Montepulciano (Italy) - Some Places to Eat

As a small town, Montepulciano does a good job with feeding crowds of tourist invading the place. In this installment of my notes about Montepulciano, I want to describe some options available to visitors looking for places to eat and drink in this town. To do that, I invented my own scheme to group places to eat you can find in Montepulciano.
Montepulciano (Italy) - Coming to Town
Montepulciano (Italy) - Churches
Montepulciano (Italy) - Some Places to Eat Feb. 3, 2011

La Locanda di San Francesco (Montepulciano, Italy)

To stay three nights in Montepulciano, amall, cute and ancient Italian town in the heart of Tuscany, we chose La Locanda di San Francesco hotel. With only four guests' suites, located in the center of the town and family owned, La Locanda seemed to have everything to meet our expectations of a quiet, well maintained place. Dec. 14, 2010

San Gimignano Walking Tour - Part I: Via San Matteo

I invite you for a walking tour in San Gimignano, a charming Tuscan medieval hill town. If you need a tourist trivia related to San Gimignano, please see its description and useful tips on our travel ideas section of the site. Same way, if you are interested to learn more about places to eat, visit our page Restaurants in San Gimignano. For this article however my plan is to show you San Gimignano as it is - its main tourist destinations as well as scenes of everyday life on its streets.
Part I: Via San Matteo
Part II: Piazza Duomo and Rocca di Montestaffoli
Part III: Museo Civico
Part IV: Piazza della Cisterna and via San Giovanni
Dec. 5, 2010

San Gimignano Walking Tour - Part II: Piazza Duomo and Rocca di Montestaffoli

We continue the exploration of San Gimignano, a charming Tuscan medieval hill town. In Part I we started our walking tour with entering the town through its northern gate, porta San Matteo, and gradually getting to piazza Duomo. Several very popular attractions are located on the square. However, in Part II of the tour, we limit our exploration of piazza Duomo by looking at surrounding palaces and their architecture. Then, we turn left and continue walking around Collegiata up the hill to visit the town's fortress.
Part I: Via San Matteo
Part II: Piazza Duomo and Rocca di Montestaffoli
Part III: Museo Civico
Part IV: Piazza della Cisterna and via San Giovanni
Dec. 5, 2010

San Gimignano Walking Tour - Part III: Museo Civico

The third part of our tour is dedicated entirely to Palazzo Comunale (Municipal Palace or, simply, Town Hall). It does not involve a lot of walking, but I would allocate a couple of hours to this place. Its main attraction is the Museo Civico and Torre Grossa (Civic Museum and Big Tower).
Part I: Via San Matteo
Part II: Piazza Duomo and Rocca di Montestaffoli
Part III: Museo Civico
Part IV: Piazza della Cisterna and via San Giovanni
Dec. 5, 2010

San Gimignano Walking Tour - Part IV: Piazza della Cisterna and via San Giovanni.

If you remember, we started our tour with entering the historic (walled) center of San Gimignano through its northern gate, Porta San Matteo, and continued south on nd around via San Matteo. We gradually reached piazza del Duomo, explored La Rocca (small fortress) and, upon returning back to piazza del Duomo, visited museum located in Palazzo Comunale as well as Torre Grossa and Collegiata. Our next stop is on piazza della Cisterna which is literally two steps from piazza Duomo.
Part I: Via San Matteo
Part II: Piazza Duomo and Rocca di Montestaffoli
Part III: Museo Civico
Part IV: Piazza della Cisterna and via San Giovanni
Dec. 5, 2010

Restaurants in San Gimignano, Italy

After spending rather significant time in finding good places to eat in San Gimignano, Italy, I thought that sharing my experience can be useful for other travelers visiting this wonderful Tuscan hill town. I do not pretend to provide full reviews of various places - these are just my notes and observations regarding various options to eat in San Gimignano. Nov. 23, 2010

Hotel Cavaliere, Spoleto (Italy)

While travelling in Tuscany this year we decided to stop and explore Spoleto. The town is located in Umbria but it happened to be on our way back from Tuscany to Rome. Cavaliere Palace Hotel was our choice for lodging. There were several reasons for our decision. One of them was our preference for quiet places. Another one was the location of the hotel in the historic center of the city. Nov. 11, 2010

Hotel L'Antico Pozzo, San Gimignano (Italy)

To stay for tree days in the small and charming medieval Tuscan town of San Gimignano we chose hotel L'Antico Pozzo. It is located in via San Matteo 87 - the street which starts from one of the gates in medieval defensive wall surrounding the historic center of the town. Despite some minuses, we believe that anybody traveling and staying in San Gimignano should consider it. After all there are few hotels located within the town's historic center. Nov. 8, 2010

Apple Print Products - Aperture Books

In this article I want to share my experience with using Aperture 3 book tool and Apple printing service that actually crafts those books and delivers them to you. Nov. 3, 2010

Tuscan Wines (Crash Course) - Part I: Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino

Chances are high that you already know one of red wines produced in Tuscany - Chianti. Indeed, Chianti is one of the most recognized names of red wines in the world. I've met people for whom Chianti was synonymous to red wine. However, Tuscany, as the wine producing region can offer much more. Do not get me wrong. Chianti with all its varieties is a good wine. But if I am to tell you about Tuscan wine, I start with Brunello di Montalcino. Oct. 12, 2010

