European vacations

Trieste must rank as one of Europe’s most under-rated cities. Lying in the forgotten north-eastern corner of Italy, for years almost cut off from the rest of the country by the so-called Iron Curtain, the port city of Triests is neglected by the tourist crowds in favour of its better known and more beautiful sister venice. I must admit that passing through Trieste by train five years ago en route to Slovenija, there did not seem much to stop for. It seemed ordinary, nondescript, industrial, consisting solely of factories, cranes and mist. A town made to be forgotten…and forget it I did, until I happened across Ryanair’s website offering flights from London Stansted to Trieste Airport for a ridiculously low sum. A quick glance at a map, and my head was filled with ideas of a short trip to Slovenija, a country I had wanted to re-visit for some time. Trieste would just provide a convenient and cheap gateway, nothing more.

As many people at the beginning of December plan where to celebrate New Year, ancient city of Dubrovnik could be very attractive destination. If one could tell it according to last year’s experience, than this turistic pearl of Croatia can definitely not be a bad solution.

Chosen by CNN as one of seven most attractive places to be there in New Year’s Eve, Dubrovnik has deserve that range by organizing very rich program to celebrate year 2000. At historical squares and streets Dubrovnik celebrated in openly, wishing at most that war period never returns in this area. Hardly motor-shelled during aggression in a last decade of 20th century, Dubrovnik will celebrate New Year’s Eve in the same mood this time, expecting optimisticaly year 2001. with hopes for another successful return of turism.

Venice has lots of "buys", but they are known for glass candies at two-three for $5.00. Be careful your guests don’t bite into them, because they look real! Ruby-colored glass, which is 20% more expensive because it has GOLD mixed in with the color, is seen especially in the shops bordering the Piazza San Marco, along with other brilliantly colored items, like wine glasses and carafes, candy dishes, and bowls, lamps and chandeliers. They are costly, but you can have items shipped home, to avoid having to carry those bulky packages. They are insured then, too.

I had prepared this article for another site some time ago on Padova, in Italy.

In my view, after a recent trip there, it is definitively worth considering staying in Padova, if you are planning to go to Venice, since it is cheaper, cleaner, and a nice city in itself.

Padova is a city rich in art and with a young population, due to the large University there.

Padova also offer a good base to go to Venice, and, in my view, is a much better place to spend the night, than the overpriced Venice. I had a friend there, and I have stayed there on few occasions.

Tallinn - quite an old town. First references to it date from abuot the 11th century from a Muslim cartgographer.

The town was a Hansa town. The Hanseatic league was a midieval baltic shipping federation. They controlled shipping on the Baltic post viking raid era. Has a lot of German influence - Baltisdeutsch.

For a long time I had been willing to write a thorough review about the beautiful medieval city of Bruges in Belgium. Now that I have put some memories back together and gathered some information from our different visits, I feel it is time for me to guide you through one of the most charming and well preserved city I have ever been to.

We’ve visited Amsterdam twice, each time for three days, which seemed ideal. Last trip we took a boat trip on the canal, seeing the skinny houses and understanding the hooks are for hoisting up furniture and whatever else won’t fit in the skimpy doors and stairways. We hadn’t come for the hash or the Red Light District, though we were curious and visited, amazed to see the women seated, half-dressed, each in her own window, waiting. Amsterdam is different. You won’t forget it.

I purchased a 3 day Eurail pass to Italy for my wife and I, which cost 306 Euro. I travelled from Rome-Florence, Florence-Venice, and Venice-Milan (a typical tourist itinerary in my opinion). Each segment required a 30 Euro supplement since we travelled on the high-speed trains, bringing our total cost to 396 Euro. When I priced out the trips I took individually, the total cost for the EXACT SAME TRIPS, in the exact same class (1st) would have been 256 Euro, which in USD is a RIPOFF of about $200. Eurail has yet to respond, to my inquiry, but I don’t expect good results. My advice to anyone thinking of doing this is to get on the Trenitalia website and price out your itinerary before you purchase Eurail passes. There is a reason that ONLY people visiting from OUTSIDE of Europe can purchase these…because the locals would know they are a tourist RIPOFF!

My wife and I were in Italy two summers ago. We stayed in Rome for a week before renting a car and traveling through Tuscany for a few days. We then stayed in Florence and then continued to Venice. There is so much to tell about this trip. I will start with one of Italy’s most famous sites of ancient history, the Colosseum.

GETTING AROUND

After spending a week or so in Thailand, I flew to Greece. Unfortunately, I had food poisoning from something I ate in Thailand and was sick for about a week. However, this did not deter me from seeing Greece and its historical places. The good news was that it was very possible to see Athens and Olympia with very little money. I stayed at the youth hostels in both places, and they were quite good as far as hostels go. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to enjoy as much food as I had wanted due to the condition of my stomach at the time. Next time, I will try not to be sick. The things I did try were quite good and simple. The ingredients that were used were of very good quality so it didn’t matter how they were cooked. I also remember having souvlaki that tasted pretty much as it does in America. They use a lot of olive oil in their dishes - a little too much oil for my taste. Greek coffee however, is really nothing to write home about.