End of July 2024: Donald Trump watched President Biden’s Oval Office address from his plane after his rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the three days after Biden ended his re-election bid and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s campaign has been crowded out of the headlines. And that’s an unfamiliar experience for Trump, who has monopolized America’s televisions, newspapers and smartphones for more than 12 months through indictments, primary victories, 34 felony convictions, an assassination attempt and a Republican convention at which he was celebrated as a quasi-religious figure.

Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Loving the vibe of the election campaign in the USA! 

The Obamas, famous musicians, the Clintons joining in… so much fun to watch (even in Germany)! 

Giving hope! What’s happening in the United States right now… this is not a campaign of a party, it has now become a movement:
Here a positive vision for the future and there a hateful election campaign, which is based above all on a set of lies and conspiracy theories. So the convicted criminal Trump should not be surprised if he catches such 7 seconds.

What a vibe! 

Awaiting Taylor Swift to get her campaign started. We already know which party she’s supporting and apparently her influence in GenZ voters is the following: 30% of GenZ & Swift fans would rather chose the candidate Swift is recommending. Wow!!! So much influence in young people, use it wisely! 

AI needs to learn a lot… 

Getting a little better…

Mr Trump, pack your bags! 

Now good luck 🍀 for Germanys election in the eastern counties tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Friday night. The last days in August. 27C degrees. Late summer nights. Sunset. Dinner with hubby in the car (of course it’s junk food). First they started the wrong film 😂(Aliens, hubby already happy). 5min later, correct film up 🎦

Great film („It ends with us“). Great night out.

Hello weekend!

Friday night, fun night. Outdoors, a classic rainy night in spring. Inside, everything feels like a night in Spain: Flamenco dancers. Wow! Music. Wow! The atmosphere, wow! 

We purchased you in the high times of Covid (June 2020). The idea was to have a car which allowed us to travel while everything was locked down. And we did. You served us great until you broke down a couple of weeks ago 🏥 : gear box & clutch… and much more. Very expensive (and no more economically feasible for us) to get it fixed… 🛟 heart broken 💔 , we decided to sell our good old bullie! 

We had 4 van-tastic years with you.

You took us to so many awesome places: 

Our very first weekend to test wild camping in the Black Forest. 

Ireland via England and Wales. 

France via Paris, La Rochelle all the way to Biaritz. My first trip by myself (hubby at rehab).

So many times to the Ariege in France, usually with stopovers on the way. 

Several times to Bühl for wine events and sleeping directly in the vineyard „next door“. 

Another road trip to Lake Constance, Austria, Lichtenstein & Switzerland. 

Twice to the Champagne in France. 

Several times back home to „The Rhön“. 

We traveled several times to the north all the way up to the Nordsee. 

We used the bus for birthday party sleep overs. 

We travelled to see the Tulips and the Netherlands. 

Autokino. 

Transporting people, Christmas trees, boxes of wine & champagne, carton paper, flowers & groceries… probably the only van including wooden rails so beer boxes could fit under the bed…

We had dinners with you in COVID times where everything was locked down: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, candlelight dinners, meeting friends… 

Thanks Bullie for bringing us to so many beautiful destinations!

We are very sad having to leave you behind. Hope they fix you up and find you a nice new owner!

Bye bye, Bullie. We love you & keep the many wonderful memories! 

Sunset vibes at castle Solitide. Picknick. Aperol Spritz. Weekend vibes. Friday after work. Chill out. 

Dear Italy, 

my first time in Italy: when I was 2 years old, chicken pocks included. I don’t remember but my parents do. 

I pretty much spent my childhood & teenager summer vacations with my family in Bibione, swimming on the Adriatic Coast, visiting Venice, Luna Park… great memories. 

A cruise stop in Palermo in Sicily as teenager. 

Later, when I was a student, I came with my bestie and we did Interrail: Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milano, Cinque Terre & Genova. We had a blast. 

Hubby and I visited Lago di Garda and Verona just the day after borders were opened up in COVID pandemic. 

A year later we came with Aperoli and toured Lago di Como. The Italians loved our mini. Aperoli did great on the tight winding roads around the lake and in the mountains. 

And now we just returned from 3 weeks in Liguria, Sardinia, the beautiful Amalfi Coast and Tuscany. 

What can I say: we are in love with you, Italy, the land of espresso and olives, mopeds and Romans! It’s your simplicity of living. Slow afternoons at the beach. Aperitivo. Delicious dinner. A glass of red wine. Dolce Vita. 

Who doesn’t love Italian food? It’s so unfussy, yet so good. The very best pizza, for example, is one hand-made, with skill and passion from years of being genuinely proud of what you’re making. Fresh, local cheese and tomatoes, the smell of fresh basil leaves, and a beautiful, crispy crust. Walk down a side street and find a trattoria. That’s the one: the one with the steamed-up windows and the delicious smell drifting out from inside. You’re beckoned in, and for the rest of the evening you’re treated as if you’re a long-lost member of the family. A bowl of fresh pasta, a delicate seafood main and a rich dessert later (plus a couple of glasses of wine), and suddenly life seems awfully simple.

