My Baltic adventure starts in capital city of Vilnius. I arrived early to explore the city while wiping away jet lag. After hours of travel it is a privilege to arrive in a small easy-to-navigate airport.

My lodging at Shakespeare hotel placed me at an easy walk to cafes & shops in Old Town. And dinner of traditional potato pancakes &. Pear cider were perfect.

The next morning I took a walk before brekkie & I discovered Cathedral Square – great architecture.

Then later took a walking tour of Vilnius which oriented me to sites & gave me a good intro to history of city & country. Lithuania has a rich history & amazing resilience. Its own language I find puzzling. Its geographical location between Germany & Russia- very tough. Very impressed with people & pride. While stoic, the pride in keeping their city clean & safe is to be commended.

Vilnius was a walled city & most of walled was removed during Russian occupation.

There is a small eclectic self proclaimed republic which gives city a fun vibe.

We trained 30 minutes outside of town to Traika lovely castle near a charming village with a scenic lake. Fun walking through village hacking out homes, cafes & shops.

In all found Vilnius interesting, charming easy to navigate. Great traditional restaurants. Friendly & reserved citizens who seemed very proud citizens. Safe. Clean. Fun.

Great into to Baltic states.

Now on to Latvia

Am often asked what I pack for a 4-16 week trip. It is the same for 4 weeks as it is for 16 weeks.

I wear pants & sometimes leggings on flight & puffy jacket, windproof heavy tech layer & thin layer & sneakers on flight.

Additionally, I pack: 3 long sleeve tech shirts, 1 sleeveless tech shirt, 1 blouse, 1 very thin-cute- top, skort, tech shorts, 3 scarves, rain jacket, swim suit, socks, undies, Ecco sandals.

I take travel sized bottles of everything. And my goal is to have room in my pack for a few souvenirs.

Here is a photo of my apparel for my next trip. As I am biking have added bike shorts & the puffy jacket is not shown.

Keeping clothes to a minimum means easy travel in taxi,bus, ferry, train & airport. and no lost luggage.

Yes, I have worn sneakers to Michelin star restaurants, Vienna opera house & Amsterdam symphony and when I am seated – no one sees nor cares😆

This photo shows the items I wear on flights😄 in addition in my pack.

I always always always conceal my money belt. And, so does my family. Greg just thwarted a pickpocket in Naples and he has thwarted in Rome, Paris, Cape Town. 🤞we continue that luck. 🍀

Bon Voyage! 🛫

Travelling around Italy we see amazing frescoes in the most unlikely spots. While in Oaxaca Mexico we toured a fresco repair workshop & learned so much about the process. It has given me a new appreciation for the art form.

Ok – enough! We are so fortunate to see so many different art forms. Mosaics – Frescoes- Masters – street art. Amazing!

Greg went out for an early morning run & caught coliseum with great light

We strolled out around 8:30 before throngs of tourists

We did not plan in advance to visit Rome on Easter Sunday – it just happened. We bought our return airfare & it made sense to be in Rome. So we did not try to score tickets to any of the big papal events. Which turned out great. We had yummy chocolate croissants & cappuccino at a favorite spot. Met an interesting German woman winding up her vaca. Wandered over to our selected church – a fabulous French cathedral with amazing organ & choir music. And. On the way visited Pantheon. Later we wandered St Peter’s square. Here are our photos of the day.

Ask me about the kind nun we met on the bus!

There are 3 canals in our hotel neighborhood. People kayak, sup, & groups propel these boats – usually kids & their coaches encourage them with loud chants – they are having a blast!

Loved this place! Housed in an old distillery they are having fun and making a statement through art.

After our bike ride in Puglia, we sought out sunshine & warmer weather – we found that in Milano. Much to our surprise, we stayed here for 6 days. Transportation around town is easy – both walking & metro system. G found some pb games & I found lively neighborhoods.

We toured Duomo & its terraces and are transcended by both. We have seen some of the great ‘houses of worship’ and I think Duomo -Milan is our favorite. There are 130+ spires – hard to imagine the craftsmanship that went into creating them and now to maintain them. We also found the cathedral interior to be incredibly inviting. Especially when you consider that it holds 40,000 people. ( forget about getting tickets for Easter – gone!). So I am going to post too many photos – cuz we liked it!

We finished our bike trip today. Rain was predicted & we dissected the weather maps & for the most part – dodged the raindrops. We biked for 4 days and each day was spectacular. Small charming towns. Archeological ruins. Spectacular shorelines. We think the best we have seen. Whether you want to bike, hike,take cooking classes, or shop. This area is worth a visit- just make certain it is not rainy, windy, & cold!

We saw a number of hikers & this area seems to be popular for group hikes.

Really do not expect you to be – wowed- by these photos – rather just an idea of beauty in area.

Oh yeah – when you want a break – stop in one of the local shops for a cappuccino. Cap is great. Shopkeeps fun! Supporting local biz. And you will never ever pay more than $1.50.