Family Travel Blog

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

Journal Entries

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre also known as 5 Terre, are 5 little towns on the cliff side along the water. Today we hiked up and up and up. When we finally thought that there was no ending to the stairs  we saw the most spectacular view ever.  Which made us forget how tired and hungry...

Elba

The island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea is where we have been spending our nights and days. Our days have been packed with walking, swimming, eating and exploring. You can barely swim in the ocean in the summer in Victoria and definitely not October. But here you...

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...

Cooking class Tuscany

We journeyed through lots of little towns to arrive at our destination. The cooking class is in a beautiful house surround by lots of picturesque things such as nature and other old houses. It overlooks a vineyard, making the experience even more impressive. The women...

Where in the world are we now?

Briar’s Journal

AJ’s Journal

Tuscany

Today as I am writing this post I am in an Airbnb in the Italian countryside. It is very cosy. The Airbnb is on an olive farm and there are also three dogs and two cats (a very nice bonus). My mom found a dead scorpion under her bed, which freaked her out. There is...

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David’s Journal

On the road again…

On the road again…

We had a busy final few days in Bologna. I watched the last two days of the European/Africa qualifiers… which ended in disappointment for the Italian hosts, when their team dropped a one-run game to Spain (followed by a bench-clearing brawl) and then lost a final...

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Jenny’s Journal

Follow every Calle

Follow every Calle

We set out to Venice by train from Bologna early in the morning, only to be delayed by 25 minutes at the station. After a café macchiato while we waited, we eventually boarded and by the time we arrived in Venice, the rain was sluicing down the train windows. On the...

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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

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