Christmas markets are starting to become very popular in the world and especially in Europe in the past decades. Even though they have been around since the middle ages, their popularity has exploded in recent years, and nowadays most big cities around central Europe will take advantage of the November and December months to try and boost tourism with a Christmas market. Since they are kind of easy to set up, requiring only a few huts and serving a variety of 10 different foods, every city can easily set them up. However, they can get as complex as they want to push them, and some Christmas markets are absolutely phenomenal to visit. The Tour of central European Christmas markets Central Europe takes the cake for Christmas markets, and this year, I had plans to take a month and a half to visit some of the […]
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My DIY Vanlife Build: Giving Myself New Tools to Explore the World in a Different Way
Many people have asked me over the years, what I would do once I reach my final 195th country of the world and check off this incredible journey I spent the last 20 years to accomplish. “What’s next” have they asked me repeatedly. “Well, I will just do it again, just differently” would I simply reply. As you may have heard before, “traveling is all about the Journey, not about the destination”. And it was time to build a new style of travel to keep the journey as interesting as possible. Once I reached my final country visited in August 2021 and after the release of my memoir Globetrotter, I was ready to undertake my exploration of the world in a totally new way and in many different forms. One project that I had on my bucket list for years, was to explore the beauties […]
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Visiting Venice… Again, and Again !
This is a city that I keep coming back to. In fact, if there is one city in the world that I cannot get tiered of, and keep coming back for a stroll around, it definitely has to be Venice! Could I live in Venice? Definitely not… way too touristy. Is it the most beautiful city in the world? It might as well be! It is like a man made natural wonderland, a Disneyland for the eye, something that would be impossible to intentionally recreate nowadays where fake plastic amusement parks are the only thing we seem to be creating. A photographers paradise I must have been to Venice over 7 to 8 times if I can recall correctly. Each time it is like rediscovering it for the first time. I can do it for a few hours, and then I leave back to the […]
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Piran, the Slovenian Jewel of the Adriatic Sea
Piran, also known as Pirano, it’s Italian name, shines as one of my favorite and most beautiful city on the Adriatic coast! After visiting Rovinj and choosing it as the most beautiful city of Croatia in a previous article, Piran is toe to toe with Rovinj, probably even more beautiful! No wonder Slovenia kept this tiny opening coast to the sea where Piran is located as part of their territory. An example of Italian Gothic Architecture Piran is actually very small, just about 5000 inhabitants, but definitely boosts that amount to several thousand more during the peak summer season when all the tourists are around. Its reputation is quickly gaining some momentum and soon this tiny little town will be on everybody’s itinerary as it boasts some impressive character. Chinese tourist groups are already on the lookout as I’ve seen tons of them during […]
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What to do in a Few Days around Porec in Croatia?
After Rovinj, this is the other favorite for tourists looking for Beach and Sun in Croatia. Although Porec is a nice little medieval town, when speaking of Porec it is usually referred to as an area that stretches 37 km along it’s coast from north to south where several beach resorts are entirely devoted to mass tourism. Although Porec is still not as internationally famous as Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast, it isn’t a secret for Italians which flood the area every season and count for the vast majority of tourists seen, followed by a smaller proportion of Germans. A Coast designed for Mass Tourism The town of Porec is actually pretty small, measuring only 200m by 400m. It is the Romans who designed the current outlines of the streets in the old town, making it an important administrative center around the 2nd century BC. […]
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Visiting The Magical Istrian Mountain Towns in Croatia
Though the Istrian Coast gather much of the fame for its pristine blue seas and beautiful Venetian towns, another side of Istria should not be missed while visiting the area. The Istrian interior, a mixture of rolling hills, fertile plains and pine forests with medieval hilltop villages is just as impressive and interesting, making a day or two visit an ideal way to gasp in the experience! If you are the kind of person who gets enchanted by Toscany style Plaines, the Istrian Interior is sure to impress you just as much. Vineyard-dotted Hills and Medieval Towns The pace definitly slows down from the buzzing tourist lifestyle of the coast, but that’s actually a good thing! The main activity in this part of Croatia isn’t tourism as much, but rather wine-making, olive culture, asparagus harvesting and most importantly, truffle hunting (which you can actually take […]
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Rovinj Wins the Title of my Favorite City in Croatia
I’ve travelled extensively throughout Croatia over the years as it is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. I keep coming back because I never get tired of the blue Adriatic Sea, Venetian fortified towns along the coast, the food, the people, etc… And to win the title of the most beautiful city in Croatia is a hard one to designate. Rovinj is just a masterpiece, like few there are in Europe! I can imagine Dubrovnik being this nice before tourism destroyed it, so be quick to come and experience it before Hollywood comes before you, followed by the masses! All the beauty of Istria in one single Venitian Town Istria has been under Italian rule for so long that it is still omnipresent everywhere on the peninsula. Rovinj, also officially known as Rovigno as it is a bilingual city (Italian/Croatian), […]
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3 days in Pula, Epicenter of Istria in Croatia
So many people rush to Rome to see the Romain Arena without knowing that such constructions can be found in so many other places, and such places include tiny little Pula, a city in the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia of only 90 000 people. Apart from the beachgoers coming for the Croatian sun every summer, the impressive Romain arena gets little attention to what it deserves. It is actually one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. A Romain Capital with “Italian influenced” Croatia Arriving in Istria from Dalmatia or the Zagreb Area will be somewhat of a shock. Pula, the biggest city in Istria and eighth in the country, definitely has an Italian flavour left from its past. In fact, it was part of Italy for so long that most people will speak Italian as a second language after Croatian. The City […]
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Canadian Newspaper LaPresse Publishes my Travel Recommendations for 2019
Back in January, I was contacted by a Journalist from Canadian Newspaper LaPresse named Mrs Ballivy, concerning an article about experts recommendations for Canadian tourists to travel in 2019. Flattered by the trust and confidence giving by such a reputable newspaper, I accepted with pride! My recommendations appeared in two articles published by the newspaper, where out of my 9 recommendations, 3 were selected. You can find the link to these two articles, but I also thought I could share the remainder of my other recommendations with my loyal readers right here in this article. Two articles published by La Presse The two articles published by LaPresse were quite interesting and can be found in French at the following links. The first was published on the 12th February 2019 under the title Les destinations voyage de l’année where the authors kept Tallinn as my recommended […]
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Visiting Split in Croatia – Yacht Capital of the World
Probably the most liveable city in Croatia in my opinion, along with the Capital Zagreb, Split is a highlight on the Adriatic sea which never stops to amaze me! I have come here many times over the past few summers, and it truly feels like one of the trendiest place to be in the summer with most hotels booked out all summer long! Split is just one of my favorite place to be in the hot summer months! Enjoying its years of fame Everybody is talking about holidaying in Croatia these last few years, and this usually means flying directly to Split or Dubrovnik. The airport is constantly upgrading its infrastructure each time I fly in and enjoys a strategic advantage over Dubrovnik for being in the middle of the Dalmatian coast. But what makes Split so attractive to so many different types of tourists? It […]
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