Ciao Italy, Hola Espana
Monday Susan, Tim, Tracey and I left our apartment in Florence well before dawn…at 3:45 am for our 6:30 flights…Susan, Tim and Tracey were off to Orlando via Frankfurt and […]
Author Archives: Carolyn Nichols
Siena
Sunday, our final day in Italy, we visited Siena, an hour away by bus from Florence, and home to one of the most beautiful cathedrals, a pretty gothic quarter, and […]
Florence: Uffizi Gallery
This morning we visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, after walking past the Duomo one last time in the calm of the morning. The Uffizi building houses a collection of […]
Florence: The Academia (David), Medici Chapel, and a View of Florence
Today, Friday, we went to the Academia Museum (famous mostly for housing the famous Michelangelo statue “David”, wandered around Florence (I hit the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio and the Central Market), […]
Roma ➡️ Firenze
Thursday we left Rome on a rainy day. Traffic in Rome was crazy but we had allotted more than sufficient time to wait for the taxi (Freenow app is very […]
A Visit to Another Country in Rome; the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica & More
Tuesday we visited the smallest country in the world, Vatican City, with a population of under 1000 people (no children) and a size of around 100-110 acres In size it […]
Roma!
Sunday we took trains from the Cinque Terre to La Spizia to Roma Termini, where Susan and I picked up our stored baggage (after a quick trip to Uniqlo…don’t ask). […]
La Spezia, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Levanto, Monterosso al Mare: Cinque Terre Day 2
Saturday was our second and last day in Cinque Terre. We bought a day train pass (discounted for 70+)…about 23 euros for adults and 18 for 70+. It included the […]
Cinque Terre Hiking
There are five, centuries old seaside villages in this part of the Italian Riviera in Liguria: Cinque Terre means “Five Lands” and the villages are a UNESCO World Heritage site. […]
Venice to Cinque Terre via Train
We left Venice yesterday early to train to Cinque Terre via Verona. I put together this trip pretty quickly and booked the tickets during our flight from Turkey…and didn’t really […]
Murano & Burano, Italy
Wednesday we ( Susan, Tim, Tracey & I) took the vaporetto (water bus) to Murano from Santa Lucia in Venice. I had booked a demonstration of glass blowing in Murano. […]
Venice: Doges Palace (Italian Tour), Getting Lost in Venice
Tuesday we had our first of two full days in Venice. Everyone went exploring early…I walked to San Marco Square, taking lots of photos of canals, boats and shops along […]
Sorrento to Venice by Train
Today we had a leisurely start with a 10:20 train to Naples, then a noon train to Venice Santa Lucia, arriving around 5:30pm. It was a nice journey and easy…Susan […]
Naples, Italy: Archeological Museum, Naples Pizza and Castel Sant’Elmo
Sunday we (Susan & Tim Wright, Tracey Thompson and I) took the train to Naples to look at the Archeological Museum (especially to see items displayed there from Pompeii), to […]
Capri, Italy
Yesterday was a long one…we walked to the port in Sorrento (which involved the first of many steps during the day)…following google maps we walked to the elevator which theoretically […]
Ostia Antica
Yesterday, Susan and I went early to the Trevi fountain, where we saw social media influencer. She had heels in a white dress and as soon as she was done […]
Rome: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese Gardens & Wandering Around
Susan and I had no huge agenda today. We pivoted to Italy early after the World Championships were cancelled (we had planned a trip here to start March 22..instead we […]
Good Bye Turkey, Hello Roma!
We had an early morning start to the day, as Jenny, Christina, Vicky & Steve, Susan and I took a 5:15 shuttle to the airport. In Turkey everyone has to […]
A Last Tennis Day in Turkey
Sunday was another all-day tennis fest at Ali Bey Manavgat with Aussie, Swiss, Irish, American, NZL, Canadian, and German players sharing the courts. I’ve been there many times and probably […]
Alanya! (And Tennis)
Today there was morning tennis and an afternoon excursion to Alanya. More and more players are showing up including Aussies, Kiwis, along with UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands and Mexico…maybe more. […]
Still Practicing in Turkey
Friday was another beautiful day in Turkey. More and more players are arriving who were to play in the World Championships and despite its cancellation, came anyway…from Australia, Germany and […]
All Day Tennis; Also ITF MT 1000 Ali Bey Manavgat, Cancelled
The ITF MT 1000 for all age divisions, which was to have followed the Individual World Championships (which are cancelled) was also cancelled today by the ITF. The next issue, […]
World Championships: Cancelled
Jenny, Vicki & Steve and I left our hotel to go to the one hosting the world championships…but world affairs have intervened (yes, there are way more important things going […]
Travel to Turkey!
Vicki Buholz, Jenny Rens and I arrived safely in Turkey on March 2 though it was March 3 by the time we finally got to our hotel in Side. We […]
Susan Shelby Torrance
Susan (Shelby) Torrance passed away a few days ago (Feb 28) of adenocarcinoma according to her go fund me page. Born June 26, 1950, she was 75 years old. Shelby […]
And We Are Off to Turkey
Jenny Rens, Vicki & Steve Buholz and I are about 90 minutes from taking off for Istanbul, then on to Antalya. We are gambling a bit that the ITF World […]
USTA Announces 50/55 Cup Teams
The 2026 ITF Masters World Team Championships will take place in Rome, Italy July 5-10. The Individual World Championships will follow July 11-18. Below are the team rosters for Team […]
Buholz, Nichols & Kimball Win Singles Gold in Palm Beach Gardens (Level 1 USTA & ITF MT 1000)
Draws are here, for USTA members only to view. Yesterday, Thursday…was a very long one. It began with 8am warm up with Anna Zimmermann as it always did this week […]
Rens/Buholz Into 60 Singles Final & Wachob/Kimball into 80s Final in Palm Beach Gardens on a Beautiful Winter Day
Draws are here (only accessible to those who have a USTA membership). It was calmer and warmer today (temps are expected to reach mid-70s today) and the sky was blue, […]
Palm Beach Gardens Day 2: Round of 16 & Quarterfinal Action on a Sunny Tuesday
Draws can be viewed here by USTA members only. (Sorry about that…I don’t make the rules though…) The obligatory weather report: it was sunny but cool today with lows in […]