Creating "Home" in New Places

Angie and I have decided that the best way to travel is to rent apartments from local hosts rather than staying in hotels or tourist lodging. Being welcomed by local apartment owners in Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, and now Amsterdam has truly been one of the best aspects of our trip. By having a fully equipped kitchen in each apartment, we've been able to make our own breakfast every day and to enjoy local market shopping as well. After sightseeing and negotiating a different culture and language, it was always a welcome reprieve to come to our own "little home" at the end of the day. Each host has been welcoming and has left books and resources in the apartment to help us get more easily oriented to our new locale. In Florence we had a beautiful studio apartment that was close to all the main sights.







We were a five minute walk from the river and downtown sights like the "Duomo"...









and within walking distance of the Uffizi gallery where we were thrilled to see many beautiful Renaissance works of art. One of the highlights was seeing Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and his " Primavera."





After all the gallery viewing it was always a joy to partake in the local tradition of eating gelato which was actually invented in Florence in the 1600's. "Two scoops a day" is the rule there and who were we to argue!




In Rome, we were greeted by Luca, who showed us to an apartment that has been in his family for generations. It was a wonderful eclectic mix of his grandmother's antiques and newer touches of Ikea furniture and large photographs of Italy. We felt very welcomed by Luca and enjoyed the extra touches like a big bowl of fruit, and milk and juice in the fridge to help make our breakfasts easy.









The best part was realizing that the Colosseum and the Forum were an easy fifteen minute walk away through a beautiful park.








Yesterday we left Rome, and arrived in Amsterdam to our warmest welcome yet!
Michael greeted us at our new apartment with a fire going in the fireplace, lit candles, a gift of a bottle of wine, vases full of beautiful tulips, lots of suggestions for places to eat and things to see, and offered us espresso from a great little machine in the newly renovated kitchen. What a great start to our final week of this incredible European adventure!








We found these great apartments through the websites "VRBO" (Vacation Rental by Owner), Homeaway, or through "Air BnB." We feel like we've had the opportunity to live like locals and to create a little home for ourselves while exploring new and exciting places.
We've enjoyed using Rick Steves' travel guides during this trip. We appreciate his sense of humour, his reflections, and his approach to life and travel. He says, "Among your most prized souvenirs will be the strands of different cultures you choose to knit into your own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop, and travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry." We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to add some "new strands" to our life experiences and can hardly wait to explore more of Amsterdam.