Florence Castles

... Western Europe. Probable stops include: France (Paris, Blois), Spain (Madrid, Granada, Barcelona), Italy (Cinque Terre, Florence, Siena, Rome, Venice), Slovenia (Bled), Switzerland (Zermatt, Interlaken), Germany (Munich, Black Forest, Romantic Road, ...

"Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter.Lullabies,dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes. That's the Irish for you!"...Let's see how I do after my welcome!

... , where Dante was baptised. Afterwards, we went to the Plaza della Signoria (also called the Reppublica) where a lot fo Florence's political and civil action has occurred for centuries. While we are there, protests are going on with banners and signs ...

... bring something small and stomach-friendly back to the room for Murray.  I had a nice walk through several blocks of Florence, and found a decent-size grocery store, so loaded up on some supplies.  I also came across a Japanese restaurant that ...

... (spelling is wrong here, sorry) Beato or Beati or Beata Angelico, as he apparently was beatified between editions of Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany 2007. I've written quite a lot here, and still have left out so many of the little things that ...

... street side table. After lunch we dropped off our bag in our room and headed over to the Accademia Museum for our Florence highlight….Michelangelo’s David, Europe’s transition out of the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance. The statue ...

... 1945. (Couple more 'weird' photos for the collection - an example of Florentine "touch parking", and Machiavelli, one of Florence's favourite sons) Matt left for home this morning, and I'm about to jump on the train down to Siena for ...

... But great view of the city! Good job Tara!  The next day we spent all day site-seeing around Florence. We saw a number of Cathedrals, castles, royal gardens, and street performers. All were very nice, that is except for the gardens, which cost us ...

... all of our time in Venice sneezing, convinced it was all the smokers in the confined streets. Aaaanyway we arrived in Florence to even more sunshine than Venice (which is saying something as we have had only blue sky sunny days in italy). ...

Ah Florence, how beautiful you'd be but for the hordes of tourists (like myself). I didn't really enjoy Florence, I was a bit surprised when a girl I met in Rome said she didnt really like it, but after visiting in the middle of summer I can ...

... more pictures).  Luckily it is within 10-15 min walking distance to everything you want to see here.  Quick synopsis on Florence...WOW!  You can't help walking aroung all googly-eyed at all the amazing architecture and history.  We toured through the ...

... , are wonderful villages and castles, a reminder of Tuscan life in the Middle Ages.   To make your stay in Florence unforgettable Dream Destination Europe will provide you with all the assistance you might need, from the moment of choosing where ...

We settled in to Florence quickly - we even found our "local" - a cafe on the corner of Borgo Sta Croce and Via de Benci, which served beer in only small and medium (which was, in fact, extra large).  It was only a stones throw from the best gelato ...

... here...we met a couple from California who are also living together and are really nice and excited about experiencing everything in Florence and Europe...We went out for gelato after the welcome dinner tonight and are going to go to a restaurant to hang ...

... to the top of the town for views across the region and then back down to the main street for some shopping. We got back into Florence around 5pm and I went out for dinner with a few girls. I tried my first calzone pizza which was enormous but I can always ...

... renaissance artists who left their mark in the galleries in Florence. It is the beauty of the hill towns and the sleepy castles far from the bustle of Florence that create some of best wine in all the world. I would consider Rome to be Italy's soul, but I ...

... time and it's great that I can say I saw the city, but it wasn't one of my favorites. Plus I heard wonderful things about Florence and couldn't wait to see it. The scenery on the way was again gorgeous. Coach travel really lets you see the country side ...

... town. Most of the buildings in Lucca date from later in the Renaissance, and it has a different, more airy feel than Florence. There are enchanting arched pathways leading through the town, and many charming piazzas. We find a small flea market ...

... the tiny two lane Italian expressways. The scenery was exotic and interesting ranging from vineyards to mountains to castles. Due to the ancient nature of Florence's roadways, our bus was to large to enter the city. Thus we divided into smaller ...

... our map at home. Not smart! We were short on time so we flagged down a cab to take us to the central part of Florence. We found a lovely little restaurant in one of the squares and had a great meal and some wine before setting off on another Birky hunt. ...