I have been fortunate to track down some of my father's heritage - from Luxembourg to Los Angeles. Now it was turn for my mother's side of the family. They come from a very beautiful part of Italy - in the hills along the Italian Riviera. We visited the small town of Casarza Ligure; the "Gallo" name is everywhere which is my mother's maiden name. The homesite of my great Grandfather, Guiseppe Gallo is situated high on a hill above Casarza and … [Read more...]
Driving through Tuscany & Antinori Winery Visit
It was hard to leave San Marino - it is such a unique and small country. Interesting museums, eclectic shopping, great views and good food! We opted for the slow drive through Tuscany - covering windy roads up and down the rolling hills, cresting passes and driving through several National Parks. The roads are narrow, steep at times but always through picturesque countryside. This time of year everything is green or in bloom. Spring has … [Read more...]
Exploring Italy and San Marino
Today we spent the morning exploring old town Verona - coming across crowds for the first time since our stay here. The crowds were buzzing around Dante's statue (yes that Dante from Dante's Inferno - he spent some time in Verona) and supposedly the balcony and house of Juliet in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". There has been a lot of rain here, coupled with the slightly warmer temperatures and the snow melt, the rivers are swollen. Verona … [Read more...]
Bring Adventure Back to Europe
This was Richard's Keynote to The European Travel Commission, presented on May 9, 2013. This also took first place in our 2013 travel writing competition. I once ran with the bulls of Pamplona....by mistake, involuntarily. I was at Microsoft, where we were developing a new travel product that would become Expedia, and we had the idea to use a new web technology called Live Chat to convey from the field the adventure of travel. I had the idea … [Read more...]
A visit to Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Cellar in Tuscany, Italy
Getting Here The estate is located about 25 minutes outside of Florence Italy in the small town of Bargino. This is almost directly south of Florence, off of Highway SR 2 and only about 30 minutes from the beautiful town of Siena. Many airlines and flights connect to Florence including Alitalia, Air Berlin, Delta, KLM and Lufthansa. The Family The Antinori's own one of the world's oldest continuously operating family businesses. … [Read more...]
Tedeschi Winery, Verona Italy
I've known Emil Tedeschi for a number of years, owner of Napa Valley's tiny Tedeschi Family Winery, not to be confused with the Tedeschi Winery, Maui - which Emil also co-founded. He has mentioned the Tedeschi Winery in Verona Italy more than a few times. So with my brother living in Verona and describing my upcoming trip to visit him, Emil jumped at the opportunity to come along. Emil has co-piloted a single engine plane - 16 hours from San … [Read more...]
Visiting Frankfurt
I'm not sure how it is that on recent flights every time I have been parked right next to a screaming baby. This latest one did not actually cry, but rather screamed a good portion of the 11 hour flight. No matter how hard the parents tried, this little fellow would not let up. Upon reaching Frankfurt - I had 8 hours to kill before heading on to Verona Italy. I took full advantage of this window of opportunity by jumping on the S8 train to … [Read more...]
Pie-eyed for Pizza: A Love Story
“I could eat pizza seven days a week.” The sentence grabbed me, but I couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was on a site where few sentences grabbed me: Match.com. I jumped to two possible conclusions: a) NBlikesbikes is really boring, or b) NBlikesbikes is really quirky. I have a soft spot for the quirky, and while I was mentally kneading a) vs. b), NBlikesbikes e-mailed me. After a few messages, he asked me … [Read more...]
Be a Part of It: Top Five New York Experiences
In a city as celebrated as New York, first-time visitors are usually overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things they simply must do. From buggy rides in Central Park to trips up the Empire State - not to mention the stores, museums and restaurants you’ll need to fit in too – where do you begin? But who’s to say you need to replicate the New York experiences seen on your cinema screen or in tourist guides? Sure, there are those activities … [Read more...]
Exploring Lisbon Portugal
Headed out to Lisbon this week to catch up with my brother who is living in Verona, Italy - it was a good chance to deliver his mail from California as well as spend some time sightseeing in a city neither one of us have been to before. The airport is a small one and easily navigable. Oh and the metro connects right to the arrivals hall. I quickly jumped on the metro - found the hotel, buzzed up to the hotel room and we headed out. My brother … [Read more...]
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