Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: Italy

  • Retracing Our Footsteps: Travel Goals Italy

    Retracing Our Footsteps: Travel Goals Italy

    Sometimes you encounter a place you can’t wait to share. I was captivated by Orta San Guilio and couldn’t wait to share it with my family. After excitedly sharing the virtues of a visit, we drove over on a bright Monday morning. The destination did not disappoint. First we trekked up the mountain to visit…

  • Valley of the Castles: Travel Goals Italy

    Valley of the Castles: Travel Goals Italy

    We are up at dawn. This is the first real adventure with my extended family. My brother drives us over the mountain in his rental car. I am now in the backseat. No longer the driver or the navigator, I am left to look out the side window. I try not to be a backseat…

  • Between a Rock and a Foggy Place: Travel Goals Italy

    Between a Rock and a Foggy Place: Travel Goals Italy

    It is still raining in Lesa. We head to Varese where there are a few indoor museums. The weather there should be clear and we will be able to visit the Sacred Mountain of Varese. We head out and the rain stops as we get farther down the road. It is looking pretty good, until…

  • Rainy Days Are Still Beautiful: Travel Goals Italy

    Rainy Days Are Still Beautiful: Travel Goals Italy

    Sunny, magical days have to be interrupted occasionally. And so the rain sets in for a multi-day period of grey clouds and damp pavement. Since we are in Italy to experience Italy, we set off for a wet drive around the lake to Cannobio on Lake Maggiore (….not to be confused with Cernobbio on Lake…

  • Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals Italy

    Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals Italy

    Today is my favorite day! When I travel in Italy, I can’t wait for market day. Each town has a designated day for a pop up outdoor market. This tradition goes back to the medieval traveling markets. Vendors can go from town to town with no overhead, and the townspeople can plan their shopping around…

  • A Walk On the Wild Side: Travel Goals Italy

    A Walk On the Wild Side: Travel Goals Italy

    After several weeks of touring historic sites and churches, we decide to broaden our Italian experience. Our destination for a local weekend experience is the Pombia Safari park. It is essentially a drive through zoo. You can drive your own car or ride in their safari wagon. We opt to drive. We arrive early, park,…

  • The End of the Road: Travel Goals Italy

    The End of the Road: Travel Goals Italy

    Wanderlust…our internal yearning of wanting to see new things, hear new sounds, smell new smells….means that every day we venture out to parts unknown. We try to keep the destination within two hours drive to ensure we have enough time to enjoy each new spot without tiring or feeling rushed. We never know what we…

  • Stranded: Travel Goals Italy

    Stranded: Travel Goals Italy

    Sometimes things are not as you want them to be. You just have to take a deep breath and deal with them as they are. We wanted to take the ferry to Intra and then on to Isola Madre, the last Borromean island we haven’t visited. It was market day in Intra…and I love market…

  • Been There: Travel Goals Italy

    Been There: Travel Goals Italy

    I am a contrary traveler. I don’t mean to be, but I almost never enjoy the “it” places. I read the guidebooks and “just to say we have been there”, we dutifully go to the “must see” places. I am almost always disappointed. I don’t like crowds. I don’t like the so called “ugly” tourists…

  • In Search of Counts and Kings: Travel Goals Italy

    In Search of Counts and Kings: Travel Goals Italy

    It is still raining on the banks of lake Maggiore. Today we take a long drive to the city of the Kings of Savoy, Venaria Reale. It is sunny there. The drive takes just under three hours as we rejecte the autostrade in favor of backroads.. We see farm houses and vineyards as we meander…