EuroAngel Graffiti

Most of my friends are planning for summer vacations this year. I believed everybody wants to enjoy the friendly and comfortable weather during the summer months. Why not? I always wanted the same. Last month during a friend’s birthday party, I was asked by another friend if there are affordable villas in Croatia where her whole family can stay during their vacation. I told her that there are a lot and the best way to find it is to browse the internet. Surfing the internet and looking for all kinds of accommodations from hotels to apartments, holiday rentals, vacation villas, cottages, bed and breakfast, everything is possible and searchable in the net.

Let me begin now with my main topic. This is about some interesting places to visit in the Tuscany region in Italy and how you can find affordable Italian villas to stay in this region. During my spring vacation last month, we visited some places in Italy while staying in a 3-star hotel in Pietra Ligure. I forgot the name of the hotel in that place but when I asked the receptionist how much they charge for a week stay in their hotel. She told me that it depends on which season of the year you are staying. She also mentioned that they have affordable villas and apartments to stay nearby. The cost per week ranges from 300-400 Euros and it is good for 5 persons. I believed it is not so expensive. If you have four friends going with you, it would probably cost you around 60 to 80 Euros in a week. This kind of accommodation for a 5-persons family is also a good offer. In addition to that, she also said that there is a kitchen in the apartment and all the utensils are also provided.

I had been to Italy but never been in the Tuscany region. It is located on Italy’s west coast, on the Tyrrhenian sea. Here are some of the places I wish to go next time.

Siena– also spelled as Sienna. Its historic centre is included in the list of UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the most visited city in Tuscany. The Cathedral of Siena (Duomo), the Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico, are only some of its interesting sights to visit.

Pisa– known for its Leaning Tower but there are also a lot of beautiful sights to see like the Duomo di Pisa, (Cathedral of Pisa), Battistero (Baptistry), Piazza Garibaldi, University botanical garden and some other more.

the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, called as Torre Pendente in Italian

Florence– the capital region of Tuscany which is very rich in culture, arts and architecture. The Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce (contains the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo and other notable people), Boboli Gardens, Piazzale Michelangelo, Uffizi museum are only some of its sights worthy to visit.

Other interesting cities to visit are San Gimignano, Pienza, Lucca, Montepulciano, and Arezzo.

Riomaggiore is one of the villages we visited in Cinque Terre during our spring vacation last April 2011. It is located in the region of Riviera di Levante in Italy. I love this small but beautiful and charming village. It is a historical village dating from the early thirteenth century. It is famous for its wine.

Going around by foot is the best way to see this small village. Here are some of the images I took during our visit.
I love this setting as most Italians are hanging and drying their clothes on their windows. Why not? It is a form of saving power and energy and saving our planet too.

the buildings in Riomaggiore.

the marina in Riomaggiore. This place reminds me of my home country.

There are a lot of beautiful countries to visit and explore in Europe. I had been to some of these countries and I’ve even thought about looking for removals to relocate to some of them. I have some favorites. One of it is Italy. There are some cities and towns that I had already visited in this country and so far I love them all. I remember during my spring vacation last month where we stayed in one of the cheap villas in Italy in the region of Liguria. That place was so enchanting!

Don’t you know that Italy is also home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world? No wonder, it is very famous worldwide not only for its interesting sights but also for its cuisine, beautiful beaches, trendy fashions, luxury cars and so many more.

Here are some of the top five places I wish to visit in Italy.

Rome

I am very happy and proud of myself after seeing this so-called “Eternal City”. This capital city of Italy is truly a magnificent one especially its historical architecture of various kinds. With its beautiful palaces, old but historical churches, beautiful fountains, interesting and varied monuments, romantic ruins, Rome has become one of Europe’s and the world’s most visited and beautiful capitals worthy to see and experience. I had been there and I can attest it. I wish to visit this city again in the future.

look whose striking a pose here? with Colosseum as the background. I love Rome!

Pisa

I envy some of my friends as they visited some of the famous cities in the Tuscany region in Italy last month. During that time, I was also gallivanting in Monaco, in the Ligurian region of Italy and French Riviera. My friend told me that they stayed in one of the beautiful Tuscany villas near a beach.

For sure, I would love to see the famous sight of Pisa, the world famous Leaning Tower. My friend reminded me not to miss the other architectural and interesting marvels of this beautiful city. Right now, I am still thinking whether to visit the Tuscany region in Italy or Turkey this summer season. I will see and will for sure share it here.

the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. taken by my friend.

Venice

One of the beautiful cities I happened to visit twice last 2005 and 2006. This place is so lovely that I am organizing a trip here sometime in July this year. I just want my friends to visit and see Venice, which is considered to be one of the most interesting cities in the world.

I love especially St. Mark’s Square, a must to see when visiting Venice. This is where you can see the St. Mark’s Basilica, a famous cathedral in this city. Do you know what is the main reason why I still want to go back there? I want to experience a gondola ride.

Florence

This is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. Florence was said to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. This city has played a very important role in influencing Europe, politically, economically, and culturally. The famous philosopher Galileo and other scientists conducted first the study of optics, astronomy, anatomy, ballistics and many more in this city.

I want to especially visit Santa Croce church, where Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo’s tombs and other notables are located. There are a lot of historical and interesting sights to see in this city. Watch it out when I am done visiting it.

Naples

Napoli, as it is called in Italian is the capital of the Italian region Campania. Do you know why I included this in my top five list? Naples is very proud of its 448 historical and monumental churches which is so far the highest number in the World for a single city. It has one of the biggest historical city centre in the world, the very reason why it is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers especially to my beloved Mama Rosa. I also had a wonderful Mother’s day celebration. I hope you too! We went today to Nuremberg, a city in Bavaria, Germany to watch the Venetian Market. This event started from April 28 to May 8, 2011. Last Thursday, I read on the newspaper that today is its last day of celebration and there will be a parade. It was not really a big parade like I expected but we enjoyed it especially going around the old city of Nuremberg.

It was quite a great day celebrating Mother’s Day even though I am still not a Mother.
I will be sharing more photos and updates soon in my other sites below.
Explore Germany
Europe Travel Pad
Travel Snapshots

different masks being sold at the Venetian market in Nuremberg.

participants of the little Venetian mask parade in Nuremberg.

Let me tell you this guys. When you go traveling, always expect that shopping and dining come with it. Unless you really planned not to go shopping or eating out. In every place you visit, there are always opportunities to shop whether for travel souvenirs or anything you might be interested of. I am thinking of buying antique gold chains as we visited San Remo in Italy last month but it is not included in my budget. We happened to pass-by a jewelry shop in this city who sells antique jewelries and collections. It was quite interesting.

San Remo, also written in one one word Sanremo is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western part of Italy. It was founded in Roman times and a very popular tourist destination on the Italian Riviera.

As usual, I have some postcards from this city, a magnet and a travel guide. I also ended up buying some pair of summer shoes which were 75% off that time. I guess it was a great deal.