Vienna to Rome by way of Zagreb

Welcome! This website began in 2016 with a nine week journey from Vienna to Rome, hence the name of the website. The self-directed leisurely itinerary wandered through eight countries. Stops along the way included well known cities and many less well known but enchanting places such as Pécs, Zagreb, Lakes Bled and Bohinj, the Istrian peninsula, Mostar, Kotor, Bari, Ravenna. It was a travel dream come to life.

Over the years I added other trips to the website — Romania, Norway, England, several trips to Italy, Malta, Bolivia, as well as travels in the US and photos closer to home in Hartford. This year, however, troubles arose. Photos migrated aimlessly across the website: images from Bolivia appeared on pages dedicated to Romania, photos from Malta on a page on Lincoln Cathedral. The mess was too daunting to right. The best solution was to start over.

Travels are organized by year. Click on the year below my photo (below) or one of the categories below that and select a destination, or scroll down for posts arranged from most recent; click the date on the post to view images. In time I hope to restore some of the lost pages of the earlier website. Enjoy what is here and may these travels inspire travels for you.

Joseph Pace

  • West Quoddy Head is the easternmost point in the continental US. We were there on a beautiful, still day, unusually warm for the end of November. This is one of my favorite coastal hikes in Maine. The coast is rugged:…

  • It’s remarkable that in a week we have left the old city only twice and ventured less than five miles each time. The first excursion was to the monastery of La Popa; the second to Forteza San Felipe. The small,…

  • We spent a big part of the day in Getsemani, an artistic neighborhood. It has become such a popular tourist place that few locals still live there; instead it is full of bars, restaurants, small hotels. The streets are lined…

  • Rain. It rained today. Not a tropical shower, but hours of heavy rain. The kind of rain that cannot be ignored. Before the rain became too heavy I visited a museum of the Inquisition, human rights and the history of…

  • This morning Gerardo and I went to explore San Felipe, a massive fortress that, together with Cerro La Popa, protected Cartagena from the land. The city itself was protected on the sea side by 11 kilometers of walls and dense…

  • Rain last night and early this morning made for a very humid day….so humid, in fact, that immediately after breakfast we went to the hotel pool. In the afternoon, when the humidity dropped a bit, we made an excursion to…

  • My first good look at the city came at night and it impressed me. I was even more impressed this morning when we set out for a walk around the old city. The bright colors of the buildings, bougainvillea and…

  • Getting here was a long day, but flights were on time and comfortable. At immigration an official sent me through the diplomatic line which was a lovely welcome. The hotel is a former Carmelite convent that has been beautifully adapted.…

  • Three or four times a week (sometimes more often) I hike at Penwood, a state park about 15 minutes drive away. It is a beautiful park with many trails, a lake and wetlands and spectacular views over the valley looking…