This is a difficult trip. The distance is not great, but you have to change trains two times (La Spezia and Pisa), and the experience is exhausting. In Italy they have not yet heard of the ramp; neither have they

After 3 nights in Milan we go down to the coast, to the Cinque Terra. This is a well-known resort area, now fully recovered from the disastrous floods of a few years ago. We are staying in town #2 (if

We take the longest train trip of our vacation, and use our beloved Swiss Travel Passes for the last time. The trip goes through the Alps, not over them – there are lots of tunnels! We change trains at Domodossola, the last stop

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The day we arrived in Vernazza, Karen and I went up the hill past the train station to do our laundry. While we were waiting for the machines, we went next door to il Pirata (The Pirate), a small outdoor

“I want a quiet day,” Karen announced. “We need a break from our vacation.” We are constantly on the move, with lots of places to go and sights to see. Train travel days require hauling luggage on and off trains,

Next door to the cathedral in Milan is the Galleria, the most famous shopping center in the city. We were hungry, having worked up an appetite for lunch walking around on the roof, so we headed over that way. The entrance

Please click on one of the photos to view them full-screen. After viewing the Last Supper we decided to visit the Milan Cathedral (Duomo). Its architecture might be described as Ultimate Gothic or Gothic Gone Wild. I think it is

We thought it would be appropriate to start our mid-tour Sunday in Milan by seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. So we got reservations and tickets for the 8:30 showing. The Last Supper was painted on the wall of the

On Thursday Sept. 17 we travel from the Swiss Alps to Lake Geneva, from the land of cows and cheese to the land of jazz and night-life. We chose this route because of the Golden Pass panorama train, and upgraded