A fairy-tale city, as seen from above.

I remember seeing all those beautiful restaurants by the water, and the houses and hotels promising the ultimate Italian summer bliss

As soon as I saw the sunflower fields far as the eye could see, I knew we had entered Tuscany. No other place could be this beautiful, so green and inviting to all the pleasures of the world.

It must have been Erota

luring me with her

olives and her wine

Whichever form of the paradise may fit your taste, the island of Ibiza, famous for its discos and pumping party scene, remains a paradise for all. An account of my trips and evolving perceptions of it from 1997 till today.

The only reason that small, dull Livorno is even on the map is because it is the closest maritime access to both Florence and Pisa.

Messina, Sicily is forever linked in my memory with a rather peculiar character I met there. To add to my list of ” random people met on trips” meet Carlo.

The Greece I found; after a train to Bari and a ferry to Korfu, was different from Miller´s untrodden paradise. Still, I fell in love with it forever; I fell in love with its musical language, its delicious food, its people, its traditions, and the sheer beauty of its perfect little white towns overlooking the blue Aegean sea.

She would always speak of crystal-clear waters and untrodden paradise beaches, but, somehow, though we lived only a few kilometers away from the port of Sant Antoni in Ibiza, where one could take an inexpensive boat ride to the island, over 10 years went by before I saw Formentera with my own eyes.

Anyways, after this colorful ride, we were in Herculaneum. The differences with Pompeii are directly apparent on arrival. This is like looking at a whole city from above, only the roofs have been removed. Buildings here are much better preserved than in Pompeii, as Ercolano inhabitants were killed by the tremendous heat, and not by the ashes.

Herculaneum used to be a beach resort for rich Romans, so the ruins, located below ground level, are looking at an imaginary sea, as the water has long ago retired. Pompeii is huge, while Ercolano is rather manageable and, provided you have a good guide, you can get a pretty clear picture of it in one day.