Strolling along the cobblestone streets in Florence, Italy
Florence, or known as Firenze in Italian, is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It is located in the romantic Tuscany region. Florence has so many interesting things to do. I prepared my list of places to visit prior to arriving at Florence. I have the Duomo and other churches, Uffizi Museum, Statue of David, Piazza Michelangelo and 14th century bridge Ponte Vecchio in my list.
The best of all is that all these places are within walking distance. There is no need to take rely on public transport or cars to move around. I joined the thousand of tourists strolling along the tiny cobblestone streets that crisscrosses Florence to visit the many churches around the Duomo like Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo, Santo Spirito, Santa Croche.
In one of the cobblestone street leading to Duomo was Via Ricasoli 60. On this street, there was Galleria dell’Accademia where Michelangelo’s masterpiece sculpture, David, was on display. I joined the thousands of visitors crowding around the sculpture to admire and also, to take pictures with David. This was the life time opportunity to see this masterpiece.
For lunch, I bought a piece of pizza from one of the local Italian pizza shops around Piazza Del Duomo. To save time, I ate my pizza by the road side just like one of the backpackers in Florence.
From the Duomo, I walked along the cobblestone street to Uffizi Museum. Uffizi Museum has one of the best art collection in the world. UNESCO estimate that 60% of world art collection is in Italy. 50% of it is in Florence.
From Uffizi Museum, I moved on to visit the 14th century Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio is one of the most famous landmarks in Florence. Ponte Vecchio is a medieval bridge crossing Arno River that runs through Florence.
In the evening before the sunset, I made my way to Piazza Michelangelo, where there was a giant replica of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David awaits us, to see the sun set over the city of Florence. This was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. To those who plan to visit Florence, don’t miss the sunset view from Piazza Michelangelo.
After the sunset, I made my way back to my hotel. Florence accommodation is easy to book via internet. Accommodation in Florence caters for all type of travelers depending on their budget. Luxurious or cheap accommodation is readily available in Florence.
After freshening up in the hotel, I was out to the cobblestone street of Florence again. This time was to savor the nightlife in this old renaissance city.
Tags: Accomodations · Europe · Historical · Uncategorized
There are many activities visitors visiting Whistler during winter seasons such as snowmobile, heli-skiing, heli-boarding, snowshoeing, sleigh riding, dog sledging, cross country skiing or even, fishing on the rivers in Whistler. All these activities can keep visitors’ adrenaline pumping as long as they stay in Whistler. These activities can cater for various level of expertise. The event organizer can provide training for beginners. The experts can go for more grueling course. The facilities for these activities are world class standard. In fact, some events for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Whistler. Many more are being build for the Olympics and things can only get better in Whistler.
Hong Kong, the Hollywood of Asia, is famous for its Cantonese movies plus movie stars like Jacky Chan, Chow Yuen Fatt, Maggie Cheung and Bond girl, Michelle Yeoh. Besides movies, Hong Kong is famous for its Chinese cuisine like tim-sum and shopping haven for tourists. For business people, Hong Kong is one of the top financial centers in Asia together with Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai.
My favorite shopping areas in Hong Kong were Causeway Place at Time Square and Sogo, Kowloon, Central at Landmark and Chater House, Shim Tsa Chui and Mongkok. Hong Kong had exciting night markets and shopping there was fun. Among the famous night markets were Temple Street, Jordan Street and Ladies’ Market.
Following the Tour de France, the world premier cycling road race, from stage to stage in France is one of the most interesting and yet tiring for enthusiasts like myself. The fans have to wake up early to position themselves at good strategic spots to catch the cycling idols cycle past them and taking the best shots.
Taking strategic positions happens during the start of the race, during the race and at the finish line of every stage. I particularly enjoy the race when it reaches the Alps. This is when cyclists slow down when they are riding up the Alps. This is the best time for fans of Tour de France to enjoy seeing their favorite cyclists riding past them slowly. This is the time when the cyclists will be spread out and not riding as a group. It’s the best time for taking pictures as you can take the best shots with the full facial expression of the cyclists as the conquer the Alps.
We made many stops along the way to take so many pictures of the beautiful Lake Tahoe and Sierras. The scenery was so spectacularly beautiful and we were totally satisfied with the drive on ‘the most beautiful drive in America’.
In the longhouse, the long covered gallery that runs through the length of the longhouse is called ruai. The residents of longhouses conduct all their ceremonies in the ruai.
Visiting Sydney is simple and easy with ample facilities for tourists such as Sydney Pass to move around and most of the tourist attractions are centered on Circular Quay. Sydney accommodation is easily available and booking was done via the the internet.
