Our Favorite Destinations in Europe

Independent travel to Europe has gotten so easy that anyone can do it, even us. Read about our trips, where we stay and how we find places to stay. How we travel by airplane, car, boat, train and by foot. The travelogues below cover Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, the Lakes and the Cinque Terre), Greece, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and England-.
John Vittoe and Christine Stupka Vittoe, our backgrounds
- Mallorca, 2007 -
New --> Charlotte, our granddaughter.
Charlotte's 1st Birthday
   Charlotte - Summer of 2007
If you plan on visiting the Cinque Terre area in Italy. You may want to try the:
La Spiaggia Hotel in Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy.
Click here for information about the La Spiaggia Hotel in the Cinque Terre, Italy.
The best Gelato in Monterosso al Mare can be found at Golosone Gelateria
Yogurteria and Creperia
on Via Roma
Try the local Gelato at Golosone on Via Roma in Monterosso
Click here for information about the Coombe House in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucester, England

While in England we like to stay at a small bed and breakfast. A convenient place to stay to explore the Cotswolds is:
Coombe House Bed and Breakfast
Bourton-on-the-water, Gloucester, England
.

Our travel tips.
(Updated September 2007)
Tips for Driving in Europe.
   Click Here to see photos and stories of people we met on our 4 week Europe 2003 trip.

Links to our Travelogues and thousands of Photos (one or two are actually good!)....

A few photos from Bruges, Belgium, November 2003

Christmas and New Year's in Tuscany - 2002.

Europe 2002, Spain (First of 5 countries) 8 week trip.

Europe 2002, Greece (Second of 5 countries) 8 week trip.

Europe 2002, Italy-France-Belgium, 8 week trip. (Photos)

Italy-Lake Orta-Cinque Terre-Tuscany May-2002.

Italy-The Vineyard-The Castle-Tuscany/Umbria June-2002.

Globe Pub, Chagford, Devon Nov-2001.

May, 2001 - Christine and Nancy do England.

Italy-2000, Just some photos of places and friends.

Ireland-May 2000.

New Spain, September 2003 - 5 week trip.

New Some photos from Sept - 2003 - 5 week trip to Europe.

A weekend trip to a Greek Village in Florida!

England-November 1999 and 2000.

Greece, Italy, Monaco-September 1999.

England-November 1998.

Italy-Lake Como, Tuscany, Cinque Terre-October 98.

England-May 1998.

Czech Republic, Siena, Cinque Terre-October 1997.

Greece-June 1997.

Some Travel Tips and our Travel Philosophy

Tips for Driving in Europe.


One bothersome thing about all the information on the Internet is the accuracy. We have found that people can travel and have a really great time at a place and another couple can go to the same place and not enjoy it at all. So take anything we say with a grain of salt. The place may have been excellent for us and not so good for you. Generally we don't say many bad things about a specific place. If we have a so-so time, we just don't go back. Too many people have a bad experience and then write a bad post or review to get even. Sometimes I think the bad experience is their own fault. One time I saw a hotel owner spend almost an hour trying to get a single woman a room in another town where there was a festival. Then, the next day the woman was waiting in front of the hotel for a man who she had paid to take her luggage to the train station. The man never showed up. The hotel owner told one of his employees to carry her bags to the train station. We talked to her at the train station and she couldn't say enough bad things about the hotel owner. Go figure?

Another thing I hate is the search engines. You search for a hotel in a city and the first 10-20 "finds" are from companies that have no relationship to your search. They are automatically generated pages that try to sell you something. Some of the so called travel help sites are just trying to "harvest" your email. Some others allow people to post anonymous "reviews" which are just places for people to flame an establishment. A good example of this is Tripadvisor where they accept anonymous "reviews". Come on, if you write a review, sign it. We don't have a lot of recommended places on these pages. We do sometimes tell where we stay and what we did or what happened and we never want your email. If we really like a place we may say nice things about it. Remember, your visit and your expectations may be different.



Check out Brian Lucas' Rec.Travel Library for personal travelogues, trip reports, and worldwide tourist information.

Some direct links to our travelogues without using frames are listed below.
Tuscany, Italy (2002),   Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Belgium (2002),   Umbria, Tuscany (2002),   Italian Lakes (2002),   Tuscany (2000),   Ireland (2002),   Chagford, Devon, England (2001),   England (2001),   England (1999),   Italy (1999),   England (1998),   Greece, Italy, Monaco (1998),   England (1998),   Czech Republic, Italy (1997),   Greece (1997),
and our  Travel Tips
 
The following are family links:

Click here for a Photo of John's first house in Savannah, Georgia - This is not a joke.
Click here for some photos taken by Mandi and Brian when Mandi first moved to New Zealand.
Click here for some photos of Mandi and Brian's Wedding in New Zealand.
Click here for some photos of our house ....after Christine starting decorating.
Click here for some July 2006 photos of our house.
Click here for some Christmas 2006 photos of our house.