Florence- home of the Renaissance, David, the Medici's and Michelangelo for many years. The Duomo is massive- the 3rd biggest in Europe. It's amazing on the outside- colourful (green, white and pink marble), ornate carvings and a huge dome. On the inside, the dome is beautifully painted. Otherwise it's a pretty empty church. In front of the church is the baptistery, with beautiful mosaics of Christ and the devil on the inside, and Ghiberti's famous golden doors...

I took a day trip to Siena from Florence. I heard it was beautiful and it was, I just wasn't overly impressed. What I liked about it is that it's very medieval, lots of brick. I bought the all inclusive sight seeing ticket, which included 2 museums, a church, a crypt and a baptistery. Most of the sights are in the same area.The Duomo is quite impressive (large, with stained glass and statues of popes). Below the church, a 'crypt' was found in 1999 during an excav...

To describe this place is a challenge. A good one though- it's paradise. Beach, hikes, cliffs, vineyards... What else is there? Biarritz has some serious competition. Cinque Terre is a national park, consisting of 5 towns on hilltops along the coast of the Mediterranean. There are trains, boats and walking paths that connect the towns. You do have to buy a park pass if you want to hike. I was there on a weekend, so mine was more expensive. The park is big into b...

I did a day trip to Pisa. It is pretty big, and pretty dirty lol. You take a straight shot down from the train station, cross the river and boom- 4 sights, 1 square. It's quite convenient, all of Pisa's sights in a row lol. The leaning tower. Wow it doesn't disappoint. All of the buildings, including the tower, are made of a really nice white marble or limestone? Anyway it costs 15 euros to go up. But you gotta do it. The first level is half way up, and as you w...

Lucca has a big wall around it which means it's somewhat stuck in the 16th century. It is the only place in the world with a year-round festival. Yes, a performance every night, 365 days a year. Elton John and Amy Winehouse are coming here later this summer! Crazy- just because it's so small, though I'm sure people from surrounding areas come. The reason of the ongoing 'festival' is that Puccini (opera- that's all I know about him lol) was from here. The perform...