An Italian Holiday

Zenzero gets a bigger slice of the Italian lifestyle by visiting Palandian sites in Vicenza, Venetian historic sights, and good design at the Biannale in Venice.

So join Zenzero with his retro scooter on this trip around these amazing locations. Ciao Bella!!!

Malta: Ħaġar Qim and Imnajdra

The megalithic temple complexes of Ħaġar Qim and Imnajdra date back from around 3600 to 3200 BC. That means they're more than 5000 years old! That means they are the world's oldest free standing man-made structures, and probably the oldest religious site in the world: no small feat.

Zenzero started off at the Imnajdra complex, and then continued up to the ones at Ħaġar Qim which are located a 5 minute walk away. On the way, Zenzero caught glimpse of at the island of Filfla.

Some of the stones at the temples are up to 3m high by 6m long! Some say some of the stones are so big that giants had to have moved them: in the last photo Zenzero tries to see what it feels like to be a giant at the temples.

Zenzero visits the sacred island of Malta

Malta might be small, but it has a lot to offer. At just 300km² ,  it's one of Europe's smallest and most densely populated countries. During his voyage here he will visit the Ħaġar Qim and Imnajdra temples, Tarxien temples, Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, Valletta, Mdina and Gozo. St. Paul might have arrived here by accident, but Zenzero's trip was surely planned, Berlitz guide and all.

Landed at the shores in Wied iz-Żurrieq

Eating a Traditional Maltese Pastizz

Planning the trip ahead

Enjoying a bottle of the local Cisk

Zenzero gets interviewed in The Sunday Times of Malta

Today is a very important day for Zenzero. His travels have started to receive so much recognition, that the Sunday Times of Malta found it fit to carry out an interview with him about his travels and his paranoia of being nibbled on. The article "Travelling in good taste" is a full page spread none the less! If you can pick up a copy, make sure you do! To the right is a high res scan of the page. To see a photo of the interview in print click here. Being published in the "Travel Leisure and Food" section of the The Sunday Times on 25th July 2010, also proved to be the blog's busiest day, with hundreds of hits. Thank you everybody!

Guinness, A Taste of Ireland

The Guinness brewery was set up in 1759 in St. James's Gate. This brew had resulted in a considerable economic impact for the city. For much time since its foundation, the Guinness brewery was the largest employer in the city. Guinness is surely a major part of Irish culture, so Zenzero couldn't resist not visiting the Guinness Factory, and trying a pint or two himself. Yumm!

Dublin: Ireland's Fair City

He might not have the luck of the Irish, but he is lucky enough to get to visit the Irish Capital: Dublin. The Greeks had their first recorded settlement in the area which the they called Eblana Civitas. Later on, a settlement called Dubh Linn started emerging and the town was established by the Norse in about 841. Ultimately it was taken over by the Celts until the British launched the conquest of Ireland. Today it acts as Zenzero's travel destination.   

Among the many landmarks, Zenzero also visited Dublina, Trinity College, Saint Patrick's Church, Sweet Molly Malone, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and later on, the Guinness factory.