Blog Archive: January 2016
Blog Traffic and Income Report for 2015 - 347,035 users / $9,819.71
This time of the year have come when I'm looking back on previous 2015 year. In today's article I will reveal some data behind the scenes - both traffic and income for whole year of 2015.
If you have been following my blog for a while, you have already probably noticed that once in a month I cover monthly traffic and income reports. Make sure you…
Leaning tower of Pisa in Italy
We all have heard about Pisa tower, I won't be too original by saying - it's that leaning tower located somewhere in Italy.
At the end of 2015 I had a chance to visit this place second time in my lifetime (my mom, told me that I was here back in 1990 or 1991, but was so tired that refused to leave our tourist bus and took a lovely nap…
Restaurant Antica Drogheria in Lucca, Italy
Restaurant Antica Drogheria is located in Lucca, Italy, we discovered this restaurant by accident, just shortly checked in at Albergo Celide hotel and decided to make an evening walk beyond Lucca's city wall.
And here it was - another great Italian restaurant located on Via Elisa, 5.
Antica Drogheria in Lucca, Italy
We had to…
Feast in Kuldiga
A brilliant festival is held in town of Kuldiga (Western Latvia) each year just shortly after midsummer. In today's Piece of Life photo project series I would love to share some images from Feast in Kuldiga (taken July, 2015)
Such trade fairs are pretty popular in Latvia - visitors can buy goods from local craftsmen, artists…
Lawn mowing in the backyard territory
If you have been following home remodeling series on my blog you might tell I'm starting to repeat - another article on lawn mowing? Yes, another article on that. After trying mowing grass with a scythe I just understood how hard it actually is and started to look for some more serious tools, and then trimmer replaced scythe. Just after some…
Postcards from Jvari Monastery
Postcards from... are actually a really cool photo project some can run, after submitting postcards from Tbilisi and postcards from Sighnaghi (both are located in wonderful Caucasian Republic of Georgia) I realized - postcards from.. are going to be more often featured on Piece of Life series photo posts.
In today's article - let me share…
Tbilisi - Fairyland in Winter
It was an early morning at the end of January when my better part awakened me and told me - hey, it's snowing - it's time to make those lovely and socially sharable Tbilisi winter photos!
That's exactly we actually did - after some five minutes the coffee was served, and 10 minutes later we were already on street catching a taxi. I was so…
Postcards From Sighnaghi
Signhaghi (Region of Kakheti, Republic of Georgia) has always been a special place for us to visit. Probably because it's pretty far away from nations capital Tbilisi, we have been heading rarely, but every visit here has been spectacular at least. Learn more about my Travel guide to SignagiView to Sighnaghi townThe town and its environs are…
Bodbe Monastery
The Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe is a Georgian Orthodox monastic complex and the seat of the Bishops of Bodbe located 2 km from the town of Sighnaghi, Kakheti, Georgia. Originally built in the 9th century, it has been significantly remodeled, especially in the 17th century.
The monastery now functions as a nunnery and is one of the major…
Albergo Celide Hotel Review in Lucca, Italy
Albergo Celide is a four star hotel located in Lucca, Italy, we stayed here overnight at the end of 2015, although this is a four star hotel, speaking of staff members I can call it barely one star hotel.
Probably arriving to this hotel requests that you arrive in a suite or evening gown, since we arrived here from Milan after …
Tortuga Snack Bar in Portofino, Italy
In today's restaurant reviews series I would like to mention some small but very stylish snack bar in Portofino, Italy - Tortuga Snack Bar
We made a stop in lovely Italian Riviera village of Portofino at the end of 2015, this place inspired me a lot and I made a few HDR photography here. Tortuga Snack bar we made a short stop to enjoy delicious…
Common Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)
Let me introduce you with a really interesting fungus (mushroom) you can find across deep forests in Europe and North America - Common Stinkhorn, also known by its Latin name - Phallus impudicus.
At the end of this post you will learn how you can prepare a medicine out of this fungus!
Phallus impudicus
Phallus impudicus,…
Summer in Latvia
Ask me - what does Latvia associates to me - and I will answer - haystacks and mild Summer nights. Unfortunately last summer (2015) I didn't find any haystack in Latvia at all (instead they are using hay rolls), but I did enjoyed some wanderings in cornfields (and, yes, they are great for photography)
In today's Piece of Life …
Portofino - picturesque harbor village in Italian Riviera
Portofino is an Italian fishing village and vacation resort famous for its picturesque harbor and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors. I paid a short, but very remarkable visit here at the end of 2015, during a short 7 day trip around Italy.
We arrived to Portofino from Genoa (Read my first impressions:…
Fixing holes in the floor with plaster mixture + second layer of paint
Welcome back to the home remodeling series, in today's article I'll show how I patched a holes in a hard wood floor using ... a plaster mixture.
But before that, please take a look on More Paint Job - Base layer for Kitchen's Floor and How to Patch and Plaster in your old Rural house
After I painted first base layer of paint I noticed that…
A Little Bit From Italian Riviera (Somewhere Around Genoa)
Just shortly we landed at Milan/Malpensa airport and stayed at lovely Holiday Inn Express hotel, in the next morning we started to head to Genoa. Unfortunately I did not paid much attention to all the small town lets located next to the sea, and know by writting these lines I wonder what names does actually these lovely places bear.
The fun…
Old New Year's fireworks in Tbilisi
While there is a good reason to visit St Mark's square in Venice, Italy (that's exactly we did this New Year) - the chances to photograph New Year's fireworks turned much brighter from our Tbilisi's apartments balcony.
Shortly before clock turned twelve on night between January 13 to January 14, we made a moka coffee, I installed a tripod…
Holiday Inn Express Milan-Malpensa Airport Hotel (Case Nuove, Italy)
We stayed overnight at Holiday Inn Express Milan-Malpensa Airport hotel just shortly we landed at the airport and took our rental car from FireFly.
It turned out that FireFly office was just some 200 meters from this hotel, so we didn't had much driving for the first day from during our seven day trip in Italy. OK, we drove to the nearby…
Osteria San Martino in Ferno, Italy
This was the first time I ate at the real Italian restaurant, and my first experience was more than satisfactory.
Shortly after we landed at Milan/Malpensa airport, took our rental car, and checked in at nearby hotel, we started to explore TripAdvisor for some lovely place to have a Italian supper. Osteria San Martino popped up, so it was all…
Railroad crossing in Skrunda municipality, Latvia
Skrunda is actually a very lovely small Latvian town, you can find here both Soviet military heritage (Read: Skrunda-1 Abandoned Soviet Military Ghost Town In Latvia) , delicious Latvian cuisine (Bistro 'Elvi' In Skrunda) or just enjoy a lovely walk near river Venta (Read: Skrunda Open-Air Stage and Park).
In today's Piece of Life…
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Berlin Brandenburg Airport
In April 2026, I had my first experience with Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) while flying the Riga–Berlin–Riga route with airBaltic. This was my first time using Berlin’s main international airport, and overall, it left a solid impression—modern, functional, and relatively easy to navigate. About a decade ago, I had the chance to travel through…
Mumbai & Goa / India Trip
It has already become something of a tradition for us - escaping the cold during our daughter’s winter school break and trading grey skies for warmth, color, and a slower rhythm of life. Each year, we carve out about three weeks to leave Tbilisi behind and head somewhere sunnier. And more often than not, that “somewhere” turns out to be India.Our…