Hello! The range of accommodation in Venice is very wide but the average price of Venice Hotels is much higher than in any other Italian city. In some cases prices are truly exaggerated, but I assure you can find very great deals if you go on low season. Not only Venice hotels are very expensive, but he city itself is expensive. (Beware not to be fooled by restaurants. They charge much more to tourists than to Italians). When booking your vacation to Venice, just be patient and read as many Venice holidays reviews before going to Venice so you know where you can go eat and where not. For instance, I recommend to contact the Venice-Si ( you can find  Venice-Si contacts anywhere!). Venice-Si is an Hoteliers association which has offices spread around Venice’s down town (there also is one in Saint Lucia Venice Train Station), providing a list of budget hotels and best accommodation available in real time.

Consider that  2/3 stars Venice Hotels, are often less comfortable than the  2/3 star hotel in Mestre and its surroundings. So do not expect them to have comfortable bathrooms and showers, or elevators and all the amenities that are routine elsewhere. I have recently stayed at the Hotel Canada, in Campo San Lio. A simple but comfortable hotel because situated not far from the main tourist attractions of Venice. Venice’s Hotel Canada is located between the famous Ponte di Rialto and Piazza San Marco which are 10 minutes walking distance from the Hotel. If you want to stay at Hotel Canada, ask to stay in room number 6. It has a beautiful view over a romantic canal. I went to Venice in January which is, to me, the best time to visit Venice and also find best accommodation deals. I paid about € 80 for the double room at Venice’s Hotel Canada. I really suggest this Venice Hotel because its management is friendly and the staff, especially the one that is on duty at night, is very knowledgeable on what to see and how to get around the city. I must confess that I have received more tourist information at the hotel’s reception than at the town's tourist office.

Regarding the historical and cultural aspect of Venice, I have to admit that Venice is a very rich city historically wise, truly unique and advise everyone to take a trip to Venice at least once in their lifetime.

Venice is a city full of attractions and things to see. You can not get bored in Venice. I find it interesting just to stroll the streets, squares, narrow alleys and bridges of the city and enjoy the unique atmosphere of this incredible city. Being a city with long history, Venice is full of churches and cathedrals, museums, ancient palaces, mansions and historic villas. In addition, extending over the lagoon, Venice offers the possibility of excursions in neighboring islands and islets as the beautiful Murano and Burano. Even for those who love the cultural life of a new town, Venice will not disappoint you, for example, you can take a guided tour in the picturesque La Fenice Theatre or visit any construction proposed by the Biennale. How much you will be able to discover the city  will also depend on how much time you have to visit Venice. I suggest you should stay at least 1 week !

Continue reading Magic Venice: how to book your accomodation

Corfu does not reveal its identity immediately, but it must be discovered little by little, a bit 'at a time as did the Phoenicians thousands of years ago', when they landed in Corfu with their legendary boats and gradually discovered the colors, scents, sounds and sensations of this magic island.

Endless sandy beaches, picturesque bays, villages still glued to the steep slopes and forests with trees taller than 8 feet and the old town with its ancient stones and its hidden corners provide the framework for an island that through its charm knows  how to conquer the traveler. Did everyone know that Corfu is perhaps the best known of the Ionian Islands? I enjoyed this Island much more than other Greek Island I visited. People here are extraordinarily welcoming and friendly .

This island offers tourists everything from unforgettable landscapes, golden beaches, villages overlooking the sea, Byzantine churches to interesting museums to visit. Detail of the Museum of Asian Art, with many items collected by a diplomat who traveled to Corfu greek to most of the East. Near the city, visit the Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine Museum, the Museum of banknotes.

The island's climate is typically Mediterranean and evergreen vegetation in many cases goes to the sea, the show is guaranteed.
To the north of the island is mountainous while the south is flat, with a very green and fertile plain, which also houses the only golf course on the island.

In the north east of Corfu are the best beaches (Agios Georgios Barbati, Aghios Gordis, Kassiopi, Kalami, Sidari). I love Kassiopi ( white sand and few people). I suggest a trip inside, in the quiet mountain villages, arriving at which you can enjoy one of the most breathtaking scenery in the island. The highest mountain is the Pandokratoras, about 1000 m high. In the name of the mountain means "the Almighty", and indeed the mountain dominates the island's north and is visible from any point of  Corfu Island.

Continue reading Welcome to Corfu!

Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands. I have been to Mallorca 6 years ago and still remember everything.

In fact, I’d like to come back as soon as possible. Not everyone knows that Mallorca, has more than 5 million visitors each year. Tourists chose Mallorca for the lucky trio of sun, sand and sea .... which make Mallorca the perfect place for a vacation by the beach! Within the island there are three geographic regions: north, there is a mountain range, to the east there is another mountain range and at the centre lies the large and fertile plain of Es Pla.

