by Michael Bauche
on June 7, 2023
I have been to Italy once before in 2012 and Rome was never really on the radar.
In May 2023 we spent 4 days in Rome being tourists before we started a housesit in Trevignano Romano, 45 minutes north of the city.
Impressions of my first visit to Rome Italy.
Rome is a city that displays simultaneous elements of disciplined geometry and organic randomness. Some of the buildings employ amazing geometry, on the other hand life in the streets is wonderfully disordered.
The city is like a living museum – a cross between an exhibition and a living room.
Everywhere you look there is something of interest, around every corner there is a building that inspires awe. There are fantastic details hidden in obscure corners.
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by Michael Bauche
on May 30, 2023
One of the reasons I love to travel is it allows me to constantly view the world with fresh eyes.
Familiarity has a tendency to erase the obvious; the world can lose its sparkle and become dull after a while.
Seeing different sights, hearing new languages, and walking upon new terrain keeps things fresh, so routine things are never really become routine.
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by Michael Bauche
on May 21, 2023
Impressions of Istanbul
Europe’s largest city has almost 16 million inhabitants.
Istanbul is at the cross roads between Europe and Asia. The city straddles the Bosphorus Strait with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. This prime, enviable location has resulted in a city up to it armpits in history, with civilization built upon civilization.
by Michael Bauche
on May 14, 2023
Impressions of Dubai
We stopped in Dubai for a few days in April 2023 to break up the trip from Hanoi to Istanbul.
My first impression of Dubai is how clean it is, after South East Asia it was a pleasant change. It was wonderful to be able to sit by a waterway and actually be able to see the water – not rafts of garbage, and not have your guts heave and twist with the smell.
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by Michael Bauche
on May 7, 2023
I had not travelled in South East Asia since 1995, just after I had met Yvonne in New Zealand. That year we explored in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand before moving onto Nepal and India. I have fond memories of our time here.
2023 is our first real unimpeded travel year since the start of the whole Covid thing. Spending almost a whole year in St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2022 was great, but left us with really itchy feet. [continue reading…]
by Michael Bauche
on April 28, 2023
We spent almost 2 long weeks in the following areas of Hanoi in March 2023. [continue reading…]
by Michael Bauche
on April 15, 2023
Luang Prabang is located in northern Laos in the countries mountainous region. Hazy, green limestone hills surround the city. [continue reading…]