Pistock-C from Novoflex - a Simple Support for DSLR Video

What puzzles me sometimes is why some obvious things are ignored by many people. The same way I ignored a simple, inexpensive and at the same time effective solution for shooting video with DSLRs without tripods. Indeed, I was ready to pay almost $900 for Zacuto Striker, a hand-held support kit, but did not want to try more effective and cheaper support systems. Sept. 10, 2010

Billingham 335 Photo Camera Bag - Timeless English Classic

Do you believe that there is such thing as a perfect photo camera bag? Well, I still do not, but my belief has been seriously shaken when I started using Billingham 335 Photo Camera Bag. What surprises me most is the attention to details in this bag; it seems like each and every element of its design, including seemingly unimportant things, turn out having their purpose. July 25, 2010

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, About the Museum

The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a very good place for kids and adults to start learning or to improve knowledge about American history. I also think that this museum can be interesting for visitors from other countries. American History museum is located on the National Mall, at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. The Museum is open daily except December 25. Regular hours are 10:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with extended hours until 7:30 pm during summer time. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

- National Museum of American History: About the Museum
- National Museum of American History, First Floor: Science, Innovation, Technology and Transportation.
- National Museum of American History, Second Floor: American Lives and American Ideas
- National Museum of American History, Third Floor: American Wars and Politics

July 23, 2010

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, First Floor: Science, Innovation, Technology and Transportation.

When you plan your visit to the American History Museum, you should be aware that it is organized by thematic collections. Although they are structured to represent important aspects of the American heritage, museum's exhibitions do not represent a consistent timeline in the history of the United States from the time when first settlements were founded up to the most recent historic events. It seems that the reason behind this approach is simple: it's much easier to narrate about separate aspects of the American history rather than present in one place the whole history of such big country as the United States.

- National Museum of American History: About the Museum
- National Museum of American History, First Floor: Science, Innovation, Technology and Transportation.
- National Museum of American History, Second Floor: American Lives and American Ideas
- National Museum of American History, Third Floor: American Wars and Politics

July 23, 2010

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Second Floor: American Lives and American Ideas

Exhibitions on the second floor of the American History Museum are focused on social aspects of American history - American lives and ideas. Here you will find interesting exhibitions "Within These Walls..." and "Communities in a Changing Nation: The Promise of 19th-century America." There are several collections dedicated to African-Americans and exhibition related to Jewish immigration. But again, no matter how interesting current collections are, there are significant gaps in museum's presentations related to some even very important historic events.

- National Museum of American History: About the Museum
- National Museum of American History, First Floor: Science, Innovation, Technology and Transportation.
- National Museum of American History, Second Floor: American Lives and American Ideas
- National Museum of American History, Third Floor: American Wars and Politics

July 23, 2010

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Third Floor: American Wars and Politics

Did you pay attention to those gray areas on maps with National American History Museum floor layouts? It seems like these are areas closed to public with displays not setup yet for public viewing. Just looking at maps, I would say that about 40-45% of the total floor space at the museum is not used currently for exhibitions. If this is true, I hope that there is an effort in progress to show visitors much more than what is shown now. I am talking about this, because currently only half of the third floor is used for it direct purpose - to promote understanding of the American history and in particular, such things as American wars and politics.

- National Museum of American History: About the Museum
- National Museum of American History, First Floor: Science, Innovation, Technology and Transportation.
- National Museum of American History, Second Floor: American Lives and American Ideas
- National Museum of American History, Third Floor: American Wars and Politics

July 23, 2010

Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Gallerie Photo Wrap Frame with Monet or Daguerre Canvas

Originally, I did not plan to write about Hahnemuhle Gallerie Photo Wrap Frame, the entry level wrap frame from Hahnemuhle. Although idea is good, the details of its implementation make it completely unusable. So, instead of writing a negative review, I submitted a brief feedback to B&H store (New York, USA) (where I originally bought the product for testing and evaluation). Unfortunately, it appears that B&H customer review moderators decided that my feedback was too negative and could undermine their sales numbers - my brief explanation why the product is not good has never shown up on B&H site. Well, at this point, I decided to publish more extensive review on Naviquan.com.
Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Part 1: Gallerie Photo Wrap Frames
Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Part 2: Standard or Professional Gallerie Wrap Frames July 5, 2010

Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Standard or Professional Gallerie Wrap Frames

Let me start with saying that Hahnemuhle Gallerie Standard and Professional Wraps are a better solution for wrap frames than their Gallerie Photo Wrap sibling covered previously. I would highlight the following advantages of "standard" and "pro" wraps over "photo" ones: (1) Significantly lower costs of supply materials, (2) More professional look of finished frames, and (3) Easier positioning of the frame.
Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Part 1: Gallerie Photo Wrap Frames
Hahnemuhle Frame Systems - Part 2: Standard or Professional Gallerie Wrap Frames July 5, 2010

Zacuto DSLR Products: Striker Kit

In one of the previous articles dedicated to Zacuto family of DSLR products I described its basic components: Z-Finder and Gorilla Plate. This time, we make one step further and explore Zacuto Striker, a DSLR camera support kit offering four points (assuming that you use Z-Finder attached to Gorilla Plate) of contact/support: (1) a hand on the handgrip, (2) the gunstock against your shoulder, (3) another (focusing) hand on the lens and (4) additional point of support by placing Z-Finder eyecup against your eye. Unless you dare to shoot video with DSLR without any support, you will discover that the Striker is the most essential support kit for its purpose. July 5, 2010