There's a big wide world out there…..

Fortress town on Lake Garda For those planning their first trip to Lake Garda I would recommend starting with visiting Peschiera. The town is conveniently located on the main train line from Milan to Venice, it's a stop on the fast train the Freccia Rossa. It's also not far from Verona airport, there's a direct local bus from the airport to the Peschiera train station. Peschiera is situated on an island surrounded by the lake and the river Mincio. This location was perfect for a fortress town as the entry and exit points were controlled. The fortress walls that are there now date back to the 16th century and were built by the Venetians. It's possible to walk along the walls, the historic centre is quite small, with the town spilling out to the areas right next to the lake. Peschiera was an important location for the Venetians as they could navigate from Lake Garda, then along the Mincio and Po rivers all the way to the Adriatic Sea. By the beginning of the 19th centur...

Palmanova The Star shaped fort

A gem in north eastern Italy Palmanova is a town that can be found in north eastern Italy between Trieste and Udine. It was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. Palmanova is fascinating to visit as it was built as a star shaped fort by the Venetian Republic in 1593. The fort was to protect against attacks by the Ottomans. Coming in from the train station, the first major construction that you come across is the aqueduct. It was originally built by the Venetians and restored several times, the current version was built in 1771. The aqueduct was used to move water out of the Palma Canal to inside the fortress for the population's use. Porta Udine There are three main gates to gain entry to the fortress and are still the only entry point today. This is the Udine gate, built from 1604 to 1605, it originally had a drawbridge. The interior of Porta Udine and the original wooden winch that raised and lowered the drawbridge can be seen. Close up of the wooden winch Porta Aquil...

St Barnabas' Chapel, Norfolk Island

A Little Jem to discover in the Pacific St Barnabas Chapel I love visiting Norfolk Island, its quaintness really appealed to me. And I really loved discovering this gem of a church and learning its history. My first full day on the island we were taken on a half day tour of some of the sights, a stop at this church was included in the tour. What made it even more personal was that our tour guide had been married in the church and her mother had as well. The first Anglican bishop of New Zealand established the Melanesian mission on Norfolk Island in 1867, a college and church were built as a training facility for missionaries who would then go and work in the Melanesian Islands. Over the years hundreds of students came from the various islands to train at the college and then returned back to their communities. The Melanesian Mission remained on Norfolk Island until 1920, when it moved to the Solomon Islands. They left behind their beautiful church. The altar and histori...

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