Temple of Valadier & Urbino, Italy

This place is amazing! There is a whole cave system in this area that you can explore. I, of course, got lost and had to go down some back roads even on some roads that weren’t paved! I don’t think the gps directions were very up to date for this area. Anyways I made it to the general area and had to pull over and ask a really nice lady were to find the Sanctuary of Santa Maria or the Temple of Valadier near Genga, Italy. She was very helpful. Basically it is where google maps says it is but in order to get to it you have to drive like another kilometer down the road where you will see a little parking area. Then there is a sign and nice rock pathway up to the church in a cave. It is only about 700m but it seems like a long 700 metets definitely got a work out in! Haha.

There wasn’t too many people once I got there. About 4-6 people, 2 guys rock climbing, and 3 people shooting a movie scene inside the cave. I waited and watched for a while. And between scenes I got the go ahead to go up and take some photos myself of the church from the back of the cave. It was very cool! Worth it times 1000 if you are in the area.

I also wanted to share some pictures from the town of Urbino which is a very cute little charming town. There is a great view of the whole main town area from the park overlooking the city. I also got gelato at Gelateria Raffaella which was some of the best peach (pesca) gelato I have ever had! I also got raspberry.. yum. 

love, Carlee

Tallinn Old Town

This was by far the most popular area of the city and for good reason it is gorgeous! It is one of the most well preserved medieval in all of Europe. And also can we talk about the doors? Who knew I was gonna spend 50% of my time in old town taking photos of doors. They have gorgeous doors! My hotel was right in old town I stayed at the Three Residents Hotel and it was a great location. However it wasn’t the most comfortable because my room was very hot but I usually book hotels on where they are located and I never want to spend an arm and a leg so I get what I get haha. For location I would totally recommend the hotel.

When I first arrived in the city I took a little train ride around. It cost 6 euro and was a nice way to get introduced to the city without having to walk everywhere. Also on the weekend there was a big market in the main square and they traditional goods and gifts and lots of handmade stuff.

I love getting good views of the city and while there was some great views from Toompea Hill. I think the best views are from St. Olaf’s Church! You can see everywhere in Tallinn and get a 360 view. So you can see the harbor, old town, new parts as well. When I went it was kinda rainy so I basically had the whole area to myself which was nice. I don’t like being rushed. I will say that the stairs to climb up to the bell tower were some of the more sketchy ones I have seen on my travels. So just be careful.

For food I recommend Pierre Chocolaterie they had great desserts and ice cream and cake etc. I went there twice so yeah it was very good. Almost all the little cafes I encountered in Tallinn you order at the counter first and then sit. So don’t just sit and expect someone to come take your order. The first thing I got when I was walking from the port to the city center was a cupcake at Tassikoogid. I just randomly happened upon and the cupcakes were so good!
love, Carlee

Toompea Hill: Tallinn, Estonia

This is a gorgeous area of the city with beautiful churches and amazing views! One of the first things I did after checking into my hotel was head to Toompea Hill for some amazing views of the city. I headed up the street Pikk Jalg which had some great local artists selling their original work and also working on more stuff. There was a wedding just leaving the church when I get to the top and that was cool to see the brides dress was gorgeous... well at least the back which is all I saw haha.

I found a great view which included a rowdy bachelorette party! I actually saw about 3-4 bachelorette parties throughout the city, Tallinn must be the place to go for your last hurrah (also just googled how to spell hurrah... I had no idea haha.) I then made my way over to the Toompea castle which to me is more like a palace then a castle when I imagine a castle I image guard towers and such. Also if you saw my instagram of this place I edited it way more pink than it is in real life but whatever. I have fun with editing photos. Also all these photos are totally unedited. The photos for about the last 10 posts have also been unedited to time consuming. I also saw the lovely church Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which is an Orthodox Church.

On the way down from Toompea hill I was going to stop at Cortile and have some ice cream but they were closed for some sort of emergency. Also on my last day I went over and down the back side of Toompea Hill to a little gourmet hot dog place and I had a pulled pork dog and it was awesome! The last photo is actually a photo of Toompea Hill from the top of St. Olaf Church.  It is a great area and definitely worth the visit if you are in Tallinn.
love, Carlee