Page 14 - 2025 May June Magazine

Europe TRAVEL
the Amalfi Coast to your ‘must-see’ destinations. My
favorite town was Positano. But you can’t go wrong with
most of the towns, to include Capri Island, Sorrento,
Ravello or Amalfi.
In May 2023, I took another work trip in Europe. I was
gone just as long that year, with stops in the Republic of
Malta, Italy (Matera, Alberobello and Rome) followed
by numerous stops in Croatia.
Matera and Alberobello in southwest Italy are also
‘must-see’ destinations. Matera is believed to have been
settled since about 8,000-10,000 BC which makes it
one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in
the world. To put it in perspective, archeologists think
Rome is 3,000 years old, but it’s rather new compared
with Matera, which is 5,000+ years older. Residents of
Matera lived in one of some 3,000 caves dug into rock
on the hillside. Around the 1700s they added buildings
to the front of the caves. My hotel room was literally
a cave. I went from sleeping in a cave to sleeping in a
hut called a trullo (plural = trulli) in Alberobello, Italy.
A trullo is a whitewashed stone hut with a conical
roof. There are over 1,500 trulli structures in this one
concentrated area.
If you are interested in traveling to Europe and
you want to keep your expenses down, I highly
recommend these options:
Find the cheapest ticket to mainland Europe. Then
hop on a flight on one of the numerous smaller
airlines, such as Ryanair or EasyJet. Flights are much
cheaper in Europe. By way of example, in May 2023 I
flew from Valetta (Malta) to Bari (Italy) which cost 19
Euro plus 22 Euros for my suitcase. This is less than
$45 US dollars. I have gotten similarly priced flights
throughout Europe.
Rent an apartment. I have gotten apartments in Italy,
Croatia and in Malta. You can stay in an old town for a
fraction of the price of a hotel. You can get an apartment
for 25-50% of the price of a hotel, stay in the heart of the
city and see how the locals live.
I also recommend traveling to Europe between
Thanksgiving and New Years to go to their Christmas
markets. I have been to numerous Christmas markets.
My favorites were in Nuremberg, Germany, Dresden,
Germany and Strasbourg, France.
If you are a soccer fan, I highly recommended
catching a live game. You can combine a game with a
tour of their stadium or local soccer museum. A trip to
Europe during the World Cup is also an experience.
If anyone is interested in planning a trip to Europe,
let me know and I can help develop your itinerary.
You will not regret a trip there.
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