The Marche Region sits in the center of Italy with the Apennines to its west and the Adriatic Sea to its east, and is best known for its rolling hills, agricultural products, parks and nature reserves, and its seaside towns and beaches. It is also a great region to discover small hilltop villages and picturesque towns that have preserved their medieval and renaissance heritages. In October, I spent a few days in the Le Marche Region of Italy following the Travel Bloggers Destination Italy conference in Rimini. Admittedly, I had never heard of the Le Marche region before and was mispronouncing the name of the region (pronounced lay MAR-kay) until we started the trip. However, I was excited to explore this relatively unknown region of Italy. During our trip we visited the northern part of Le Marche region of Italy known as the “Hills Riviera” and focused on the major seaside… Read the rest
Archives for April 2015
Safari West: An African Safari Experience in Sonoma California
I was really surprised to learn that there was an African wildlife preserve called Safari West located only 75 miles north of San Francisco. Safari West is a 400-acre wildlife preserve containing over 100 species and over 700 individual animals, including giraffes, cheetahs, zebras, flamingoes, rhinos, cape buffalo, lemurs, and wildebeest. Opened in 1993 by Peter and Nancy Lang, Safari West strives to promote wildlife advocacy and conservation through breeding, education, research and public interaction. The preserve shares similar environmental features to an African savanna and guests can take open-air guided wildlife safari drives to see many of the animals roaming the expansive property. The smaller animals are kept in enclosures that are reachable by a walkway and you can also visit the open-air aviary containing all sorts of exotic birds. Guests can even stay overnight here and see and hear many of the animals in the evening once the daytime crowds leave…. Read the rest