After a few relaxing days in Lecce, my favourite person and I decided on a day at the beachside town of Otranto, about 45kms from Lecce.
The bus stop for the summer bus service was just around the corner from where we were staying. Armed with our bus timetable that our truly amazing beyond Airbnb super host had given us, we arrived at the bus stop about 15 minutes early. Continue reading
Umbria is often referred to as the green heart of Italy.
The view across the Umbrian valley from Assisi with its patchwork of fields confirmed this. Umbria has a reputation for its food, wine and olive oil; all of which we can confirm from our stay in Assisi.
Our days in Assisi, a medieval town that looks across the valley, had enabled us to sample the wines. Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso were becoming favourites.
We visited a local wine bar, Bibenda, that had a reputation not just for the wines but also for its sommelier owner who has a truly extensive knowledge about the region.
We’d seen in a “things to do” post from Airbnb about a “new experience”, being a wine tour of a Montefalco winery and decided to see if we could make it work without a car.
Who wants to drive if you are doing some wine tasting? Continue reading
We’d be warned. Visiting the old city can be overwhelming. It can be an emotional experience. Don’t be surprised if you are moved to tears we’d read.
So we set foot inside the old city with a degree of apprehension. How would we feel? For me, it wasn’t until I was sitting having a drink with my favourite person after our day in the old city that it hit me. I’d been in a very special place.
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A place I had to visit while in Jerusalem was Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial.
We were fortunate that we were able to schedule our visit for a Friday as this is the day when there is an English Tour Guide.
Nothing I can write describes what this memorial commemorates.
I have set out below five moments where I was almost moved to tears on our visit:
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We opted for the bus
Departing from our usual approach to Slow a Travel, we decided on taking a few tours in Israel. As much as anything this was because we wanted to see as much as possible in the time we had – so not really Slow Travel at all!
Rather than catching the train between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem we used BeinHarim Tours to go to Bethlehem, thereby combining transit from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with sightseeing.
Overlooking Jerusalem from Mount Scopus
After stopping for a photo shot overlooking Jerusalem from Mount Scopus, we visited the cave where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was touristy but as my favourite person said, we are tourists too. Our Bethlehem visit was conducted by a local Palestinian,apparently the requirement placed on Israeli tour companies for visits to the West Bank. As we walked around,the town.we were bombarded by locals wanting to sell us “stuff”. I succumbed after a rather uncomfortable moment with a local, buying quite possibly the most expensive fridge magnets ever!
Visiting Bethlehem requires you to look past the modern buildings and try to visualise what the place looked like in the year zero.
As we were sitting on the bus headed to our Jerusalem base we decided on a day tour to Masada and the Dead Sea for the next day using the same tour company.
As much as I like sorting out our own sightseeing, there is something to be said for a hotel pick-up and someone else sorting out the navigation and sights. This is particular so in a place such as Israel where there are so many places of significance.
Our trip took us past iconic Christian sights. Where the Good Samaritan performed his deed of service. As we crossed the Jordon River, we saw in the distance where’s Jesus was baptised and then where Moses had died. Continue reading