Italy, you are sexy. No matter if it’s the ladies in their bikini string tangas, a sexy cut that shows just enough skin, but maintains a bit of mystery, at the beach or the expressions of affection displayed by all the lovers on the town. Oh la la! What a public intimacy, but why not, that’s you, Italy! 

La Dolce Vita – one of the things that’s amazing about you is just how very Italian you are. There are few countries on earth that live up so completely to their own stereotype — and I mean that in the best possible way. The girl on the back of the scooter, laughing wildly, hair flying behind her, clinging onto her boyfriend as he navigates the traffic. Two people having a discussion over a morning espresso, voices raised, gestures flying; are they discussing last night’s football, a major legal case, or the mileage on a Fiat Panda? It doesn’t matter; what matters is that it’s important now.

This, after all, is the real you, Italy. The day to day occurrences that makes us happy, as a tourist, simply to be a part of. And that’s why we know that when we can once again visit you, it’ll be the same vibrant, lively, dramatic place it’s always been.

That’s what we know is you, Italy. It’s crazy, and there’s nowhere else like it.

Well, we love everything about you, Italy. From the fashionable north to the rustic, beautiful south, and the island of Sardinia, there’s a million reasons to visit. So let’s do it! We are sure to be back again! Soon. Very soon!

Ti amo,

A, S & C

Tuscany… rolling hills, sleepy small charming towns, sunsets, vineyards and orchards, Chianti wine, olives & olive oil, sunflowers, and the birth place of Leonardo da Vinci… yes! That’s Tuscany! 

We stayed at an “agriturismo”** in Tuscany, means we stayed in a home in the countryside that is open to hosting guests with opportunities to connect with the land during the stay. In our case experiencing the vineyard, wine tasting included 😁 what a fabulous connection! 

** Agriturismo: the word comes from agri (agriculture) and turismo (tourism), so it basically means agricultural tourism.

Temperature is much cooler compared to the Amalfi Coast, good time for drinking red wine again!

Short stop but delicious and beautiful, we have to come back to Tuscany!

Next stop: Lombardia, the very north of Italy and the border to Switzerland. 

We are right in the mountains. It’s all about curves, curves and more curves. The drive ridiculous, the view amazing! 

Back home in Germany.

Italy is known for its incredible places. What they end up doing is leaving you wanting to go back and explore more of Italy. This is exactly where the island of Sardinia comes in 🌞

We were already wowed by just entering Sardinia’s Port. 

Are you ready for crystal blue water? Sometimes shades of turquoise? And dreamy white sand beaches?

Besides the divine beaches, Sardinia is dry. And wild. 

We apparently picked out a village in which locals become very old! Older than 100 years! Wine is one of the secrets. Let’s see how much wine we can drink in one week. For life extension. lol. 

Our relaxing vacation life goes like this: sleeping in, cappuccinos for breakfast, reading, swimming, ice-cream, a little snooze, swimming, aperitivo, dinner, sleep 😃

A boat trip to remote white sand beaches.

Leaving one paradise and on the way to another one: the Amalfi Coast. Now boarding our ferry. 

Arrivederci, beautiful island! 

Stopover in Switzerland. 16.5C degrees. Rain. But great little hotel nestled in the mountains (would have never found it, if our Bulli hadn’t broken down).

Got a bit confused coming out of Gotthard tunnel and every sign in Italian, made us think we were in Italy… in fact we were in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland… hope we didn’t get flashed. lol.

We are in Italy: blue sky, 33C degrees, the smell of rosemary, listening to the crickets. Amore. And feeling super hot with quite a bit of temperature change compared to our German summer.

Adapting fast: long siestas in the big heat. Italian dinner and outdoor life starts around 8:30pm when it’s cooled down to „only“ 27C degrees.

First gelato, OMG, soooo good!

Italy so far….

Ready for the night: taking the ferry to the island of Sardines. Bye bye Genova!

The Amalfi Coast is a 50km stretch of luscious coastline, and simply stunning and the craziest part of Italy I have seen so far. 13 charming towns that cling to the dramatic cliffside. And lots of traffic on the tiny winding cliff roads.

It’s all about Amalfi lemons…

The Amalfi Coast road offers some of the best views of the Amalfi Coast. However, it certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted! With narrow lanes, wild Italian drivers, tourist drivers, and steep cliffs, there are definitely some hair-raising moments. Hubby almost having a nervous breakdown driving those tiny busy little roads… we parked the car for the rest of the time here… but even going by public bus made me nervous…

Amalfi Coast, beautiful, delicious and we found another little paradise. Bella Italia 🫶

Next stop: Tuscany. Slowly making our way back north.