Good Food, Good Wine, Good Times

Excellent Travel Adventurers

Good Food, Good Wine, Good Times

Jackie first travelled to Europe as a child and has continued travelling ever since. I got the travel bug after an excellent travel adventure to Barbados with my family. We continue to travel and have given the gift of travel and desire to travel to our children. We enjoy people and cultures and like to meet locals when we travel. Seeing an impressive structure or beautiful landscape may cause us to pause or detour. It is all part of our Excellent Travel Adventures.



North America » Canada » Ontario » Toronto March 10th 2012

Travelling from Niagara Falls to Toronto is an easy 1.5 hours along the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Gardiner Expressway. Add 15 minutes if crossing from the Peace Bridge in Buffalo. Princess of Wales Theatre plays host to the National Theatre of Great Britain production of "War Horse". At a capacity of 2000 the sight-lines are excellent from every seat in the theatre. David and Ed Mirvish built the theatre in 1993 and showcased Miss Saigon as the first production. This theatre and the other 3 Mirvish owned theatres, along with Winter Garden, Elgin, Toronto Centre for The Arts, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and Four Seasons Centre built in 2006 help make Toronto the largest live theatre centre in North America after New York. If I lived in Toronto I would never want for ... read more

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Monteriggioni September 28th 2011

For a visitor getting out of Firenze it is easy compared to getting in. We used both GPS and Tuscany map for heading south to Siena on the way to Rome. Friends Linda and Aaron have spent time in Siena and told us it is a beautiful, intact walled Roman city. Jackie and I found the SR 2 and decided to follow it south. It is a very nice drive through all the small villages and towns down to Siena. The drive as seen in the movie "Letters to Juliet" was repeated by us over and over while we wound our way south. Rolling hills to small mountains are covered in vineyards and olive groves. Beautiful villas dot the countryside and each small town seems to be prettier than the last. Past the town of Poggibonsi ... read more
Great Car
Monteriggioni
Bird of prey

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence September 26th 2011

Jackie and I agreed we would take the A1 to Firenze (Florence). We called ahead and asked about the Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) in Florence. Once you get to the city centre you come to ZTL and will be ticketed electronically if you go in this area without permission. Your credit card will be charged by the Car Rental company. If you are staying at a hotel or a parking garage they will arrange permission. Still, beware of one way streets, do not enter streets and pedestrian only areas as these will get you fined if you enter them. Getting down to Firenze was by winding Autostrada through some very pretty foothills with dozens of tunnels. Vineyards stretch for miles in all directions. Another feature of Italy is the use of cameras for speed control and ... read more
Walking Firenze
Parking Patrol
Ponte Vecchio

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Modena September 25th 2011

After sleeping well from an evening of eating and drinking we woke early and had a breakfast of cooked prosciutto, bread, fruit with a few double espressos. Ernesto and Ginetta came by to see us off. Son Patrick came from his house around the mountain and brought his baby boy Filipo with him. Family and all the people up here are very friendly and life is enjoyed at a more relaxed pace than in the big cities. Artemio and Mirella were great hosts. This area has many peaks that are a haven for outdoor enthusiasts and cyclists. There are clear mountain streams for fly fishing and alpine meadows to enjoy. We had to get to Molina across the valley and up and over another mountain. We descended from Arina using a partially paved back mountain road ... read more
Great Drive
passo Manghen
Rest stop

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Treviso September 24th 2011

We picked up our rental car at the auto park 200 metres from the Hotel Olimpia. The Ibiza was an upgrade from the smaller car I contracted for. The very newest Fiats and Fords all have USB ports so you may record you music to a key and plug it in. I had a key with files for Jackie, Easy Listening, Driving and other for a total of 17 hours. Both my rentals had radio and CD only - sad for me as the only driver. Getting out of Venice is a pinch. The signage is outstanding and heading north toward Treviso was easy as we had a choice of autostrada or minor highway - we chose the minor highway to see more small cities. In Italy we have a diesel car and we found it ... read more
Cousins
Antonio, Jacjie and Davis
Morning in Arina

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice September 24th 2011

Venice Train Station is large and daily moves thousands of commuters into the city to work in the restaurants, hotels and other service industries. Jackie and I waited until all the commuters passed by and then slowly made our way to the exit. Upon exiting the station Jackie promptly lost it and cried uncontrollably. Jackie was just happy to be in one of the most beautiful cities in the world with Tony. What else could it be? OK. Let me set the record straight. The sight of Venice has made millions cry before Jackie ever shed a tear. This is truly a place to be included in everyone's bucket list. Venice has a history dating back to Roman times and was a power centre of trade and commerce for over 500 years so, one would expect ... read more
Relax at Olimpia Hotel
San Marco by Boat
Fabio at Bacareto da Lele

Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest September 21st 2011

The morning of our departure from Satu Mare was beautiful. The weather has been outstanding with day time temperatures not falling below 26C. We had to get to Szolnok to see the exhibit of airplanes, jets, engines and other aircraft and related items. We took advantage of the excellent autostrada and our little Picasso seldom went below 130kph. Getting there took us through some very remote flat, farmland. Once in Szolnok I raced through the exhibit taking photographs. Once back in the car we headed to Budapest to get to Keleti Train Station. It is a fantastic enormous building. We were a bit delayed with highway construction and dropped our car 30 minutes prior to departure. Prior to our trip I could only get information on the trip through Trentitalia the Italian state carrier. Their website ... read more
MAV Sleeping Cabin
Venice Train Station

Europe » Romania » Transilvania September 20th 2011

Fuel in Satu Mare is less expensive than in Hungary. It costs us $1.50 per litre versus $2.00 per litre. Prior to leaving for Porumbesti the last known home of my fathers family we paid our speeding ticket. Ervin our former best server and now tour guide/translator takes us to a municipal office to pay the fine. Much discussion ensues with the policeman at the door and he wants to see my passport - get used to it. if travelling in Europe passport is a necessity for everything. Keep it handy and on your person always. We had to prove to the police it was paid and next took the receipt to the police station. After 90 minutes all was well and we headed on the road to Porumbesti. A vignette or pass for the autostrada ... read more
Family
First Cousin
Great Aunt Irma

Europe » Romania » Transilvania September 19th 2011

When we last left you I had been pulled over and fined for passing a horse drawn wagon. The official explanation went like this, "speeding - 63 - points to 50 he has written - shows the fine he has written 67 lei (sounds like lay) thrusts the ticket in the window and walks away after telling me to pay at posta. The car is equipped with cruise but, it is different than in cars for the North American market. I learned to use it very quickly after this experience as we found that labour is cheap and police are a dime a dozen. The national road shown on the map is a two lane road that has been undergoing resurfacing for the last 3 years through this region. The speed limit changes within 50 to ... read more
Cousin in Nisipeni

Europe » Romania » Transilvania September 19th 2011

This morning we picked up our auto at Fox Auto Rental. It is a surprisingly roomy 4 door Citroen Picasso. We had to drive through the city to get to the M3. Once again I saw many more incredible buildings and cityscape. M3 is the motorway that takes us from Budapest northeast to Romania. An electronic vignette to use this toll road is required - it cost me about $7 for unlimited use of Hungary's 5 toll roads. M3 allows speeds of up to 130 kph, however many Benz, Audis and BMW passed me at 20 or more above that. The roads are very smooth, have rest areas and gas stations with food every 20 km. That same $7 dollars will get you from Burlington to Toronto on the 407ETR once. We took a detour toward ... read more
The church in Mariapocs
Icon
Shrine at Mariapocs




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