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Hotel Villa Carlota in Florence, Italy
Villa Carlota hotel in Florence is a 4-star hotel. We stayed here overnight just day before New Year in 2015. We arrived here after paid a visit to the leaning tower of Pisa and short wanderings around Tuscany vineyards. Previous night we spent at another 4-star hotel in Lucca. Read more: Albergo Celide Hotel Review in Lucca, Italy. Villa Carlota compared to Albergo Celide is a truly a 4-star hotel and I will definitely return to…
'I Fossi' Restaurant in San Gimignano, Italy
I Fossi is a small roadside restaurant located in San Gimignano town in Italy. We arrived here just shortly we paid a visit to the Leaning tower of Pisa. We made a stop here by chance, just because noticed there is one free parking spot available. Unfortunately we managed to order just two cappuccinos and noticed there is a queue with cars on the nearby street, some lady had arrived to the hotel (turns out there is a hotel as well at…
Roadside cafe near Surami Mountain Pass
I'm not quite sure what name this pace actually wears - I started to call it Perevelnaya (From Russian: Перевальная) which in English might sound like Next to the Mountain Pass. Since this cafeteria is actually located next to the Surami mountain pass, I believe there is nothing wrong with such of interpretation by me. This cafe is a regular stop for me, whn traveling from Tbilisi to Kutaisi by car, in most cases I'm heading to Kutaisi…
Cafe 'Jumis' in Skrunda
Cafe Jumis in Skrunda was among my top dining places during Summer 2015, because of it's close location to our rural house. Located next to the highway connecting Riga with Liepaja in Skrunda town, they serve a typical bistro food here for a very attractive prices. They definitely have the best desserts I have tried in these parts of Latvia. Banana, plum and other milkshakes just rocks here. Cafe Jumis in Skrunda Daily menu at…
Cafe 'Pagrabiņš' in Kuldīga
If you are the lucky one and you have a chance to visit picturesque Latvian town of Kuldīga, make sure you make your dinning out at town's of of the best cafe's/ restaurant - Cafe Pagrabiņš. Or take a look of another Kuldīga restaurants here. Located in the heart of Kudlīga Old town on Baznicas street, this place offers traditional Latvian cuisine for a very reasonable prices. Cafe Pagrabins in Kuldīga Located next to the…
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 instead of wondering at this oblique tower). This time I felt very energized, armored with a tripod and…
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 wait for about some 10 minutes to get a free table (seems this place is extremely popular), by…
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 month I realized the grass is back, and I was left with no option as to loan a trimmer again, this…
Kidobani Trading center in Tbilisi
When something from your home appliance or electronics are broke and you think you could fix it by your own - Kidobani trading center in Tbilisi is a great place to find those small details you are looking for. Kidobani trading center is located between Tbilisi Railway station and Dinamo arena, next to the Dezerteer Bazaar. I have bought here replacement battery for a laptop, twice a tap nozzle and some plumbing insulation…
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 pilgrimage sites in Georgia, due to its association with St. Nino, the 4th-century female evangelist of…
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 some 5 hour drive and were in our casual clothes staff members probably thought that we are some…
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 Italian cappuccino, and with the permit from bar staff members I was allowed to make some…
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, known colloquially as the common stinkhorn, is a widespread fungus recognizable for…
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: A Little Bit From Italian Riviera (Somewhere Around Genoa) Portofino - Italian fishing village…
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 wooden floor is in really bad condition and it has a huge holes on it, since we were not into a…
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 fact - we stopped in Genoa for just 5 minutes (and we even didn't know back then that we are…
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 town of Ferno to have a Italian style supper at Osteria San Martino. If you are traveling by car…
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 about of entering right coordinates to TomTom device. This restaurant was located some 20 minute drive…
Milan–Malpensa Airport
Milan - Malpensa is one of the major airports serving city of Milan in Italy. Just to mention, there is another airport serving city of Milano- Bergamo. Milan–Malpensa Airport, formerly City of Busto Arsizio Airport, is the largest airport for the Milan metropolitan area in northern Italy. It serves 15 million inhabitants in Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria. The airport is located 49 kilometres …
David Gareja Monastery Complex
David Gareja Monastery complex probably is among top tourist attractions in Republic of Georgia you should visit. Located in the desert, bordering with Azerbaijan this place provides very spectacular views. Best ways to get here is either by using your own vehicle or hiring a driver or booking a trip. The monastery complex includes hundreds of cells, churches, chapels, refectories and living quarters hollowed out of the rock face. David…
Udabno - Almost Forgotten Village in Georgian Desert
Udabno is a small village located in distance some 50 km from Tbilisi. The chances you will visit this place is huge if you are visiting one of the most famous Georgia' s landmarks - David Gareji monastery complex. The main road from Tbilisi will take you through Udabno village if you are visiting David Gareji. When I first was at Udabno back in 2011 it seemed as completely abandoned place, but at the end of December, 2015 it looked that some…
More Paint Job - Base layer for Kitchen's Floor
Those of you following my blog have noticed I'm featuring home remodeling series here, it all started back in the Spring/Summer of 2015, when we inherited a lovely but very badly managed country house in rural Latvia. In today's photo series I will show you how using the most cheapest floor paint I gave a new life to a rundown wooden plank floor in our rural's house kitchen. But before that, take a look how it all started in this kitchen:…
Wine Tunnel Near Kvareli in Georgia (Winery Khareba)
Wine Tunnel owned by a winery Khareba is located close to the town of Kvareli, in region of Kakheti, republic of Georgia. It features not only exotic manmade tunnel built in the rocks, but it also has a large territory offering interesting attractions related to Georgian heritage. Guests can book a wine tasting tour here and will be provided with best selection wines from winery Khareba. I first visited this wine tunnel in the middle of…
Neighborhoods of Tbilisi - Varketili
In today's photo article I will speak about another neighborhood in Tbilisi - Varketili. Varketili is most probably famous because of the Varketili metro line connecting this part of city with city cente.In today's article most of the pictures are focused around exactly at this metro station. Varketili is probably not the most tourist visited place in Tbilisi, if you are hoping to find lovely wood carved balconies here or enjoy a swim…