2026 – Europe

On April 5 we’re headed back to Europe for eight or so weeks. Here’s where our plans should take us.

Flew British Airways overnight to London then Milan. Nice individual cubbies in Business Class with lay-flat seats. Sadly, the food was dreck.

Arrived at our hotel just in time for check-in then walked the short distance to the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where we encountered very large crowds all trying for the perfect Instagram shot. Lovely pure blue sky and 75 degrees. Happy hour at our hotel. Walk to resto which is closed. Very…

After a really nice buffet breakfast at our hotel, we walked to and around the Brera neighborhood (“Milan’s most charming district”). Wandered through Chiesa di San Mauricio Al Monastero Maggiore aka “Church ofGold” aka Sistine Chapel of Milan. Flat white coffee on Starbucks Roastery terrace then toured inside. Got sandwiches to go from All’Antico Vinaio…

Lazy morning at our hotel then met up with friends Ron and Nancy (just in from Athens) at the train station for our trip south to Genoa. Checked into our hotel then took off exploring on foot. Genoa is full of beautiful old buildings, arcaded walkway, and charming side streets and alleyways. Aperativi, dinner, then…

Hiked to the port for our day-long boat trip. Disembarked for an hour in tiny, picturesque Camogli. Had coffee on the harbor at Sea Bar Bistingo then popped into an unexpectedly beautiful church with filled with gilt and crystal chandeliers. From the sublime to ridiculous, our next attraction was “the world’s largest frying pan”. Back…

Turns out Genoa is super hilly. We climbed up many, many stairs to Castello d’Albertis with great views of the port. Walked thru the Orto Botanico dell’Universita di Genova (botanical garden) which was in dire need of some attention from their gardeners. Trekked back downhill for lunch then discovered the elevator that would take us…

Up, pack, have breakfast and head to our bus to Nice. The drive is beautiful, most of it on roads perched way up the hill from the Mediterranean. We get our rental car which is big by European standards but not big in terms of all the stuff we have to load in it. We’ve…

Chickens and rabbits and kids! Oh my! Drove to the town of Brignoles for their Wine Fair. Turns out it was also an “everything you can think of fair” from farm animals to food to tractors to swimming pools to a mayonnaise-making demonstration and much more. Great fun! Back at the villa we celebrated Ron’s…

Drove to Grasse, the perfume capital of France, possibly the world. Quick lunch then hoped to catch the little tourist train but didn’t want to wait an hour so got a walking tour map from the Tourist Center and did our own. On the recommendation of the woman working there we drove to Mouans-Sartoux to…