In summer 1999, Oli and I decided to pay the ancient Italy a visit - in progress of our tour we visited fascinating Rome (and the Vatican State, of course), beautiful Florence, and last but not least Venice - the romantic city built in water.
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Rome |
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By train, we first traveled to Rome. Rome, that's on the one hand an around 2,750 years old city with uncountable sights and on the other hand a city that's fighting everyday against the complete breakdown of traffic.
What fascinated me most in Rome was the curiosity that gripped me when turning into another street - because every street, doesn't matter how small, conceals a small part of history.
Rome is an unique city as it's stuffed with ancient buildings and great "piazzas". When visiting this great city you definitely have to see:
Actually, it's impossible to list here all the sights Rome has to offer as there are so many - nearly uncountable. I really have to admit that I haven't seen a city that's comparable with Rome - a city where history is all pervasive. However, Rome offers not only sights and ancient buildings but also fantastic restaurants, bars, and not to forget, delicious ice-cream in all possible tastes. Yum!
The other side of Rome, the not so pleasing side, is the traffic. Especially the numerous mopeds do not make life easier for those who are walking through the city - you always have to take care that the moped-drivers do not knock you down. Okay, it's not THAT bad but keeping a sharp eye on them is definitely not a bad idea.
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After enjoying some great days in Rome we continued our tour and got to Florence.
Florence |
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A city bursting with art treasures from the Renaissance, the Romanesque and the Gothic period; surrounded by vineyards and olive groves - but still, a city full of life.
For me, Florence was like a big museum combined with unmistakable beauty. Especially the cathedral impressed me incredibly - Cupola and Campanile really fascinated me. However, that doesn't mean that the dome is the only worth-mentioning sight - other remarkable points of interests are, for example:
Like with Rome, it's also impossible to list all the sights Florence has to offer. However, there is still one more thing I'd like to mention - the pig Porcellino. It's said that if you stroke his snout you'll come back to Florence some day. I've stroked his snout...
Last but not least, I'd like to dedicate some sentences to the Florence markets. I've never seen a city with so many various markets before - everybody can buy nearly everything there: from shoes to T-Shirts, from Kitsch to Postcards, from art to whatever you can imagine.
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Venice |
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Our last station on our Italy trip was Venice - a city built on 118 islands, a city with 2 sides: on one hand it's a city of dream and on the other hand it's a city fighting against sinking into the sea - forever. Venice also struggles with unhygienic sanitary conditions, with shocking prices in the housing market, and with the thousands of tourists visiting the city every year.
Despite all this, Venice for me, is still an attractive city - the flair, the gondolas, Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, ... I love it! Furthermore there are so many hidden places in Venice, uncountable small streets and bridges off-the-beaten track - ideal for romantic moments... You can wander along endlessly, but take care not to get lost (this happened twice to me, already!).
Personally, I think Venice is a city full of surprises therefore I recommend everybody to explore this city without a travel-guide (but with a map!) and experience its wonders! However, if you want to get an insight into the complicated structure of the city climb the 98.6 m high tower San Marco or the 75 m high Campanile of the island church San Giorgio Maggiore - you'll be rewarded with a fantastic view!
Here are some pictures of our stay in Venice:
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In February 1998 I also paid this city a visit - February is Carnival-time!!! During Carnival you see a lot of creative, awesome masks...., but you won't be alone - thousands of tourists crowd the streets. Anyway, Carnival in Venice in my opinion was an unique experience. And I want to share this experience with you - here again, are some pictures:
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