Charlotte, NC and Gaeta, Italy We usually get back to Berkeley East from our winter break by mid April. A couple weeks of boat prep and we’re off on another cruising adventure. But last fall, we decided to do some much-needed work on our home in North Carolina. What began as “deferred maintenance” (paint, new […]
Cala del Core Ponza, Italy We seldom end a cruising season where we began. In fact, we typically prefer making new discoveries to repeating past experiences. But this year was an exception. While we had hoped to be in Spain for winter, our longing to revisit Northern Italy, the French Riviera, Corsica, and Sardinia, combined […]
North East Sardinia It is a well-known fact that the Italians love fast cars. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, peddle to the metal, 0 to 60 in three seconds. That fierce passion transfers to boats as well. Italian-made yachts like Azimut and Pershing can reach speeds over 25 knots, which doesn’t sound very thrilling but on a […]
Northern Sardinia, Italy We discovered long ago that our GPS has a mind of its own, always selecting the shortest route and assuming we can travel at ridiculous speeds. Consequently, we are often led along narrow, winding roads through hilltop towns and over mountains, rather than being directed to the much faster highway. While frustrating, […]
La Maddalenas, Sardinia Italy Lying at the southern end of the Straight of Bonifacio, the La Maddalena Archipelago is a group of seven islands (known as the seven sisters) and 55 tiny issolatti (scraps of land). A geomarine Italian national park, La Maddalena spans more than 20,000 hectares of land and sea, and meanders along […]
Lake Como, Italy Half the year, when Berkeley East is relaxing on land, we live on a lake in North Carolina. The landlocked existence is peaceful compared with the constant movement of cruising; we love the contrasts of the two lifestyles. And while sailing around the Med is fantastic, we sometimes enjoy the luxury of […]
Bolgheri and Piedmonte, Italy We were sitting on Berkeley East watching the sun set on yet another day in the Med, glass in hand, and there came a question, “What am I drinking?” The cryptic reply was, “Laughter and flowers.” At that, we both smiled. And thus the conversation began, about our visit to the […]
We had to laugh when we saw the two ducks swimming by Berkeley East, we thought it must be a sign. The night before, we had been discussing a paradox (which one of us insisted on pronouncing as a “pair-of-ducks”). By definition, a paradox is, “a seemingly absurd statement or proposition which, when investigated, may […]
Cinque Terre, Italy On our way to the famous Cinque Terre, we discovered Portovenere, a small jewel on the Gulf of The Poets. Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage site, this lovely seaside medieval town is often missed by the millions of international tourists that visit the area. The Cinque Terre, is a historic, rugged […]
Florence, Italy It has been said that, “If Italy were the Mona Lisa, Florence would be her smile.” For centuries, poets, writers and painters have flocked to Firenze, the City of Art, to study legendary masterpieces while seeking inspiration to create new ones. And as Berkeley East passed near Italy’s cultural capital, we knew we […]
