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June 7, 2025

Rucksack Foodie

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Tag: kelty

The Essentials !

I want but do I need…….. I want to shop at Straubs and Neiman Marcus but I need to shop at Aldis and JCPennys. I …

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Eat good, Live well, Enjoy Life!
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Ah-ha moments are endless on these @tourskeyrow tr

Ah-ha moments are endless on these @tourskeyrow trips ! Our amazing local guides share special spaces and stories that are often walked by unnoticed, places a guest would never realize was there had they been exploring on their own and our last day in Rome was overflowing with Ah-ha & Ooooo moments !
From the Coliseum’s kissing cross, that grants Christian indulgences for 1 year and 40 days (to be exact!) to the hidden portrait of questionable homage painted of Michael Angelo by Raphael into his fresco “The School of Athens” on the wall of the Vatican quarters. (He’s the “modern guy” wearing boots!)
To pointing out remarkable features of St Peter’s Cathedral’s … such as the enormity of the dome (the Statue of Liberty could fit standing up in there!!) and pointing out the two beautiful statues of angels perfectly positioned beneath a skylight to make them appear to be reaching through the sunlight. And explaining the fun fact on why you can see a little white dog painted throughout the Sistine Chapel frescos! 🤯😄
And despite the massive crowds, we had an extra special experience since they had to divert a few batches of tourist overflow through amazing halls of frescoes & art collections (Etruscan collection & Modern Art collection) not usually seen on the standard Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel visit !
SO many special moments thanks to our amazing local Roman guides Rosella & Fabiana for sharing their love of Rome & her beautiful secrets with us!!
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#howtovisitrome (⬅️ with Keyrow Tours!)
#secretsofrome #vaticanmuseum #stpeterscathedral #rome #vaticancity #colosseum
#noticethelittlethings #ahhamonents

A fabulous day of looking up in 📍Rome! . . #loo

A fabulous day of looking up in 📍Rome!
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#lookup #ceilingsofrome
#castthineeyesupwards

When in Rome…🏛️a crew of adventurous early-

When in Rome…🏛️a crew of adventurous early-bird guests followed me to Capitoline Hill to watch the sun rise over the Forum.
It’s moments like this that make traveling an “experience” and not just a “trip”. Getting up before dawn and before tourists to see something special!
Humans have been watching the sunrise from this special spot since at least 600BC (Etruscan’s were here first! )
The Romans had dedicated this hill to the God Saturn (Kronos in Greek myth ) and being a god who represents time and seasons it would make sense why they might have built the Forum at the base of this hill in alignment with winter solstice ( the time to celebrate new beginnings and sunrises with the coming of spring and passing of the dark days) in the winter the sun will rise directly up behind the Colosseum.
So much history here , so many knowns and unknowns, possibly the most beautiful place to visit in Rome… especially at sunrise when it’s only you and Saturn watching a new day rise up over the ancient stones!
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#romansunrise #sunriseinrome
#capitolinehill #romanforum
#sunrise #rome
#earlybirds
#eatgoodlivewellenjoylife

Tonight we surprised guests with an incredible din

Tonight we surprised guests with an incredible dinner at a traditional home belonging to the most lovely family somewhere on a Tuscan hillside overlooking Florence 🤍 A Dream like evening guests will never forget, with 6 courses, all handmade from scratch, by 3 generations. Even the olive oil and wine is made by the family !!
THIS is how to experience Italy with @tourskeyrow !!
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#tuscandinner #howtoeatinitaly
#italianexperience
#ilovemyjob #traveldirectorlife
#eatgoodlivewellenjoylife

The group this week has named themselves the Holy

The group this week has named themselves the Holy Order of the Empty Bottle 🍷… that should tell you loads about how wonderfully fun they are as well as their level of enjoyment when it comes to sipping wine in the Italian sun! And today’s adventure with them into Tuscan wine country was fabulous!!
📍Started with a quick stop to enjoy a breathtaking morning view of Florence from Basillica San Minatino!
📍Then a reverent visit to the WW2 National Cemetery outside Florence, a moving visit for all of us. The location for the Florence American Cemetery was chosen as a permanent site because of its centralized location to where the 20 temporary cemeteries were once located in Italy during World War II. headstones of 4392 U.S. military soldiers are arrayed in symmetrical curved rows upon this Tuscan hillside. Another approximately 1,409 MIAs are memorialized on the large marble wall at the top of the site. These only represent 39% of the total number of the U.S. Fifth Army burials originally made between Rome & the Alps in Italy within one year 1944-1945 - staggering.
📍we then made a visit to the foodie town of Grieve where folks shopped for locally produced wild boar cured meats , pecorino cheeses & the most fabulous local bakery full of fresh still warm breads
📍we upheld the truth that lunch in Tuscany must always be no less than 4 courses and 6 wine tastings! Vernaccia & Chianti should never be passed up.
📍and one last stop for a stroll (& a gelato) in the ancient walled town of San Gimiamano. A beautifully intact medieval town that was originally established by the ancient Eutruscians. With 14 towers still shadowing over the stone walled cobbled streets that Dante Alighieri would have walked when here in 1300 serving as an ambassador to Florence seeking a political alliance. This UNESCO Heritage town is most important due to large number of original paintings & frescos still completely intact & in their original locations for nearly 1000 years, many of which Dante himself would have admired & a few his writings actually inspired.
Only Day 4 … ❤️❤️❤️
#dayintuscany
#tuscandaytrip
#ilovemyjob #traveldirectorlife
#eatgoodlivewellenjoylife

