Just one hour by ferry from the crowded Tuscan coasts is The Elba Island or Isola d’Elba, a true paradise near the fancy cities of Florence and Siena.
The Elba Island is a green covered small paradise with crystal-clear waters and lovely sea bottoms. The romantic beaches satisfy everyone tastes: small and rocky, long and narrow sandy beaches, wide sandy, and cobble beaches, all characterized by warm transparent waters and a rich Mediterranean vegetation.
I reached this paradise by ferry in just one hour from the city of Piombino near follonica in the province of Grosseto, just one hour from Siena and two from Florence.
The Mediterranean breeze was already talking of great promises that were all kept by the great hospitality and warmth of the Elba people.
The entire island is a natural reservation, and here you will find spectacular natural sights, wonderful landscapes, preserved fauna, and cozy seaside villas and apartments. The villas at Elba have the ususal lovely marine style of Tuscan seaside villas, but their location perched on the side of the tree-covered hills make them enchanting. I truly loved our villa which also included a swimming pool set on the edge of the cliff, and our sight could space on a unique 180 degrees sea landscape that would take our breath away.
Sunsets have been unforgettable.
The Elba Island has a moltitude of small beaches and little gulfs that are almost unknown to the majority of people and that you can reach only by private boat. We rented a small boat and loved to spend the whole day at “our private beach”.

Each town is a lovely step to simple life, and nightlife is truly enjoyed at towns such as Marina di Campo, Procchio, Porto Azzurro, Capoliveri, Riomarina and many others wichoffer clubbing, dancing, live music, lovely strolls along the beach and plenty of fun for the wee ones.

Here you will also find the Jet Set of the European high life, from Italian actors to the princess Carolina di Monaco. However, the ambient, though elegant, stays very simple and affordable to anyone with a pair of jeans.

Truly to be enjoyed, Isola d’Elba is a pleasure for everyone, and we will surely make it our yearly step to Tuscany!! We love it!

Original post by Basil Gumming and software by Elliott Back

Tuscany it is really an incredible place with a lot of towns and villages to discover like Sorano

The Masso Leopoldino represents one of the most striking features of this incredible town.

The Rocca - as it is called in italian - has been appreciated for its strategical qualities since the Middle Ages and was probably fotified by additional structures before the 9th century.

Taking a drive in the south of Tuscany during your vacation, you will find a special little town. Park your car in the outside parking space and prepare to walk up hill into a fantasy world. You will first follow the path up to the fortress which has stood here for years - get a ticket and visit the underground museum.

The buildings both historic and the modern day rental vacation villas are made from the particular type of material called tuff. It is unique in color, and malability. The Tuscan vacation rentals farmhouses in the southern part of Italy are made of tuff.

Visit the incredible fortress, which is without cars and intervention of modern day activity. You will feel as if you have walked back in time. The large sandy colored blocks are testaments to the local activity. As you drive up to the town you will note that the roads are literally cut out of rock - high walls of tufo are testament to the use of this volcanic rock.

Original post by Mao tze tuscany and software by Elliott Back

Minder bekend bij de doorsnee toerist is het Sovjet Monument voor het rode leger in Treptowerpark.

Het hele monumentale complex werd gebouwd tussen 1946 en 1949. Het is de laatste rustplaats van 5000 sovjetsoldaten die sneuvelden bij de slag om Berlijn in 1945. De toegang tot het monument wordt gemarkeerd door een grote poort waarvan hierboven een afbeelding.

Waar ligt het
Google Maps

Hoe kom je er
neem de S Bahn 8, 9, 41, 42 of 85, uitstappen bij Treptowerpark

Entree
Geen

Meer info
Treptowerpark

Original post by Frank - CheesyWorks and software by Elliott Back

by Scott White

There is a hidden jewel in St Thomas called Caret Bay. Caret Bay is located on the lush tropical rainforest section of St Thomas. It is only two bays over from Megans Bay and one bay away from beautiful Hull Bay. Most tourists are very unfamiliar with this area of St Thomas. They typically rush to see the things that most tourists do. They travel to Megahans Bay and downtown for shopping.

New homes are being built in East Caret Bay. These homes are going to be built on land that sells for 250,000 so cost to build a home will be in the millions. It is certainly a great area to be in. So far none of the lots are sold because the real estate market is somewhat down. But they will be a very good investment in a few years.

