Off Topic Discussions

[Sam_AMD]

Except for the COVID-19 "era", I fly back to Italy every summer to spend time with family and friends. This time around, and for the first time, we stopped in Holland for a few days to visit my stepson. He just graduated with a degree in engineering in Delft. Holland was hot! According to the cab driver (and eventually with everyone we spoke to), this June was the hot, the hottest, record-breaking temps ever. No wind either. That said, I enjoyed every minute there; the food, people, canals, history, buildings, museums, and even the beach! 

After Holland, we went to Italy (specifically to my hometown Milan and... Venice). It was wonderful to see my friends and family and going back to Venice was a great three-day getaway where for the first time we went on a gondola tour. While in Milan, we went to the Palazzo Reale to see Leandro Erlich exhibition! 

Here are a few pics:

Holland

Floating away in canals
Look! A puppy!	Vermeer's Girl (Sam) with a Pearl Earing	Dedicated to the Ukraine

Italy:

		Get in dad! I fly us home

What about you? Have you gone on vacation yet? If so, where? 

[Dragokar]

Have you been in Haarlem? I love the Netherlands, never been to Milano though.

[BigAl01]

My wife Sandra and I visited "Historic Haarlem" last fall during our cruise from Amsterdam to Bucharest.  The Netherlands are an amazing place and we did a pre-cruise stay at a local hotel to see a bit of Amsterdam and Haarlem before boarding our river boat. 

I think this is a museum we visited in Haarlem.

[GreatnessRD]

That's dope! Glad you had fun on your vacation. Looks beautiful!

[Sam_AMD]

Thank you! Are you doing anything this summer?

[Wally_AMD]

So jealous, Sam. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and had some family time. Holland looks beautiful - I love the architecture. 

Hoping to take a little bit of time off next month to see family, but I'll have to run it by my boss first... 😂

[FederaluL]

I've been living in Italy for a couple of years near Napoli and still have family there in Sicily. Napoli is the most beautiful city for me (vedi napoli e poi muori)! got a trip planned in Sicily for next year and cannot wait. 🙂

[Sam_AMD]

I agree with you. Napoli is beautiful, and I don't care about what the folks say in the north, but Pizza Napoletana is the best. Have you seen/been to spacca napoli? About Sicily, I've been to Favignana, try to hop there if you're going to be near Palermo. 😎

[FederaluL]

Yes, Spacca Napoli is beautiful and of course Pizza Napoletana is the best! I used to take the train from where I was to Napoli every weekend and just walk whole day around Napoli then hop back on the train at night lol. Also like 8 years ago I spent a whole month in Sicily (lived there for 1 year before too) and drove around whole island, even visited Isola Bella where they filmed some scenes in The Godfather 🙂

[Axxemann]

Lucky you. I'm working nights all summer. And into the fall, winter and most likely springtime too. Only time off I'll be taking is when they take a sawzall to my right femur.

[Vynski]

That doesn't sound good.  Due to an accident or what.  I hope not cancer.  

My prayers are with you Axxemann.  

[Axxemann]

Nah. Getting a hip replaced. It wore out due to years of 💩 and abuse.

[blazek]

Welcome back Sam, beautiful photos!

[Sam_AMD]

Thank you, my friend! 

[Sam_AMD]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments. 

On a similar now, I'd love to see pictures of your summer vacation...

[Key-J]

Welcome back from your time off!

The photos look amazing, and it seems like you had a great time!

I would absolutely love to visit Italy, I know it is in the top 3 destinations for my wife - and the food is only 95% of the reason why she wants to go.

I also want to visit Venice, but mainly to bring my dad there whilst he is still with us. I know he has always wanted to go, and has spoken of it often - so I hope one day I can.

I got to enjoy some incredible Italian food the other day here, Cacio e Pepe / Gricia De Mare & a Burrata a La Caponata that were all amazing.

