#off-the-beaten-track

The hidden beaches of Kardamyli

Kardamilli is an idyllic mountain village, with traditional stone houses and narrow streets. However, Kardamilli is not on a mountain. Instead, it is surrounded by many of them, but situated next to the sea. This special village was the movie set from “Before Midnight” and is in reality as romantic as the movie. But what makes Kardamyli the perfect summer holiday destination, are the hidden…

What are the top eco-tourism experiences in Greece?

Holidays are not necessarily unsustainable. However, the way that many people choose to celebrate holidays and take vacations can be so. For example, travel to distant locations often requires the use of fossil fuels, which can contribute to climate change. In addition, many people consume more resources and generate more waste during holidays and vacations. The causes are using disposable…

Explore Neapoli in Greece

This summer, I discovered the most underrated Greek town. Neapoli Voion, or simply Neapoli or Vatika. This small town is located in the South of the least famous “leg” of the Peloponnese peninsula. The one with terrible roads and very few tourists. If people know Neapoli, it is because the ferries to Kythira depart from here, or they are confused with the one in Crete. However, when looking for…

The new breed of travellers: living like the locals

The trend of living and travelling like a local isn’t new, but it is a trend that is rapidly growing worldwide with the availability of services like Airbnb and Uber that are hosted and driven by locals.

But what are the advantages of experiencing local life? And should we all try to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to getting to know local traditions, cultures and practices? 

Evan Hung,…

Chasing The Unexpected is a travel blog documenting Angela’s travel stories around the world. Besides the most popular destinations, she also explores the unconventional trails in every part of the world.

In this featured post, she brings us to explore the unique Tehran local markets through photos.

By Sarah Youree

“What’s in Switzerland?” When we mentioned our travel plans, most of our friends and acquaintances asked us some variation on this question. The answer, in short, is that pretty much everything is in Switzerland, with the exception of the beach, but only if you don’t count the opulence of freshwater rivers and lakes. If you’re up for an experience including rich traditions in food and art set against the backdrop of some of the most spectacular landscapes the planet has to offer, you simply can’t go wrong with Switzerland.  

Most people (including myself on two previous occasions) tend to gravitate toward the culturally and linguistically French and German regions of the country, which are indeed wonderful for all of the aforementioned reasons along with the fact that they are known for impeccable cleanliness and order. However, this summer, my husband Gibson and I decided to go a little south of the usual Swiss tourist track and spend some time getting to know the Italian region of Switzerland called Ticino. 

Since he speaks Italian, Gibson did some research online and found us a good deal on a private home rental where we would stay for the week. When we finally arrived after our two hour drive from the Milan airport, we were thrilled to find we were staying in a casa rustica tucked away among a host of other centuries-old stone houses overlooking Valle Verzasca, which literally translates as Green Valley.  This is the view from our bedroom window.

We slept like the dead the first night, tucked in our plush bed, surrounded by darkness and absolute silence except for the regular chiming of church bells that echo through the valley.  

The next morning we decided to take advantage of a gorgeous warm and sunny day to visit some of the area’s swimming holes. This is one of the many spots in Ticino where you can revel in the harmony of nature and some of the engineering and architectural feats of yore.  

There’s no sense in describing what the water looks like – the pictures come much closer to doing it justice. Not evident from the photos, however, is how a quick dip in one of these mountain streams can so thoroughly wake you up and sharpen your senses. The brisk temperature prevented me from staying in more than a few seconds at a time, but the surge of energy from those crystal green waters stayed with me for hours.  Great smooth stretches of metamorphic rock offer opportunities to scramble around and explore or simply stretch out and soak up the sun.  

The weather was not amenable to swimming and sunning the entire week, but the area offered plenty to keep us busy. Having a car (and keen driving skills) is essential to navigating the hairpin curves that lead to some of the most fascinating nooks in the valley.  Dozens of small communities boast medieval churches, some dating from 1100 A.D. and most harboring an impressive collection of frescoed scenes of the lives of the saints or other Christian mythology.  

One of the most wonderful aspects of exploring these out-of-the-way treasures is that there are seldom any other tourists. Gibson and I had the feeling we were among a privileged few who had stood in those quiet mountain churchyards to contemplate the story of humanity as rendered by the artists whose names had long since disappeared, erased by time and the elements.  We tiptoed and whispered out of respect and awe despite the fact that we rarely encountered anyone else.

On a rainy afternoon, we drove to the nearby community of Monagnola to check out the former residence turned museum of Hermann Hesse, the German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. Hesse is probably most recognized for his novels Siddhartha and Steppenwolf, both which he wrote while living here. The grand old house called Casa Camuzzi sits at the top of a quiet hill with a view of the misty valley and lake below. You can walk around a recreation of Hesse’s library including many of his personal effects and books. There are also several galleries dedicated to his watercolors and other photos and sketches of the author. Captions for these works are surprisingly only printed in German, French, and Italian, so you’ll need at least some knowledge of one of these languages to understand the commentary.  

One of the most enticing reasons to visit Ticino is the food, in particular, the cheese. The region is wedged between France and Italy, making it an ideal location for exploring the confluence of those rich culinary traditions. At every restaurant, café, and market, we were amazed at the variety and quality of locally made cheeses. Most of these delicacies come from small farms featuring sheep or goat’s milk. In fact, you can often meet the producers and their animals just by stopping by one of the many roadside shops. It’s a comfort to see the animals treated so well and the producers and their families making a nice profit from their labors. Here are a couple of the fat and happy sheep we met hiking up behind one of the small villages we visited.

Perhaps the best part of visiting Ticino is the chance to experience a non-touristic version of Western Europe that is increasingly hard to come by elsewhere. Here you aren’t going to be accosted by sales pitches for organized tours or fliers for night clubs.