Dolce Vita : Pisa, Florence and Cinque Terra

Among the countries in Europe, one of the most traveled and popular is Italy I think. And it has a lot to offer too. From the Alps to the islands to ancient history to fabulous beaches to Venice! It has it all! I myself have visited Italy at least 3-4 times, and still there are so many supposedly fabulous places there to visit.

My first trip to Italy was in Easter 2006, to Tuscany and close by areas (Pisa, Florence and Cinque Terra). We landed in Pisa, and were there for half a day. In Pisa, the only worthwhile place to visit is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, else don't much see the point of going there.

The Leaning Tower is located in an enclosed park-like area with green grass (which is very good for sleeping in the sun, especially if you are from a sun starved place like London!!), where there are three buildings : The Tower, the Duomo and the Baptistery. In fact, all three of them are tilted but possibly because of its height, the lean in the Tower is a lot more visible. The typical photograph taken by anyone who is visiting the Tower is with your hand superimposing the tower, as if its you who are pushing it down! Its a must for anyone visiting this wonder of the world.

There is a ticket to go up the Tower, a bit expensive, but if you are there, you may as well climb it! The climb is not too strenuous, and you will realize while climbing up that you start walking at a tilted angle, same as the angle of the tower! The climb does get a bit scary, specially when you are on the top and you realise that the building you are standing on is actually tilled and someday expected to fall down:)) In fact even when you get down, you will walk tilted for sometime. You get a good view of the Pisa town from the top of the Tower.

You can walk around a bit in the Pisa town, its like any other Italian town, light brown in colour, with old houses, and the mandatory river flowing through. The area around the Tower is also very touristy, lot of shops selling tourist ware. One thing you definitely should do while in Italy is to have the Gelato (ice cream). The flavours are varied, and its available (and needed) everywhere given the heat.

Our second stop was Florence. Inspite of everyone I know who has visited the city loving it, somehow I did not feel the same. The city is like any other Italian city/town. You can choose out of a couple of walking tours in the city. We took one, where they tell you the history of the city, the old families who used to rule Florence and the rest of Italy, where the 'hole in the wall' saying came from, about the Medici family and how they ruled the city etc etc. Florence is a city of Wealth and Art. Apparently it was ruled by a number of strong families, the most famous among them being the Medici family.

They owned the city and would do what they pleased too. You can even see a walkaway from their own house to other parts of the city which was built by them so that the Medici family members could travel around the city without having to walk in the open. This walkaway runs in the middle of houses and other buildings, and this could be done just because they were so powerful!

Florence was also where Michalenaglo worked for a part of his life. There are hazaar churches, piazzas and palazzos (palaces) you can see in the city, and most of them are actually quite impressive (you can see the huge list at the train station!). Someone who loves architecture would definitely fall in love with Florence, there is just so much to see and explore!!

The Duomo is the most impressive and famous building in the city, with its watch tower and the huge dome which was built after many years of trial and errors. Apparently everytime it was built, the dome used to fall down because of its huge size. After years of remaining an open roof church, the dome was finally completed using a new architectural technique devised by Michaelangelo.

Just next to the Duomo is the Florence city square with the townhall etc. Another couple of sculptures there, and a lot of history (most of which I have forgotten!)








Another thing to note in the city was the fresco paintings in churches all over the city, apparently a technique devised in Florence itself.










There are also a couple of museums in the city, with famous sculptures. The line to enter the museums is generally long, so you may want to take the walking tours which include the entry to the museums also. We saw one of the museums, the one with 'David'. Was a decent museum, with lot of sculptures etc.