[Sam_AMD]

I hope you will! Venice is amazing, and FYI, lots of people don't know this, but Venice has a beach, called Lido di Venezia, check it out.

Cacio e Pepe! Yummy, I'm gonna make it this weekend, eh eh eh

[petosiris]

Thanks for the pictures, looks amazing!

I haven't been on vacation this year but I plan to visit my cousins in Florida in January (I've head it's not so hot there then).

[PythonCoderPro]

Dude you making me want to go there soooooooo bad!

[Sam_AMD]

Go go go! 

[morphinebear]

Just saw an article this week saying it was the hottest week ever. The future is quite bleak. Those squares look a lot less populated than I expected. Was punting worth it?

[Sam_AMD]

Yeah, it was worth it. In the end, being there, especially in Holland, was great!

(btw, this week it's gonna be 104 in Austin!)

[Dragokar]

I am back, not strictly from vacation but from my wife. We do live in the same country, but we are about 700km apart for some reason and we see us only every 4-6 weeks right now. Yeah this is hward, but we keep fighting for our love.

[Sam_AMD]

Welcome back! 

Which country? EU? I'm sorry to hear you're apart and having to fight for your love. (I can relate, for a while, I traveled to Italy to be with my wife, while she was pregnant, every three months). 

[Dragokar]

I am located in Germany as well she is, but the circumstances deny right now that we can be close together all the time. In the end it will work out since we are happy together and love each other.

[BigAl01]

Nice pictures @Sam_AMD .  Did you have to dodge bicycles in Amsterdam?  We were amazed how many people rode them.  We even saw them pulling bicycles out of the canals - stolen bikes I guess that were dumped after use.

Here is one of several bikes that was pulled from the canal. More are on the bed of that small truck.

[Prince117]

I've never been on vacation before, never really traveled outside of the U.S of my 28 years on this planet you're really lucky!

[Sam_AMD]

Thank you @Prince117. 

I am fortunate. Between my work and my personal life I've had the luck to travel extensively, and I hope one day you'll get to travel too. If you had to pick one country, what would it be?  

[Dragokar]

I know you did not ask me, but if I could, I would change between Croatia, Italy (especially Sicily), southern France and Spain. That's kinda weird, I know, but my other half and me love those areas and mentality, even if my “hometown” will always be Berlin.

[Sam_AMD]

Croatia is just beautiful! I've been to Zagreb and a small town on the coast, but I forgot the name. I remember the crystal-clear water, the see food, the national parks, and the people! Love it!

[red5]

I spent my 14th birthday in Venice in 1987. My best friend's dad was a doctor, and he asked me to go on this 11 day tour.  We were dirt poor, but my mom scrounged together the money to send me along.  Venice was really cool. We toured the Doge's Palace and walked around the city for a couple days.

[Dragokar]

I just returned from a week in Friedrichshafen at the Bodensee. Amazing place and people. So much to see and explore.

[WilliamhGibsona]

It sounds like you had an incredible time exploring Holland and basking in the record-breaking heat! Holland's charm, delicious food, and rich history seem to have left quite an impression. And Venice on a gondola tour – that's the stuff dreams are made of! How did you find the atmosphere in Milan? Always fascinating to revisit hometowns. By the way, any travel plans to explore broadbeach hotels in the future?

[Sam_AMD]

Hi, William, nice to e-meet you! 

Milan has changed; a lot! It is an industrial city, yet, it's filled with numerous historical landmarks (i.e., "Il Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Da Vinci's Last Supper, Roman Ruins, Castello Sforzesco, Brera, and much, much more). It is a must-see for anyone who has already visited other popular Italian cities such as Firenze, Roma, and Venice. 

The atmosphere in Milan is heavy but always attractive. Like most metropolitan cities, Milan is plagued with traffic, little to no parking, smog, and chaos. However, it offers hundreds of events to attend. Great nightlife, superb restaurants, massive museums, and unique art shows make it a very special town in my opinion. 

Have you been?