my face. To my left, fields of bright green clover, patches of fresh thyme and chamomile, and small stone goat sheds made from pinkish-white stones stretched up a hill. To my right, sheer cliffs dropped into the ocean, which stretched into the horizon. Behind me, a small ancient fort stood watch over the coastline. And ahead, a dusty, but well-kept path led over rocky beaches, deserted swimming areas, and clay mudslides, now dried in the sunshine. When I describe this January scene, where do you picture me? In South America, where January is summertime? In Ecuador or Hawaii, with their year-round mild climates?
You can take your pets from the U.S. to Europe. In fact, today I’m sitting in a cozy apartment overlooking a moody autumnal landscape in Riga, Latvia, with my dog, Luna, snuggled up on the couch next to me. Luna has been to 19 European countries, and we’ve already booked #20 (Lithuania) and started dreaming about #21 (Greece).
I first visited Europe when I was in my twenties. It was love at first sight. I fell immediately for the lush green landscape of Ireland, the quirky university culture of Vienna, Austria, and then the incredible history, landscapes, and food of Italy and France...
Have you ever dreamed of sleeping overnight in a French castle? What about a yacht moored in the Mediterranean? One of my personal favorite things about travel is finding experiences like these.Indeed, some of my most memorable travel moments have been seeking out...
Deep blue water stretching into the distance. Rocky coastlines where mountains push up against the sea. Terracotta rooftops cascading down bright green hills. Islands silhouetted by fiery sunsets. And fortresses dotted across the landscape, towering above the valleys on a hilltop or settled against the sea with holes in their walls for cannon fire.
John Sklute, a retired English professor from California, has lived just about everywhere—from sunny Spain to spacious Sweden. So when he says that Berlin has a special something, you know he's done the legwork. John's love for Berlin started when he spent a summer there in 1994 and fell in love with a local. The relationship didn't work out, but John's passion for Berlin never waned.
It’s the country that brought us Leonardo Da Vinci, mouthwatering cuisine from pizza to pasta, enchanting art and culture, world-class fashion capitals, wine, and the very best of it, and perhaps most importantly the concept of la dolce vita (literally translated as “the sweet life”). It’s where you’ll find history-steeped Rome with its well-kept ancient monuments and food culture…Venice with its air of mystery and its famous masquerade balls…and Florence with its art and culture and vineyard-covered surroundings.
I stumbled upon the Italian town of Biassa quite by accident while looking for rooms to rent in the famed cinque Terre— five pastel-colored towns built along the cliffs of Liguria—and I knew right away that the town would be perfect. While I love Italy in the summertime, full of laughter, sunshine, and gelato, I also crave peace and quiet, to get away from the crowds and experience something authentic, something all my own.