The climate is mild throughout the year. Majorca’s economy is essentially agricultural, and industrial sectors are more developed than those of leather products and manufacturing of the famous artificial pearls. Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands are synonymous with good weather and beaches.

Continue reading Great memories of Mallorca

It is very important (I speak from personal experience) to enter into an unoccupied house insurance contract for a possible country home, which remains unoccupied for most of the year. Clearly, this type of insurance is much less expensive than those which are signed for the house in which we live.

The main guarantees of unoccupied house insurances are:

• Fire and other damage (involving, for example, all the damage to housing, goods and furnishings in it caused by fire, explosion or explosions, falling aircraft, vehicle impact, smoke, gases or vapors, fall elevators, gross negligence, damage caused by the authorities, removal, demolition and clearance, with the possibility of extending coverage to reimbursement of research and repair of faults and the damage caused by electrical or atmospheric phenomena, vandalism or malicious acts, escape of water and sewer overflow);

• Crystals (due to accidental breakage, in fact own or third occasion of theft or attempted theft, civil disorder, crowd demonstrations, strikes, lockouts, fire, lightning, hail, hurricanes and trumpets);

• Theft and robbery (coverage of the contents of the dwelling and its dependencies, theft, robbery or theft suffered outside the home throughout the world; removal of clothing in public places and objects in the trunk of a car , reimbursement of medical expenses resulting from any theft, recovery in case of fraud in the home to make sure minors or at least 65 years of age);

• Public liability (cover the fees of third parties for damages relating to the ownership / management of the dwelling, resulting in maintenance ordinary / extraordinary, shedding water and liquid caused by an act of privacy, ownership, possession and use of animals saddle, boats, weapons, or use of domestic workers, interns and trainee activities carried out by a family member);

• Legal expenses (to cover legal fees arising from disputes related to ownership / management of the dwelling, damage caused by domestic workers; facts related to privacy outside the workplace);

• Assistance (continuously active service, 24 hours 24, 365 days a year. Thanks to the Emergency Operations Centre Assistance Services, the company puts at your disposal many services including: the provision of names and addresses of specialized craftsmen (plumbers , electricians, blacksmiths, etc..), will send back to the home and contributing to the expenditure of their intervention, specialized personnel for the repair of household appliances and a subsidized exit, stay in hotel reservations in case of unavailability of the dwelling as the care of pets, send security personnel, organization and competition in the payment of a return trip earlier in the event of an accident while the house is temporarily unoccupied; advance of money, sending doctors, nurses and ambulance).

Continue reading Unoccupied house insurance's main guarantees

It was not easy to choose a mirror for our bathroom. Walking around the shops, we realized how many types of bathroom mirrors exist: built-in bathroom mirrors, easy-to-wall bathroom mirrors, the ones with integrated lighting, the ones without lights, even the ones in masonry which can be cash in the tile.
Our budget was not very high but we were looking for a good product anyway (a medium quality bathoom mirror) that could match our bathroom style. The built-in wall mirror (our favorite) would have cost too much, so we decided to evaluate other solutions, including the mirror with three lights (actually, three spots) and with a polished sword frame. Not bad . We actually have been very lucky considering that we had to buy the shop's window one because they had ran out of them and to sell at 50% less.
We ended up paying it only £ 40 .

They choice have been pretty hard though because there are so many stylish ( and cheap) options around as far as bathroom mirrors. For example : ( I fell in love with) the Cheval stand alone bathroom mirror ( handcrafted and 21 1/3" x 17 1/3" x 56 1/2" H.) and costs only £ 30 on internet . My husband does not agree on purchases on the Internet, so I had to give up on it. My friend has one and she said that this type of bathroom mirror is easy to put together and looks simply great inside her bathroom . She does not have a big bathroom but she fit it perfectly inside a dead spot and says that this mirror makes the bathroom look much bigger. Also, she says that 2 year old daughter loves singing and dancing in front of it because it is at her height and she can see herself entirely ( which exits her a lot) . Another very neat bathroom mirror I would have bought is the over the door bathroom mirror (this is a very cheap solution , you can find it at £ 10 more or less). You do not need to use the the screw driver because the screws go right through the back.

The only thing is that you have to make sure you apply duck tape over the screws that the mirror does not go flying off the door when you pull the door. Once you do this , you can hang up there. Guess which was my husband's favorite bathroom mirror ? obviously the only one that was completely useless to me. That's why we had to come down to a compromise. He wanted to purchase a fogless shower mirror. Perfect for his shaving, of course ( and very cheap ) . He's had one before. The reason why it has been very simple for me to convince him not to get one is because I reminded him how unusable that bathroom shower mirror became after only 6 months. The coating ( which keeps the fog away) does not seem to last. Also, it could never be durable because it's made of only 3 plastic suction cups ( plastic breaks faster than steel right?) .

Oh well, I guess we have made the right choice after all. We managed to do the right compromise between price, style and usefulness.

Continue reading Love our bathroom mirror !