Florence – Second time

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น This was my second time in Florence . Florence is the cultural capital of Italy . We stayed in hotel very near to Duomo. I climbed to the top of Duomo and view over the Florence skyline was amazing. Later I visited Uffizi gallery , the largest and most visited museum of the world housing largest Italian Renaissance. This 19th century piazza has undoubtedly the best panoramic view of Florence. The square is decorated with copies of Michelangelo's sculptures, but it's the view people come here to see. We visited the…

Continue ReadingFlorence – Second time

Italy – Venice

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น This was my second trip to Italy after 2008 and first to Venice. It was a short trip for 4 days. Just the day of my trip I got some rash which quickly turned out to be chicken pox. My flight was to Venice. I arrived Venice by morning flight. My hotel was within old town square and walking distance from Rialto bridge. Today we spend our day mostly on visiting various sights in town. We visited bell tower, St . Mark Basillica and Doge's Palace. We also walked around small…

Continue ReadingItaly – Venice

Italy Pisa and Florence

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น I left for Pisa from Naples . This was 6 hrs train journey . I walked from station to the complex which was 30 mins walk. Construction for leaning tower of Pisa began in 12 century . This was the place whereย Galileo conducted his famous experiment by dropping two spheres of different masses to demonstrate gravity. The tower started leaning because of defective foundation and soft soil on one side. Eventually in 1990 restoration work begin and it was stabilized byย  correcting tilt and further improving the foundation. Florence was 2…

Continue ReadingItaly Pisa and Florence

Italy – Naples and Pompeii

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Only reason I visited and stayed in Naples overnight was to arrange my visit to Pompei and Mount Vesuvius. Though there are few tourist spots within the city, I did not have any time to visit any of those places. Next day my first visit was to Mount Vesuvius. I arranged the trip from official tourism center, however the bus started late and then on the way driver stopped the bus and spent 1 hour smoking an talking over phone. Nevertheless it was a nice little hike from bus stop to…

Continue ReadingItaly – Naples and Pompeii

Italy Rome

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น It was almost the end of my trip. I reached to Rome by train from Florence. Rome was one of the very few bad travel experiences in my life. I was defrauded ยฃ500. I spent 2.5 days in Rome. Theย the most romantic of all Roman fountains. It was designed by the outstanding architect Nicole Salvi in 1732. The statue in the middle is the God Ocean with winged horses drawing his cockleshell. The old tradition says that throwing a coin into the fountain ensures your return to Rome. Capitol is the…

Continue ReadingItaly Rome

Vatican City

๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆย ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆย ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆ This is the world's smallest independent state and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church lying in the very heart of Rome on the west bank of the Tiber river. It is a walled city with six tremendous gates comprising of the Vatican Palace, St. Peter's Square, St Peter's Basilica and the Papal Gardens. I walked from my hotel towards Vatican. I crossedย Ponte Sant'Angelo, the bridge which spans the river Tiber.ย ย The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with five arches, three of which are Roman; it was approached…

Continue ReadingVatican City

Bernina Express : St. Mortiz – Tirano – Lugano – St. Mortiz

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ This was a day trip from St. Mortiz. There are few variation of the line , I took the Bernina line.ย The train leavesย St. Moritzย and takes the line toย Pontresinaย (1,774 m) in the Val Bernina (Bernina Valley). It ascends progressively through the valley to theย Bernina Pass over the Morteratsch station (1,896 m), where theย glacierย and the highest summit of theย Eastern Alps,ย Piz Berninaย (4,093 m) are visible. Before arriving at theย Bernina Pass, the train stops at Bernina Diavolezza (2,093 m) for cable-car connections toย Diavolezzaย (2,921 m). The Bernina Express reaches the summit at theย Ospizio Berninaย station at 2,253…

Continue ReadingBernina Express : St. Mortiz – Tirano – Lugano – St. Mortiz