My cousin, her boyfriend, B, and I were on a tram in Budapest. We were standing near the doors and chatting casually in English, with our stop still four or five away. B had a plastic shopping bag with our bathing suits, my cousin’s boyfriend had a small backpack with theirs, and my cousin and…
Neighborhood: (northeast end of) Santa Croce Also called: N/A Pros: In walking distance of the sights Lots of restaurants all around Fairly safe to walk around alone because there are so many other people out, at all hours of the day and night There are groceries and stores nearby that normal Florence-dwellers visit We stayed directly on…
It’s a common misconception that people must be rich to travel around the world. We’re not. How we do it We work as we travel, between 15 and 30 hours every week. Yes, that means that there are days that we don’t see any sights or experience anything cooler than looking out the window. That can mean…
We were in Florence for four days. The Duomo: Unlike the Duomo in Milan, which has multiple dozen chapels along the outside, each with very detailed ornamentation, this Duomo is fairly plain. Its primary feature is a large ceiling fresco. It was nice, if slightly deflating after the Milan experience. (It also didn’t help that…
Please know that these are honest questions not intended to offend anyone. I don’t have as robust an education in theology and religion as many others do, so these were things I was legitimately curious about and looked up. Q: Why do most paintings of the Virgin and Baby – of which I have seen 70 in Florence…
It’s interesting to see the comparative prices of goods in different countries. Overall, Poland is cheap, and Sweden is expensive, but you might be surprised by which things deviate from that rule of thumb. Italy Poland Sweden Denmark Ireland Groceries Produce is quite cheap. I bought almost two pounds of heirloom tomatoes for $3; they’re usually…
Mail Boxes: Phone Booths: Marshmallows:
I’m a bit hesitant to write this one, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to convey how amazing the experience was. A silly sort of fear, but this may well be our favorite experience of the first three months of our trip. Here goes. You might have noticed that our time in Italy has eclipsed…
Osteria de Peccatore: Unfortunately, our first choice restaurant was closed for August, so we wandered over to this place, with good Yelp reviews. It was a very touristy place, and if we didn’t know that from the ambiance and location, their ‘fettuccine Alfredo’ menu option would have told us. That said, the staff was very nice,…
‘Truffles’ usually makes me think of bitter, fancy, round chocolate treats, or the sweetened milk chocolate versions sold for the undiscerning masses like me. However, in Italy, we explored a different kind of truffle: the mushroom. They come in either black or white varieties, with the latter being more expensive and having a shorter harvest.…