📍Murano island is only about a mile across but

📍Murano island is only about a mile across but home to about 4000 people, 40 master studios & one of the world’s most historic and beautiful art forms.
Although glass was known to be crafted back 4000 years in Mesopotamia , it fell out of knowledge & it wasn’t until about 50bc it became known again thanks to some shipwrecked Phoenician sailors who used a piece of Natron to start a fire (natron is natural baking soda found in dessert-Egyptians would have used for mummification) fuzing it with the sand on the beach and they realized a byproduct was created… glass.
Fast-forward to the 13th century,
Venice was a thriving metropolis & also a huge fire pit. Glass blowing was a popular trade in Venice & in order to avoid any further catastrophes due to fire outbreaks all glass blowing was moved out to the small island of Murano. Family studios were established and to this day the higherarchy of master glass makers & expertise still exists on this small Venetian island.
Murano glass was/is extremely special (and valuable) due to unique & “secret” processes. The production of clear, colorless glass free of defects originally was difficult & such pieces were highly sought after. This original glass called cristallo, for its ability to mimic the appearance of rock crystal, was the foundation of Venetian glass designs. This glassmaking technique was revered and a trade secret known only to the Masters of the island for centuries. Murano glass has a long interesting and complex history over the last 700 years, and even today the consortium that authenticates glass works from Murano is a political one, but we are fortunate to get to visit @cam_murano_art_glass
…. ⬇️ cONTINUE IN COMNENTS…
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#venitianglass #muranoglass #murano
#venitianhistory
#keyrowtours

📸 4 … historical engraving of The Doge of Venice visiting the glassworks of Murano - engraving in ‘The Wonders of Industry’ by Louis Figuier
📸 5 … Murano glass furnace shop 1946

📍The Oldest Part of Venice… (🚤MERCATO Wat

📍The Oldest Part of Venice…
(🚤MERCATO Water Bus Stop)
Visitors come to this little area for the scenic Rialto bridge & the old open air Mercatos (fish & fruit markets) but what many don’t know is they are standing upon the ORIGINAL 1st island of Venice! And many of the “oldest” things in Venice can be found here.
Venice’s birth year was 421ad, remarkable man-made islands built out in the middle of the sea marsh with extraordinary techniques that are still in place today. And it’s this neighborhood you’ll find the oldest places of original Venice!!
📍 Cantina Do Mori … oldest bar in Venice. A place were locals carry in their refillable jugs to bring home wine, & a typical bar to grab a glass of regional vino & local Cicchetti (Venitian canapés) in a literal time capsule! Opened in 1421, surviving great fires, the French, & the local hang out for over 600 years serving many locals, visitors & notorious rouges such as Cassanova. This was his secret hang out to hide from angry husbands & easy to escape from as it has a shotgun duel entry way!
The buckets hanging from the ceiling are a priceless collection of water buckets locals would use to get water from the nearby cistern. (Venice had no “fresh water, being an island surrounded by the Adriatic Sea,so every single piazza had a rain water collection cistern)
📍 Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto … the oldest building in Venice, writings date it back to the actual birth year of Venice in 421ad but only mapped in 12th century. Unique in its design, featuring a bell-gable instead of the traditional bell tower, & a large 24-hour clock with just one hand and a rotated quadrant, which puts noon on the left & midnight on the right. The church & its small piazza also feature one of the last few remaining Gothic porticos in Venice. Now home to an interesting musical instrument museum.
📍 Master Mask Maker… “La bottega dei Mascareri”, for 40 years brothers Sergio and Massimo Boldrin have been crafting traditional Venitian masks at the foot of the Rialto bridge in Venice in their tiny workshop World famous for their artistic skill and beautiful one of a kind pieces, but yet affordable masterpieces!
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#venice

📍Venice… “Getting lost is the only place wo

📍Venice… “Getting lost is the only place worth going to.” A quote from Venetian Tiziano Scarpa is so apropos for Venice !
🔎 Venice is ONLY 2.5 miles X 1.75 miles across (as the crow flies) … BUT its unique & ancient urban planning is massive and getting turned around (lost) is easy to do, but is so much fun discovering what you didn’t know!
Such a small place but it has….
🏝️ 118 small islands
🌉400+ bridges
🥾 3000 narrow streets/footpath (called calli)
🚤 150+ canals

I arrived in a few days early before my next @tourskeyrow work adventure to explore this fascinating city.
2 days of wandering “towards” destinations got me lost in some of the most gorgeous little back alleys and piazzas. So many gorgeous views, interesting shops, ancients architectural bits, small cafes to stop and enjoy life (and a coffee) and tbh I could not be bothered to take photos and instead just breathed it all in.
The tours I lead that include Venice have fantastic visits scheduled on the itinerary but I always recommend using your free time (or arriving a day or two early) to just go get lost… when you get to the island edge, just turn around and wander back! 😉
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#getlostinvenice #veniceview
#traveltogetlost
#bestofvenice #venice
#eatgoodlivewellenjoylife

Slàn leat (farewell) Bute! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
A lovely last night (for a short while) on Isle of Bute in Scotland…. Where the sunsets are always gorgeous (even if yer a half hour late) and there are always new friends to be made at the @theanchorbute2022 pub!
Thanks to these Scouser Skippers for sharing a table, a curry and loads of laughs!
Will miss island life BUT SO excited to start a new adventure next week with a fabulous group of new friends touring Italy!!!! Ciao Scotia !!! 💙🤍💙
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#isleofbute #pubfriends
#sunsetviews #bute #portbannatyne
#scotland #scottishpub
#traveldirectorlife
#eatgoodlivewellenjoylife

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