Europe Vaction 2023 - Milan, Lake Como, Sardinia/Corsica and Normandy In late June we traveled to Europe for the first time in over ten years. This trip include a vist to Milan, Italy where we met up with Ethan who was on his own post-college European adventure with his friends. From Milan we took in a day trip to Portofino, before moving on to Lake Como for three days were we met our good friends Mario and Cristina. After Lake Como we joined a Backroads adventure in Sardinia, Italy and Corsica, France where we enjoyed spending six days with new found friends. Finally, we concluded our vacation with a weekend in Normandy taking in the historic sites. See below for the Best of Europe 2023 pictures, a condensed presentation with select images from location. Or jump to a specific place: Milan, Italy Portofino, Italy Lake Como Sardinia Corsica Normandy Europe 2023 Select Highlights from each day of our Europe trip Sardinia We departed Lake Como by train in the morning to the airport in Milan for the short flight to the city of Olbia on the island of Sardinia. The next morning we returned to the airport and after meeting breifly with the wrong Backroads group, we found our Backroads Multi-Adventure tour group with whom we would spend the next six days touring both the island of Sardinia and the French island of Corsica. Day 8 This day started with a train ride to Milan from Lake Como followed by an Easy Jet flight to Olbia, Sardinia. We arrived in the afternoon and caught the end of the Italian Grand Prix of jet skiing championship event before exploring the town of Olbia. tThe lobby of our hotel, the La Locanda Del Conti Mameli Hotel which was a historic residence and preserved a lot of art and decor from the period A compeitor in the 'aquabike world champion Grand Prix of Italy The streets of Olbia...           Day 9 This day started by meeting the Backroads group at the Olbia airport and taking a shuttle to San Pantaleo where after browsing shops and galleries we went on a short hike overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and eventually down to a beach for lunch. Later we shuttled to the Cali di Volpe, our hotel in Sardinia, and took a boat to a private beach for some afternoon relaxation.                     Boating to the private beach...           C. Blackman           Day 9 Our second day in Sardinia, we started in the morning with a boat tour to the La Maddalena Archipelago, a nature reserve, for our first bike ride of the trip across the island of Caprera. Later in the afternoon we enjoyed boating to a cove for a swim in the Mediterranean. In the evening, we enjoyed a classic Sardinian dinner at a local resturant where we also learned how to roll pasta.     Onno taking a turn at the helm...         C. Blackman             Our Backroads group...     C. Blackman   C. Blackman       Eating lunch in the small village of Maddalena...                                     Back at the hotel pool...             C. Blackman Learning to roll pasta...       Corsica, France After two days in Sardinia, we crossed by ferry to Corsica, France where after 10 days of 'speaking' Italian, we had to switch our brains to French. Over the next several days we explore the beauty and culture of Corsica and its proud people. Day 11 We cross the Mediterranean to Corsica and arrive at the cliff side city of Bonifacio where we meet a local guide who covers the medieval city's fascinating history. C. Blackman   Approaching Bonifacio... The ever present Corsican flag and symbol of freedom... Our local tour guide explaning the architecture of Bonifacio, a city built like a fortress with many features designed to resist invasion...   The flying buttresses prevelant in Bonifacio... Arriving at our hotel, the Casadelmar with its amazing views and multiple levels of terraces... The Backroad's ladies enjoying the infinity pool... Day 12 On this day we would shuttle to Alta Roca where we would embark on a 30-mile bike ride featuring alpine villiages and scenic views. We would stop in Zonza for refreshments before tackling the Bocca d'Illarata pass. Afterwards, we would stop for lunch in the village of Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano. Eventually we would reach the coast and our luxury Hotel Marcina and Spa. Stopping for refreshments in the small village of Zonza... Lunch in the village of Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano... Arriving at the Hotel Marcino and Spa... Eating dinner out in Propriano on our own...   A helpful Corsican woman we befriended who helped us in a resturant where none of the staff spoke English at all. This was our favorite meal on the Backroad's trip as the food was great and we were forced out of our comfort zone to communicate soley in French (and gestures)... Day 13 After waking up and eating a wonderful breakfast we took a zodiac to the village of Campomoro where we would explore the coastline by kayak. C. Blackman   Waiting on the beach at our hotel for the zodiac to take us kayaking... A little cliff jumping breaking up our kayakiing... Back at the hotel for a relaxing afternoon after kayaking... C. Blackman   Local Corsican couple performing traditional Corsican songs... Day 13 On our last day in Corsica we did a short hike before heading to the airport and boarding our flight to Paris where we would then take a train to Normandy for the final leg of our trip.

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• Milan, Italy
• Portofino, Italy
• Lake Como
• Sardinia
• Corsica
• Normandy