Southern Europe

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The Duomo and more

Outside and around the Duomo I had the alarm set for 0630 for a video call with my brother at 0730 to help with some issues.  Despite the early wake-up, I didn’t set out till 1000.  I didn’t feel the urge to explore Milan apart from some nominal sights. I took the metro to San […]

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Verona stopover

Going to Verona I took the vaporetto to Santa Lucia station where I boarded the train to Verona, departing at 0910.   We crossed the 3.85km railroad bridge, constructed in 1846 which connects Venice to mainland Italy. The train reached a maximum speed of 162 km/h during the journey and about 1h30 later I was in […]

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The outer islands by ferry

Getting started Rather than go into museums that I have limited interest in, I thought I’d explore the outer islands of Venice.  I bought a 1 day vaporetto (waterbus ticket) which was valid for 24h.  This would still be valid for when I need to get to the railway station tomorrow  😊 I started with […]

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Exploring Venice on foot

Walking Tour I started my exploration of Venice around 0900, by roughly following the walking tour route in an old guidebook.  From my accommodation, I walked south towards St Mark’s square, then west towards Ponte dell Accademia where I crossed the Grand Canal. Text continues after this gallery.     Here I explored the bank […]

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Venice after 29 years

Leaving Larnaca for Athens The bus to the airport runs along Larnaca’s waterfront and I was able to take it from near my apartment.  The airport is located near a salt lake or salt flats, which I hadn’t noticed when I arrived. I got to the airport after 0800 and had to wait around 20 […]

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Lazing in Larnaca

I woke at 0530 as I seem to be still adapting go the one hour time change after the end of daylight saving. I started my exploration of Larnaca with a walk along its waterfront which led me to the historic centre.  The St Lazarus church was free to enter and quite ornate.  The Byzantine […]

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Limassol stopover

Leaving Paphos The hotel buffet breakfast was less today as it was their last day before closing until April.  They only had 15 guests last night including myself. My plan was to go across the road soon after for my Rapid Antigen test for entry into Italy.  But the swabbing doesn’t open till 0900, so […]

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Ruins and a swim

Nea Paphos For today I had planned to visit Nea Paphos, the city’s main archaeological site, nice and early to avoid the heat. But with end of daylight saving, we had an extra hour in bed, which meant that it would be sunnier by the time I got there. Ahh well. Buffet breakfast at hotel […]

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Tomb of the Kings & more

Moving to Paphos I woke at 0600 after retiring at 2000.  Perhaps I’ve conquered my jetlag after three nights? Today I move on to Paphos by bus.  Since I was waking early still, I tried for the 0900 bus.  I nearly missed it as it had been double-parked and I couldn’t see past the buses […]

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North Nicosia and the Green Line

Crossing to the Turkish side I had set the alarm for 0630 because if I woke up later, there’s a risk of feeling like death warmed up, due to the time in New Zealand.  The hotel buffet breakfast at 0730 was good with the usual selection of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern stuff (eg. tomatoes, cucumber, […]

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