One thing you can definitely do when in Italy, and that is shop! I walked around a bit in Florence while waiting in the line for the museum, and there was hazaar shops with amazingly designed clothes and sold very very cheap. Some of the most stylish clothes i bought in Europe, were actually from Florence:)

Our last halt on this trip was in Cinque Terra, where we actually got a feel of what the Italian word , 'Dolce Vita' (the good life) actually means! Cinque Terra refers to a national park in the north of Italy,within which were discovered 5 villages. The 5 villages are Montessoro, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. [Links from Wiki photos] All the 5 villages are located on cliffs, in a straight line along the ocean. These villages were discovered quite late, as they are isolated from the rest of the mainland by the mountains which surround them. They are not reachable by road, and are completely isolated from the world. The people in these villages just enjoy a laidback life away from the world, and you would learn that too, within two days of being there! Long lunches, looking at the beautiful view, walking around spending time in the villages, and the forest and the walks and the treks. A relaxing time is what you will get here!

The Cinque Terra villages can be reached only either by train which link the 5 villages or else by trekking. The trains are similar to the mountain trains we have in India, like in Ooty and Darjeeling, and run at their own pace. The tracks are next to the sea, passing through tunnels in the hills giving amazing views of the woods and the sea, a beautiful journey... The trek between the villages is quite a favorite too among tourists, to walk from one village to the other, eat some tasty food, and enjoy the local wine and then to move on to trek to the next village! The villages are all similar, but still different. You can timepass there too, in the small by-lanes. Shopping there would be expensive though.

The treks between the villages are beautiful, and not too long or taxing, with beautiful views on the way. Frequent stops at the villages and elsewhere gives the much needed break. You can also hire cycles to cycle in the national park (which we were not able to do). Some of the

villages have beaches too, but not too impressive.








Food is one of the easier things to come by in Italy, especially for vegetarians. The pastas and pizzas that you get in Italy, are somehow (and I cant understand why) much much tastier than what you get elsewhere. Not sure what they do to it, but I guess once you have the Italian food in Italy, you never like what you get elsewhere! For vegetarians, there is always the Penne Arrabiata and Penne Pomodoro to take you through the trip. Waiters will take good care of you too, asking frequently, 'tu to ben hai'? 'ma ben hai!' (meaning something like, hope everything is fine, yes everything is fine!) :) Could'nt help laughing everytime they ask!!

Trains in Italy are as they are in India, chaotic, and never on time. Specially in Cinque Terra, the train driver starts the train only once he sees that everyone who got off the train is back on:) Timings dont really matter there, as they say, dont hurry, 'Dolce Vita'!

Roam the Rome

Rome has something about it, the old city, with the lanes and the shops and the churches you come across and the fountains and the architecture.... there is something so laid back and old world about this place, cant even place what it is. Maybe the fact that in between the city, you have ruins from the BC years, maintained as if it were not as old, maybe because of the cobbled streets and the lanes, and the old looking shops on both sides with the biggest brands, its this mix of the old and the new in such a way, that you are transported to the old world so easily.

We went to Rome in summer, in June. So it was definitely not the best time to go there, it becomes very very hot there. But the city is amazing. There is a long list of places to go to, and we walked a lot in the city as all the places to visit are all located nearby. You need at least 2-3 days for this city, and if interested in history, a lot more time. There is so much to explore and learn from the history strewn everywhere in the city.

Let me start with some of the places which are a must-see in the city. First, there is the Emmanuel Vittoria Monument at Piazza Venezia. This would be one of the relatively new buildings of the city though. Gives a good view of the city around including the Colosseum and the Forum. Its a huge structure built in memory of the soldiers of Italy, all in white.



The Colosseum is a must see for any visitor to Rome.Its very difficult to imagine how such a huge structure could have been constructed ages ago. It still looks as grand as ever, though partially broken down. It looks beautiful at night too, all lighted up!

The Forum is very near the Emmanuel Monument, and has the remains of the Roman empire of old (of the BC years) It even has the location marked where apparently Brutus had stabbed Caesar. Cant imagine how something this old survives to this day in the state it is in right now.













The Fontana de Trevi, located somewhere within the bylanes of the city, is a good place to take rest, next to the cold fountain water. It comes up suddenly while walking in the city, quite a surprise and in such a small area. There are lot of street artists and musicians displaying their art near this area, as its quite frequented by tourists. Its somehow always crowded, with people just sitting there and chatting all day along.