Caret Bay is home to many locals. Homes range from 200,000 to the multi millions. Most homes offer water front views and have been owned by the same families for many years. You will find the locals to be very friendly, courteous and helpful.

Wouldn’t it be great if tourists could see all of what St Thomas has to offer, including Caret Bay? You can rent some beautiful Caret Bay Villas on the North West section of the island. They include 14 luxury villa rentals and are waterfront property. There are 14 villa units varying in size. Some of the units are two bedrooms while others are four bedrooms. They all offer waterfront views and are very private.

What is great about the area of Caret Bay is the privacy and seclusion you get on the very busy Virgin Island. This is tough to come by on St Thomas as it is a very busy island. The population of the island is 50,000 but at any given day there could be two to seven cruise ships in. This increases the population of the island by up to one hundred percent. Most tourists do not even know that Caret Bay exists. Some of the local taxi cab drivers take many of the cruise ship tourists by cab up to the North side of the island because of its beauty. This is really nice because some people will get to see the beautiful side of Caret Bay.

Some other interesting things to do in Caret Bay are surfing. The waves come in from the north and can be quite large. Many locals will rush to the beaches when a North swell comes in. It is great fun just to watch them all riding in the waves. Some of them are really nice and will give you lessons while other surfers do not want you stealing their waves.

St Thomas is a small island of about forty two square miles. The roads are windy and very hilly. Driving to Caret Bay from the airport could take you minutes just to go a few miles. This is because the roads do not go straight like the crow flies but instead go up and down and wind along the hillside. If you left Caret Bay and wanted to go to the East end of the island the trip could take you more than an hour to get there. That is a long drive for a tiny island.

The sunrises are absolutely phenomenal in Caret Bay. It is really stunning to see the sun come up every morning at seven AM, the sun is really strong. They also get beautiful rainbows over the bay which is awesome. Then there is sunset to the west which is breathtaking.

Now is a great time to invest in this hidden jewel. If you are interested in some property you might want to speak to a local real estate agent to see what is available. Because the real estate market has simmered down just about everywhere you could probably get a really good deal. The property would most definitely increase in value over a short period of time.

Another unbelievable feature is the aquamarine water that is right outside your door. The water is truly amazing and cannot even be described. The temperature of the water never goes below seventy eight degrees. That is pretty warm water.

So consider Caret Bay the next time you are on vacation when in St Thomas. It is really a very pristine, untouched part of the island that you will most definitely enjoy. And if you are in the market to purchase a home, land or both then you should most definitely consider that area of the island.

About the Author
Villa Nicoletta is located in Caret Bay. If you’re looking for Caret Bay Villas for rent then this is the luxury villa for you.

Original post by Larry and software by Elliott Back

Phew - we’ve finally made it as far as Broome. After an easy 21 hour bus trip up the west coast, we have finally made it as far as oasis-of-civilisation (and mobile reception…), Broome.

Unfortunately we don’t have much time here. After the sedate pace we’ve set for the rest of Australia, we find that we now need to step up a gear to get everything done by the time we leave in July. Therefore we’re leaving on a tour tomorrow morning and will be away from civilisation (and the civilising power of the internet) for 5 days until we reach Darwin. Trace says hooray.

Anyway, in the meantime I’m uploading some photos of the Ningaloo peninsula for your perusal - I may even get them linked here, but if not they’ll be available to those on facebook until I can add the link.

Original post by Iff and software by Elliott Back

We’ve now snorkelled with whale sharks, the biggest fish in the world!!! What an amazing experience…

We’re here in Exmouth at the northern end of the Ningaloo Reef, where whale sharks pass through on their migration between April and July. They’re filter feeders, and they like coming here to feast on the mass coral spawning that occurs about April each year. These fish are massive and gorgeous with loads of spots and stripes. We’ve been looking forward to seeing them — let alone swimming with them — for over two years now.

We were in a group of 15 passengers and five crew on an all-day tour of Ningaloo Reef. First up, we had a lovely snorkel session to get used to our snorkel gear and wetsuits (very flattering — NOT!!! […says you - I thought we looked pretty fly - Ed]). There were such beautiful fish and corals as well as two big, gorgeous sting rays. But of course we were all anxious to get to the whale sharks!

We then relied on a spotter plane (shared by at least three other boats) to locate a whale shark for us to see. When one was found, we zipped over to it, joining three other boats. The whale sharks are unpredictable; they can dive deep at any time or just swim quickly away. We didn’t actually get to see that first whale shark; he dove deep before the other boats’ passengers finished swimming with him. But soon enough we found another whale shark.

