Travels - abroad and at home  
  

Ankomst till La Palma We are no globetrotters who have explored Tierra del Fuego by bike, or Sumatra by horseback. We have never seen the nightlife in Bangkok or been surfing the waves of Polynesia. No, we prefer to learn a country by staying in quiet surroundings outside the towns and go sightseeing all by ourselves and visit interesting places. Culture, Nature, Food. Nice!

We have had no luck with any of the travels we booked at charter agencies, so at last we decided to be our own travel agents when we wanted to celebrate birthdays abroad and go on vacation. Herewith we give you the opportunity to travel with us and share links and experiences. We have added some from our wish list, too! Just in case!

Flights, tickets and where to stay on the island La Palma in the Canaries and in Chianti in Tuscany - we managed it ourselves!

Maybe it sounds very complicated for those who always take group journeys put together by travel agencies, but it is quite easy. To La Palma we got help from Air Iberia with the tickets (directly by e-mail) and to Italy our local travel agency booked tickets and a rent-a-car for us. That's all, no extra charges for the voyage.

Then we packed our travel bags and kindly asked a neighbour to water our flowers and collect newspapers and letters.

Poggetto, Chianti
 Poggetto, Chianti, Tuscany
Turismo Rural, La Palma

We searched the Internet to find a place to stay and we contacted the owners by e-mail. Payment via the bank. On La Palma it is the Turismo Rural and in Italy it is the Agriturismo who have these nice virtual offices, but they do have real people who will answer your letters. Please, click on the pictures above, and visit them! If you like to go there too, ask for their help. We do recommend them!

Below - explore the links to the countries we have visited. But if you like to go, travel first around at home virtually and you will find that you almost know the place, and the map, later.

It is also a good idea to print pages about interesting places and bring them with you, and perhaps show your findings from the web. You will make their day, we promise! Free coffee and cakes ...

The costs, including staying, car and tickets will be almost the same as through a charter agency, but you will be free to go whenever you want to, no packet tours included in the price, no cleaning lady will water the floors every day and rearrange your nighties. By staying in a B&B or in a rented house your host perhaps offers you to pick fruit in the garden and gives you baskets with vegetables and fruit from his own. It is fun to go shopping food in a foreign country and try its specialties in small local restaurants. Your host will tell you where to go - often a place he visits himself. Good addresses - we have tried many!

A little advice about comfort!
Check if there are any photos of the place you may want to rent. Are there only wooden chairs in the apartment or house? A sofa is nice! The furniture in the south of Europe can be a bit ascetic sometimes. Mostly the beds have no such things as a soft extra mattress, so ... Not quite comfortable after some nights if you have a bad back. Your own plaid of fleece may be fine, the nights are chilly in houses of stone, also in April and November, even if it is +22C during the day.

The weather just now - anywhere!

Memories of a good meal in a nice little place can become souvenirs. They will inspire your own cooking when you are home again! A souvenir can also be a small sack of Sea Salt, or a jar of special mountain honey, or a big chunk of cheese, or paper doilies or ...

Foreign Languages for Travelers - scroll down and you will find gaelic and welsh wordlists too!

Please click the pictures below and travel with us!

Kanarisk palm, Mazo, La Palma Vendemmia, Poggetto Craven B&B, Uffington Herons Cove, Cork
La Palma Chianti Great Britain Ireland
Romería, Cortegana, Andalucía Chateau Carbonnieux, Bordeaux Snickarglädje, Björknäs, Värmdö Europa 1725
Spain France Sweden