FunderfulWorld

On our trip to the landlocked country of Luxembourg, one of our favorite activities was elephant-spotting. Yes, elephants in Luxembourg City! 🙂 Let me offer an explanation. During our weekend in Luxembourg City, we saw beautiful statues of elephants at various locations in the city. The Elephant Parade, an open-air exhibition of statues of the pachyderm, was held in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 2013. The objective of this fund-raising event is to increase public awareness of the need for conservation of Asian elephants.

The capital of Belgium was on our travel itinerary in spring 2013. Tintin and Asterix, waffles and fries, the “little” Manneken Pis and the majestic Grand Place made our trip a memorable one. Grand Place: If you have time for just one place in Brussels, the Grand Place it would be :). Also known as the Grote Markt, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is among the most popular tourist attractions in the city.

This summer, we packed our bags for a 10-day visit to neighboring Austria. Our itinerary included the capital city of Vienna, the “musical” city of Salzburg, and the “oh-so-breathtaking” city of Innsbruck. From our experience, Austria is a very tourist-friendly country. We were also impressed by the efficiency and comfort (not to mention the ‘good looks’ :D) of the OBB trains in Austria. The “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake) ritual was icing on the cake :).

A gorgeous Sunday morning along the lake. It had been fun exploring Lugano on Saturday, and we looked forward to another great day in this Italian-speaking city in south Switzerland. A Sunny Day on Monte Bre We boarded a bus to the other end of town where the funicular to Monte Breawaited us :). Junior is completely smitten by the “funicular+mountain+park” combination now. As we ascend, the vistas provide countless photo-ops.

Views from our hotel room… Lake Lugano. And the powerful jet of water from a fountain… I could sit here for hours… days… months… and stare… wonder… dream. On a warm June weekend, we headed to Lugano, Switzerland. Lugano, the land of Swiss landscapes with an Italian touch, is approximately an hour’s train ride from Milan. After an introductory tour of the city by the “tourist train”, we explored the city at a leisurely pace.

As we got ready to welcome autumn, a grand goodbye to summer was in order. At Peschiera del Garda. On the shores of Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda. The regional trains from Milan reach the little town of Peschiera in about an hour and a half (it is faster if you take the high-speed trains). A convenient day or weekend trip. The pretty lakeside town has an old fortress, quaint canals, boats docked along the lake, and a spectacular lakeside promenade with pebble beaches.

It is no secret that the little boy at home is obsessed with cars. And that his face lights up at the mere mention of a Ferrari. I will not even begin to describe his reaction when he sees one :). And hence, a surprise visit was planned to the Ferrari Museum (Museo Ferrari) at Maranello, near Modena. By the other Ferrari fan in our family :). As for me – their enthusiasm rubbed off on me :).

Bologna. Known as “La dotta”, “La grassa”, “La rossa”. Famous for its gastronomy, its university, and the red color on most buildings. On a very hot summer afternoon, we had the opportunity to discover Bologna in the shade! We walked along the innumerable beautiful porticoes of the capital of Emilia-Romagna in Italy. And we were amazed by the visual treat. As we wondered about exploring Bologna in the blazing sun, the porticoes came to our rescue.

Need a breather from the city sights of Milan? Looking to recharge your spirits? How does a pretty tranquil little town – on the shore of Lake Como, with spectacular mountain and lake views, verdant gardens overlooking the lake, quaint narrow streets (and not many tourists) – sound? On a sunny weekend morning in June, our destination was the little lakeside town of Varenna. This town, on the shore of Lake Como, turned out to be a fantastic visual treat.

Art, architecture, history, beauty – we discovered all that and more in Florence, the capital of Tuscany. Florence finds itself on almost every tourist itinerary of Italy. We now know why. We boarded an Italo train from Milano, and in about 2 hours, we were in the capital of Tuscany. In the next couple of days, we were completely enchanted by the magic of the Renaissance city. I must confess: We skipped the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia.