Family Travel Blog

Updates from the road by authors David Leach, Jenny Manzer and their family

Journal Entries

Saint Remy,Provence

Saint Remy,Provence

We arrived in Saint  Remy  Provence yesterday afternoon. The place we are staying is industrial,  it is a complex with beautiful gardens, an outdoor pool and a ping pong table. It is very quiet with only the sounds of the birds singing. Today we walked through a local...

Arrivederci, Italia

Arrivederci, Italia

After three days in Cinque Terre staying in the seaside village of Monterosso, we are currently on a train bound for Nice. Monterosso and the other famous villages were scenic and interesting but also very crowded, even in October. My favourite time was spent hiking...

Cinque Terre

Today is my last day in Italy. I am in a small water side town called Monterosso. Monterosso is part of a string of five towns called Cinque Terre. Tomorrow we will get on to a train and leave Italy for France. I am a little sad because Italy was really fun and gelato...

A History of Our Trip (so far) in Seven Swims

A History of Our Trip (so far) in Seven Swims

We are more than halfway through our trip so far — four-sevenths to be precise. Much of our focus, of course, has been exploring the cities and towns, streets and trails of Italy… and now France. But the promise of leaping into the water in September and October —...

Where in the world are we now?

Briar’s Journal

Provence

Provence

On Monday we went hiking in the Alpilles. This was just an hour and a half , because we all agreed we were tired. A little while later we hiked up a hill, to take in the view while enjoying our baguettes. The baguette long was my favourite because it tasted like a...

read more

AJ’s Journal

Elba

Today we arrived in Elba. An island just off the mainland. Elba is a very popular summer destination for Italians and others because of the warm ocean and sandy beaches. In May of 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Elba after his army was defeated. Nine months...

read more

David’s Journal

Tuscan Time

Tuscan Time

Okay, even as I’ve nagged the rest of the family to post to our blog, I’ve been laggardly… Over a week since my last note and we’ve seen so much since Venice! I could blame it on slow wifi. (I won’t even try to post a photo, given the snail-like upload speed here.)...

read more

Jenny’s Journal

Olive groves, wild boars and mysterious hilltops

Olive groves, wild boars and mysterious hilltops

I had never imagined that Briar would be obsessed with wild boars. But she was. We stayed six nights on an olive farm near Montegonzi, Tuscany, home to black scorpions and wild boars. There was olive oil to sample, a pool surrounded by olive trees and three dogs on...

read more

Photo Gallery

Videos

Who We Are

David

I’m David Leach. I teach creative nonfiction at the University of Victoria and love to travel and write. My travel features have appeared in many Canadian and international publications. 

Jenny
A.J.
Briar

Drop us a note on the road!

1 + 15 =