Europe 2024 Archives - The Mountain Manatee

The Amalfi Coast

Posted on July 27, 2024July 27, 2024 by mjqkummy

We took an all day boat tour along the Amalfi coast. Is a stretch of coast line in southern Italy with rocky cliffs and dotted with small Italian villages. There are a lot of old Roman towers along the coast and some interesting rock formations. We stopped for a short time in the village of…

Exploring Rome

Posted on July 21, 2024July 21, 2024 by mjqkummy

Today we got to visit some less visited sites in and around Rome. In the morning we boarded a train to Tivoli Tivoli is about 20 miles outside of Rome in the hills. There are some lovely villas including one made by emperor Hadrian. We got to explore Villa d’Este, it was constructed by a…

Ancient Rome

Posted on July 20, 2024July 20, 2024 by mjqkummy

Today was our first full day in Rome and our first stop was the Colosseum. I was looking forward to this but seeing it in person surprised me. Its about 2000 years old and still looks impressive. You can see it from far away, its massive up close, and you can still see some of…

Florence

Posted on July 20, 2024July 20, 2024 by mjqkummy

Today is our first full day In Rome and I forgot to post about Florence. We only spent one full day there and only really got to explore a little. Florence is filled with many impressive buildings but the most iconic is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore or The Duomo. Construction started in the…

The Canals of Venice

Posted on July 16, 2024July 16, 2024 by mjqkummy

We have visited two other canal filled cities on this trip but we finally made it to the prime canal city Venice. Really no other canal city can compare to Venice. Our Airbnb over looks a small canal that the gondolas like to use. Ashley has enjoyed leaning out the window and watching them paddle…

Schloss Neuschwanstein

Posted on July 15, 2024July 15, 2024 by mjqkummy

Yesterday Ashley and I visited Neuschwanstein castle. This is the quintessential fairytale princess castle in Europe. Its only about 150 years old and is situated in the Bavarian alps. Bavarian King Ludwig II ordered the construction of the castle in 1869. As a child Ludwig would visit a nearby castle during the summers and fell…

Canals of Amsterdam

Posted on July 13, 2024July 13, 2024 by mjqkummy

So unfortunately yesterday was our last full day in Amsterdam and I was sick. So I mostly laid in bed in the hotel. I did sneak out for a canal boat tour though it was raining and cold. We just got to Fussen so I’m hoping to feel better tomorrow for the castle.

Van Gogh Museum

Posted on July 11, 2024July 11, 2024 by mjqkummy

The first thing I did in Amsterdam was visit the Van Gogh Museum. Most travel sites recommend spending an hour or so there, but I spend over 3 hours there and honestly I wish I spend longer. The museum has the largest collect of Van Gogh paintings in the world with over 200 paintings (there…

Croissants of Paris

Posted on July 9, 2024July 9, 2024 by mjqkummy

I just left Paris but I’m already missing the croissants (I even brought one for the train out).

Ernest Hemingway’s Paris

Posted on July 7, 2024July 7, 2024 by mjqkummy

Today is the last full day in Paris for Ashley and I. We did a lot of site seeing including, the Pantheon and Notre Dame. But what I liked the most today was seeing the sites connected to Ernest Hemingway. After getting injured as an ambulance driver in World War I, Hemingway moved to Paris…