Need to get away?

I need a vacation in the worst way....unfortunately I don't see one in my immediate future. The one I'm imagining is on the beach in the Outer Banks, far from crowds, with a book and my dogs, just sitting on the sand everyday, doing.....nothing. ahhhhhhh. Okay, back to reality. Whether or not a vacation is in your immediate future - these photos are sure to give you the travel bug.

Next time you do decide to travel, maybe instead of a generic hotel, try checking out apartments for rent in the area where you're going.  When my boyfriend and I went to Paris and Switzerland we stayed in apartments instead of hotels and we really, really enjoyed it.  I get tired of eating out, and it's nice to go to local markets and bring them back to the apartment and do a little of your own cooking.

Below are some examples of what you're missing when you stay in a hotel:

How about a little time in North Italy?

Or a  Paris pied-à-terre

Or this view out of your Barbados bedroom...yes please!!!

A swanky Detroit studio

or, some authentic New Mexico digs....

What do you think?  Ready for a vacation?

Interested in renting one of these properties?  I got all of these image properties from Inhabit Vacations  - your "Travel Curators"

The fairy tale beautiful Lake Como, Italy

Lake Como was our final destination in Italy last summer before heading to Switzerland. The pictures speak for themselves to the beauty of this one-of-a-kind playground for the lucky people who get to call Lake Como home -or one of their homes...

A little about Lake Como, courtesy of Wikipedia...
"Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces (such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni and Villa Carlotta). Currently, many celebrities have or had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, Madonna, George Clooney,[2] Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Branson, and Ben Spies. Lake Como is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy."

click on any image for a larger view

just a humble lake house...

Pictures don't do the grand villas justice

A view of the mountain tops from the ferry we took to tour the lake.

...just the local swimming hole. I steered clear of the water because in 2007 the bacteria levels in the water were deemed too high for safe swimming.

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
•Venice

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.

Venice: the famous attractions, but also the true beauty- intimate canals and charming old facades

Venice needs no introductions. This summer was my second time in Venice. The first time I went it was winter and we only had time to see the main attractions, so I left feeling unsatisfied. In my humble opinion the real beauty of Venice is in the residential areas - narrow canals, 1 person wide bridges, and laundry hanging over the canal to dry. I'm still going to show you the famous sites, but the last images are where I found the charm.

The one and only Grand Canal


St. Mark's square. A place where people try to touch pigeons they would otherwise find disgusting. Unfortunately Basilica San Marco was covered in scaffolding at the time we were there, so I'm including a picture from my fist visit below.

Souvenir shops abound

Street parking can be hard to find

The bridge is the famous Ponte di Rialto, which was so packed when we arrived that we could barely walk. If you don't like crowds or tourist traps don't linger here.

On the larger, commercial canals you can find beautiful and varying architecture

Gorgeous!

Now for my favorite parts of Venice - heading into the narrower canals





The facades on the back streets show wear, but combined with the lovingly tended flower boxes and laundry hung out to dry it creates a charming scene of life in Venice.


Sunset over a canal.

Have any of you been to Venice? What was your favorite aspect?


Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.

More from my summer in Europe - enchanting Siena

Siena was not originally on our schedule to visit this summer, but we ended up being able to squeeze it in one day. It's a laid back, charming Tuscan city with an amazing sense of history.

You can click on each image for a bigger version.


The famous Piazza Del Campo

You can read about Siena here.

Church of San Domenico on the hill.


I'd have to say the highlight of Siena for me was the interior of the Cathedral of Siena. I feel like if Tim Burton ever designed a cathedral interior, it would look like this. Black and white are the colors of the civic coat of arms of Siena, and the black and white stripes are really striking...

You can read about the Cathedral of Siena here


really cool, right?



I've seen A LOT of cathedrals and had never seen anything like this

There was also a room full of amazing painted manuscripts...which offer great pattern design inspiration...
What do you think? Has anyone here been to Siena? What did you think of the cathedral?

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy

So stay tuned for more Europe pics - next post will be featuring the one and only Venice!

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.