Piazza Navona, is the square with open cafes to eat and drink, and is very very lively in the evening. Piazza di Spagna, is where the Spanish steps are, and where the Romans get together in the evening, sitting at the steps and doing nothing:). The Pantheon is an old temple, still preserved and grand as ever. There are many other museums, old temples, palaces, churches etc on the way to visit. Depending on how much time you have, you can explore these.

The Vatican is on the other side of the river Tiber, a small area ear-marked for the seat of Christianity. It is for all purposes part of Rome and Italy, though technically its a separate country. It has its own guard company though, the Swiss guards guarding the Vatican. In the Vatican Area, Castel Sant'Angela is the old Castle which was used for military purposes in the old days.

You can explore St Peter's Basilica, the seat of Christianity, the church where the famous Madonna status is kept. The church is huge, and it takes long to look around and appreciate the paintings and sculptors strewn all over the church across the years. The area also looks beautiful at night with the lighting all over and the road leading to the Basilica.

If you land up at St. Peters Square on a Sunday, you can see the Pope giving his Sunday sermon too. The whole square is teeming with people on Sundays.











The Vatican Museum has a long wait if you want to go in, but its definitely worth it! The Sistine Chapel is beautifully painted and it actually surprises you, imagining how it would have been painted! There are a lot more art pieces collected from over the world and over the ages in the museum. Please note though that sleeveless shirts and shorts are not allowed in this area.





There are some Ferrari shops also nearby, would be a good place to buy Ferrari merchandise for all the enthusiasts and fans. The city is very nice to walk around in the streets, where you may suddenly come up into a piazza (square) and open air cafes to sit and enjoy the views around, and churches abound everywhere. In fact we landed up at a church where a Christian wedding was going on, beautiful again! The Italians are friendly and lively people, you will enjoy interacting with them too. The country is a bit chaotic though, but being from India, that may be something we may feel comfortable with! Rome is good for shopping too, especially well designed clothes at cheaper prices. You can explore the lanes and the shops there for such bargains. The city is grand and lively, beautiful and interesting, old and new, slow and fast. Loved it inspite of the summer heat!

Scary Sicily

Not really the best vacation of my life, but one of the most interesting for sure! Sicily is definitely one of the most notorious places in the world, and it takes you 10 mins on the island to figure that out! Well, when we landed at the airport, there was clapping in the plane, maybe thats a sign too, but I would leave that out :)

Our first stop was Palermo, and while going to the hotel, everyone on the way told us to not walk where there is no light! I think that was what did it, we were scared throughout the rest of our trip. The shop windows have iron bars on them, and people don't speak much English either. People seem scary too, and please never ever land up there on the Christmas weekend. You wont be able to do anything then!

Palermo is fine, an average town, some old architecture there. And please tip the waiters, else they come after you (well we managed to dodge them somehow but we did have some tense moments!). There are a couple of beaches , and architectural and historical sights nearby, but its important that you drive. Else reaching those places isn't as easy.

We took a cab across the island, from Palermo to Catania, on the way to Siracusa. The landscape was beautiful, with huge highways built over hills, standing fully on platforms. The drive was beautiful (thankfully) with all kinds of landscapes, hills, plains, rock formations etc. We got swindled by the cab driver though, he left us outside the city in Catania, next to a flower market, where it was pouring cats and dogs, no one understood English, there were no cabs and we were there for more than an hour (as I said, interesting vacation!)

Siracusa was good though, famous for its Greek and Roman history, small town, nice to walk through again.. Wish we had more time there, was so much better than Palermo.


A place which is a must visit is Mount Etna, especially when the volcano is alive. Surprisingly, when the rest of Sicily was warm, there was snow and skiing on Etna. The place almost seems magical, with smoke coming out of the fissures, giving it the mystical look. Apparently, its visible from the plane also, so if you ever fly past Sicily, look out for Mt Etna.

All in all, an interesting vacation, but if you ever want to go, plan the trip better: where you want to go to, how to reach there, and book your own car!