Traveling for us is more than ticking off the tourist sites. It is about finding new places and getting under their skin. So whenever we find ourselves somewhere new these are the rules:

(1) find a hill and climb it – it usually has some kind of ecclesiastical structure on top of it so isn’t hard to find and it helps us get our bearings and gives us some amazing views

(2) visit the market – it’s usually in the heart of the place, somewhere the local people meet and helps us with (3)

(3) try some local food and/or drink – we need little encouragement with this though some local delicacies require stronger stomachs than others!

 (4) find a cycle path and cycle along it until it takes us somewhere off the beaten track – and if there isn’t a cycle path get the Garmin out and make one of our own.