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First in a series on cycling through Italy’s Tuscany region Early summer is the perfect time to visit Italy. The average daily temperature in metropolitan Rome is 26C, with little rain.

Many of Europe’s time-warp houses — sights that take you back to a bygone era — get only a few thoughtful travellers, overshadowed by big-name museums.

It’s definitely a pinch-me moment as I am ushered into Highclere Castle and offered appetizers and champagne in the library where so many scenes for Downton Abbey were shot.

I’m often inspired by families on the road. Last summer, on a ferry between Scotland’s Oban and the Isle of Mull, I met a family from Texas.

How do you get people to come to your destination these days? Celebrity appeal. Or, better: appealing to celebrities. And even though we are north of Hollywood here in B.C.

When travel dreams take people to Europe, Italy is often their first stop. There’s something seductively charming about this country, its people and la dolce vita.

The broken chunk of overpass was suspended in midair, all raw, gaping exposed guts — bent rebar and crumbling hunks of concrete. It looked like something bad had happened, but actually it was something good. The Alaskan Way viaduct, a curving 3.

Westjet will be operating non-stop, weekly flights between Victoria and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico starting Nov. 5. The flights will leave Victoria at 8 a.m. and arrive in Mexico at 1:14 p.m. The return flight leaves Mexico at 2:15 p.m.

When it comes to eating in Spain, I love gathering around the table or bar for tapas — a parade of small dishes served family-style. I never tire of them.

Most Americans visiting France’s D-Day sites focus, understandably, on Omaha Beach — where thousands died on June 6, 1944. But if you’re planning to visit Normandy, don’t miss the other American landing site: Utah.