It is a lovely area, said Laura Coffey in The Guardian, with green hills, pretty villages and “colourful” seaside towns. The largest and most “beautiful” of these, 25 miles south of the Italian city of Trieste, is Piran, known for its medieval Venetian architecture. Nearby lies the Strunjan Landscape Park, with a gorgeous beach, Moon Bay, and Izola, another “vibrant” historic harbour town. I can recommend the DeGrassi hotel there (“supremely comfortable”), as well as Kmetija Medljan, a simple farm stay in the hills. Doing Route 66 by trainIt’s 100 years since the opening of Route 66, the “legendary” highway between Chicago and LA.