All posts tagged: Budget Travel

como italy by local bus

Published by

I can never pass up a stop in Como Italy when I travel through Italy. Normally I spend two nights in Como, but  I figured this time since it is Autumn, I would stay in Milan and take a day trip to Como on RailEurope or in this case, the shuttle train from Milan  to Como S.M instead. It was about an hours ride, a bit uncomfortable and long since it made alot of stops along the way, but it was a reasonable cost. 4.50Euros each way, so I couldn’t complain much.  When I got to Como rail station, I noticed, like I did before, a bus labeled Bellagio, which was the area around the lake I wanted to visit. Since it was freezing outside, I decided this time to give the bus ride a try, I knew it was going to circle the lake and that it would take an hour, but I figured I had done the ferry thing about a dozen times before, why not try something different. Well, I must admit …

romantic vacation recommend: isle of capri, italy

Published by

Most of my previous travels are to the main cities or towns within a country in Europe. But a few years back, when I ventured towards the Southern tip of Italy (the booth) I decided to take a ferry to the island of Capri. I must admit I wasn’t disappointed with the choice, even though the ferry schedule a bit unreliable and the frequency less than desirable, the trip was well worth it. The way it works is, after disembarking the ferry from Napoli, you have to take a taxi or a bus up to the top ( Alta Capri). This is where the main town square is and most of the civilization on the island. I did get a bit sick because of the altitude or maybe because of my fear of heights, but every where I looked there was the most beautiful view anyone can imagine. We stayed 3 nights 4 days and because the best way to see a place is by walking. We walked one entire day around the island, actually …

a villa in tuscany – vacation paradise

Published by

Between the condo renovation, work hiccups and other matters of family and home, I actually needed a break from the norm today by focusing on my vacation plans for the Fall. Although I love Paris and will consider spending every vacation day there, every single year, I have opted for  a trip to Italy this year because I needed material for my second novel. This time, I am considering  a villa stay in Tuscany just to “veg out”  and get inspired to at least draft the outline for the novel, if not more.  Since that is my plan, I  turned to my favorite site here which I used to use during my travel planning days, to get information about villa rentals abroad. The problem is, most villas house 3 or more vacationers and only a handful are available for just 2 guests. But through my persistance,  I found one villa just perfect for my needs. The problem now is I have to do alot of convincing to hopefully book the villa for our Tuscany portion of the …

as my mind travels to all good things paris

Published by

I have to tell you, I just can’t help myself no matter how hard I try. The worst is that the closer it gets to summer, the more I get restless about taking a trip to Paris. The worst part of it is that most any travel website I visit or go shopping anywhere, there is always a reminder of my favorite city via a photographer of the famous Eiffel Tower. I never realized how impressionable the darn thing is in most everyone’s lives? The only other icon most of us are touched by, one way or another, is a  silouette of Mickey Mouse’s head. (I know you know what I mean) Anyway, back to Paris and some of my favorite reminders. Enjoy and happy weekend to you all.

travel recommend: cinque terre, italy

Published by

This weekend marks the beginning of my official travel recommends.  As I stated before I get the travel itch sometime in March, but it doesn’t really flare up until about mid May when I discover my circle of acquaintances are planning their trips. In light of the fact, my first recommend is what is known as Cinque Terre in Italy. Located along the western coats of Italy, this area consists of five small villages which literally cling to the Ligurian cliffs. The villages are small  and close enough that you can actually walk from own village to the next within a matter of hours. The first time I discovered the area was actually when I coordinated travel plans for college students. I heard a group of them talking about buying a railpass and finding their way to the area.  That same year, I decided to take a trip to Italy and after locating Cinque Terre on the map, I chartered my course on how to incorporate Cinque Terre into my trip. To make it easier …

outdoor sitting french style

Published by

This is going to be my first summer without a backyard. After selling our house in the country, we traded in a grand backyard with a pool and garden for a view of the Pacific Ocean. Not a bad trade off. But I vowed I would not write about outdoor spaces, patio furniture or backyard get togethers until I worked the entire experience out of my system. But knowing me and the need to talk outdoors, I had to include some of my favorite photos of French country backyards and furniture.

when the going gets tough – escape to greece

Published by

Right about this time of year, I get the vacation planning itch. Although I pretty much know where I want to go every year, at the beginning of the year, sometimes what life decades throughout the year, almost forces me to imagination of a place I can actually escape to, where I could just sit by the ocean or sea and think through my problems. Well, today was one of those days, as I wrote the train to work this morning, I put on my i-pod and closed my eyes and quickly escaped to Greece. So I decided to post this entry and share some of my favorite photos of Greece.

pacific heights – san francisco – an architectural marvel

Published by

San Francisco is probably one of the most beautiful travel destinations I can recommend. But of course you all already know that, right? What I truly appreciate the most about my city is the fact, that even though it is comparatively small to most other metropolitan cities, the hills more than make up for the size and of course the fact, within walking distance or (a Muni ride) away, you can experience different cultures within each district (or neighborhood), making it actually and suggestively  a huge city. My choice of exploring any city is of course walking and one of my favorite neighborhoods to explore, not only because of the challenging hills, which give me a great work out, but also the architectural marvel for my visual therapy away from the 9×11 computer screen. Now, I have included some street signage for you, amazing tourists from around the world and neighboring states and Southern Cal  as a guide, so that when you are visiting the city, you can chart your walking tour based on the …