Travel Resources

After 30 years of visiting Paris, we rented an apartment in 2024 while I looked after clients for my Experience Design consulting business. We lived a few floors above a boulangerie, in the center of the Marais – around the corner from Rue des Rosiers. Every morning at 7:00AM we were awakened by the pleasant smell of baking croissants. Most evenings we walked around the Marais, or along the north bank of the Seine. We took high speed trains to European destinations. We got to know shop and restaurant owners in the Old Center of Paris and witnessed the miraculous rebirth of Notre Dame, back to life from the devastating fire of 2019.

After 4 decades of visiting Rome, we rented an apartment for 2 years near the Spanish Steps. The building was from the 1600’s with painted wooden ceilings and tall windows overlooking Via Frattina, in a pedestrian zone full of boutique shops, restaurants and street musicians. We had time to explore the city, make friends with locals and take the train to other regions of Italy. We loved the seasons and how Rome changes throughout the year. Along the way: we dove into Rome's deep history, enjoyed their cuisine, an empty St. Peter's, Florence in winter, trips to the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, Italian lakes, skiing the Dolomites, and a summer with the grandkids from the Amalfi Coast to Lake Garda.

The train is often the most enjoyable, practical and economical way to get around Europe. And getting better all the time with newer, faster trains and longer routes. You can also find local railways, sometimes with vintage cars that take you up mountainsides and along beautiful lakes. Here’s a quick guide to European train travel with tips for discounts and links to apps as well as how to avoid disruptions.

One of the most beautiful and varied tours you can take in Italy is the road from Riva del Garda up to the Brenner Pass on the mountain highway to Innsbruck. I love this region because it is Italy with a Germanic influence – a ‘well-run’ version of Italy, like you find in Ticino in Switzerland. The unique mountain topography, confluence of cuisines and rich history of the area make it an incredibly unique travel experience.

Verona is one of the most beautiful cities of Italy. The Adige river flows down from Austria and winds through this city at the foothills of the Alps, near Lake Garda. Founded as a Roman city, Verona still uses the Roman Arena for its Summer Opera and the ancient Amphitheatre for Shakespearean plays. An open market has been held daily in the same square for 2,000 years. Famous as the city of Romeo and Juliet, you will fall in love with this city and its people as I did first in the Summer of 1980.

Travel journal of our recent custom tour through Austria & Switzerland

Italy is not just one culture but a mix of many cultures built around ancient Mediterranean civilizations, and influences from across the Alps, rendering a history so deep and complex. Rome’s influence on our world is unending. There are a variety of climates and topographies – from the Dolomites and Alps in the north, the fertile plain of the Po and rich hills of Emilia Romagna (think Parmesan cheese and ham), the islands of Venice, the Apennine spine reaching down the peninsula, the green hills of Tuscany and Umbria, the bay of Naples and lemon-treed terraces of Amalfi, and the volcanos of Sicily and Aeolian islands.