We passengers were split into two groups because a maximum of ten people can swim with any whale shark at a time. (It’s great to see these rules in place to protect the whale sharks.) Luckily Iff and I were in the first group to go in. As soon as the shark was spotted, our group assembled on the back of the boat with snorkel gear on and ready to go. As soon as the boat was near enough to the whale shark, we were told to jump in quickly; there’s no time to waste when the shark might disappear at any second, and there’s another group (and possibly other groups on other boats) waiting to jump in next. So in we jumped with a distinct lack of grace but a whole heap of excitement.

We’d been given strict instructions about spacing out around both sides of the whale shark and how to stay far away enough from the shark so as not to stress him. So the first few seconds were taken up by positioning ourselves. As soon as I could dunk my face in the water, I was a bit confused to see a mass of bubbles from my and the other swimmers’ efforts to get into place; I couldn’t see any whale shark even though our team leader was pointing dramatically in one direction. Then I looked the right way and the bubbles cleared, and my jaw mentally dropped onto the ocean floor. This absolutely massive, gorgeous whale shark was looming just a few metres away from me. I was so stunned by the beauty of all his spots, I forgot to swim. I just floated there, gobsmacked and thrilled to bits. I’d expected to be scared, being so close to a big fat shark. But each whale shark we saw was completely unconcerned about us; he was just swimming gently along with mouth opened to filter through any small fish/plankton in the water. These things are so powerful, they barely move their huge tails to propel their massive bodies through the water. Course, if they want to speed up, their tails move quite a bit!

With that first whale shark, I was too busy being amazed by his size and spots to notice the many other things about him: his stripes and other markings, his fins, all the fish on/around him, any movements of his head, etc. I quickly remembered I needed to swim along with him, or I’d lose my good view of him. And then after what seemed like a lifetime but was probably only a minute or so, we were told to stop swimming so our other group could get to the whale shark. We got back onto the boat with huge smiles on our faces.

That experience alone would have been thrilling enough. But there was more! We swam with a whale shark three more times; I believe they were four different sharks, but I’m no expert. All I know is that every time was so thrilling and amazing. The last shark we saw actually circled our boat a fair bit; before our group jumped into the water to swim with him (the other group went first), we could see him clearly from the boat, and he looked so huge. I should note that the whale sharks seen on these tours are usually juvenile males (they’re so huge and they’re not even fully grown yet!), which is why I refer to each one as a he!

It was so wonderful to be in the water with these glorious animals, I can’t even think of strong enough words to express it all. Suffice to say, our expectations were so high after waiting so long to do this, and the whole experience far surpassed our expectations. Absolutely brilliant! And as if the whale sharks weren’t enough, we saw at least a few humpback whales arching over the water and breaching as well as some big manta rays with their mouths open to filter food. It was a perfect day!!!

The rest of our time in Exmouth has been very relaxing (ie lazy!). We’ve wandered around the wee town a fair bit, checking out various types of cool cockatoos and several wild emus roaming around. We were in a park in town, where a big emu was looking for food, and we heard a little girl say, “You’re not supposed to be in town, emu! You’re a wild animal!” Cute!

This part of Australia — Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef — is such a gem for life of all sorts. The marine animals are so amazing, but so are the stromatolites and all the birds and reptiles. It’s thrilling to be here and such a worthwhile adventure. Tonight we get the bus to Broome, and we’ll miss this corner of the world!

Original post by Trace and software by Elliott Back

I’ve added some pictures from our west coast adventure.

Original post by Iff and software by Elliott Back

Aantal inwoners: 3,4miljoen
Oppervlakte: 891,82 km²
Taal: Duits
Tijdzone: GMT/UTC +1 (Central European Time)
Valuta: Euro

Original post by Martijn and software by Elliott Back

Berlijn is de bruisende hoofdstad van Duitsland en een van de grootste steden van Europa.
Door de ruime opzet met veel groen is Berlijn een erg geliefde stad . De charme van Berlijn wordt gekenmerkt door de combinatie van oude gebouwen en oorlogsmonumenten enerzijds en moderne gebouwen anderzijds. Door de geschiedenis van de stad is er geen echt stadcentrum. Toch zijn er talloze cafés, bars en discotheken verspreid door de stad te vinden. Doordat er geen wettelijke sluitingtijd geld is Berlijn de uitgaansstad van Europa.

Original post by Martijn and software by Elliott Back