Month: June 2023
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Random Moment #15 – Gypsy Moth
This playlist features four modern classical pieces for string instruments. A Spotify subscription is required to listen to the full length of each tune. But playing the samples without a subscription is still fun. Try it. Click ▶ to play Random Moment is a playlist series which we started posting during the COVID pandemic in…
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Porto Venere, Cinque Terre 3/6
On our second day in Cinque Terre, we went village hopping by boat on a Daily Ticket of Navigazione Golfo dei Poeti that allowed us to use all the routes included in Linea 02 (yellow line on map) in one day, from the port of departure to any destination, and return free of charge to…
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Manarola, Cinque Terre part 2/6
We visited two villages in Cinque Terre on our first day in the region. If you like to join us on this epic road trip to Tuscany from the beginning in Switzerland, click here for the first post of the series. After Corniglia, we caught the train heading back towards La Spezia and got off…
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Corniglia – Cinque Terre Part 1/6
Cinque Terre is an isolated area encompassing 20 km of Mediterrannean coastline. The terrain is mountainous with terraces dug into the sides of steep hillside, above the cliffs over the Ligurian sea. Despite the isolation or perhaps because of it, the villages have become very popular destinations for hiking and swimming. I (Chris) first read…
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The Girl from Ipanema, Astrud Gilberto RIP
Astrud Gilberto (née Astrud Weinert) died a couple of days ago at the age of 83. We love Bossa Nova and were sad that a superstar forerunner like her passed away. She recorded the original “Girl from Ipanema” at 22 which became a big hit in 1963. The song earned a Grammy award for the…
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Road trip – from Genoa to La Spezia
After Genoa, we drove southeast for about 2 hours to reach La Spezia, where we spent two nights. From there, we explored Cinque Terre (“Five Lands”) by train and by boat. If you like to join us on this epic road trip from the beginning in Switzerland, click here for the first post of the…