Author Gayle

Naples is one of those cities that seems to elicit strong reactions from people — they either love it or hate it. We spent four days exploring the highs and lows of Naples and landed firmly on the side of… Continue Reading →

Tucked into Italy’s far northwestern corner, the Aosta Valley is the country’s smallest region and boasts its highest peaks. On previous hikes in the Italian Alps we’d crossed briefly into Aosta, but we’d never properly explored the valley. This time… Continue Reading →

In mountainous regions like Aosta, farmers move their herds to higher pastures in summer. The practice allows the animals to graze on the plentiful grass on the mountainsides and leaves the lower pastures free for growing crops and hay for… Continue Reading →

Anyone who’s ever been to Sardinia, or Sardegna as it is in Italian, will tell you how beautiful this island region is, especially the beaches. It was a place we’d never visited but, as a couple of Australians, we thought… Continue Reading →

It turns out there’s more to Sardinia than beaches; there are mountain ranges, too. In fact, eighty percent of the island is covered by mountains. We headed up to Monte Albo, a rugged mountain chain about an hour west of… Continue Reading →

Along with its distinctive natural beauty, Sardinia has a unique archaeological history that dates back to prehistoric times. As long ago as 4000 BC, the island’s indigenous civilization was building megalithic stone towers and monumental burial structures that were Tombs… Continue Reading →

It’s hard to believe our time in Bologna has come to an end. Over the past six weeks we’ve reconnected with familiar places and faces, and made a few new discoveries, too. As we move on to the next stage… Continue Reading →

Here’s a map showing the locations of some of our travel adventures since 2017. Click on a marker to see more.

The extraordinary walled city of Urbino rises up from the rolling hills and vineyards of Italy’s Marche region. In the 15th century, powerful ruler Duke Federico da Montefeltro transformed Urbino from a simple village into a cultural powerhouse, attracting Europe’s… Continue Reading →

The city of Cremona is renowned as the birthplace of the violin. In the 16th to 18th centuries, it was home to master violin makers including the Amati family, Giuseppe Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari. Around 200 luthiers still work in… Continue Reading →