ITALY: THE NORTH- PART 2

Italiaaaa mangiare, mangiare! Today, I will tell you about some other lovely northern cities: Pisa, Florence, San Marino and Siena. The parents of one of my best guy friends from high-school is actually currently in Pisa! 

So, in Pisa, you should probably see the Leaning Tower of Pisa...just a suggestion though...

1. Lean with the leaning tower of Pisa.

2. Visit Piazza dei Miracoli and the Baptistry. 

3. Walk around Knight's Square for a few minutes while taking cliche tourist pictures. 

4. Get holy Italian style at: Santa Maria della Spina; Santa Cornoa Vicenza; San Nicola; San Pietro di Grado; San Frediano Pisa; San Paolo Ripa d'Arno; San Francesco; Santo Stefano dei Cavaliero; San Michele in Borgo; San Pietro (Vinculis); Santa Caterina; San Sisto; Santa Chiara; San Zeno; San Silvestro; Church of St. Rocco; San Martino...if your sins are not forgiven at any one of these churches in Pisa...you are screwed.

5. Go look at the Pisa Griffin...why? Because it's cool and has been in Pisa since the Middle Ages.

6. Wander over to the Camposanto Monumentale.

7. Wake up and smell the flowers at Orto botanico di Pisa. 

8. Get spooky and visit the Cementary.

9. Party with the Italians at Leningrad Cafe, Temple Bar or Caffetteria Betsabea.

10. Grab some authentic Tuscan cuisine at Antica Trattoria il Campano, La Clessida, Osteria dei Cavalieri, La Grotta or Trattoria La Buca.

11. Not feeling Tuscan? Try either Babette Food and Art Cafe, Ristoro al Vecchio Teatro, Il Montino, Trattoria della Faggiola.

12. Get cultured at Palazzo dell'Orologio.

Floraaa, Florence!

1. Drink some organic wine at Vivanda.

2. Visit St. Mark's English

3. Be artsy fartsy at the Uffizi Gallery.

4. Head over to the Florence Cathedral to see some beautiful architecture.

5. Visit one of Italy's most famous bridges, the Ponte Vecchio. 

6. Just stop and stare at the beautiful Basilica of Santa Croce or the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

7. Snack on some Florentine steak at one of Florence's many restaurants.

8. Enjoy a cone of gelato in Piazza dell Signoria.

9. Grab a snack and pick-me-up coffee at La Terrazza...oh, and enjoy the view!

10. Frolick in the flowers at the beautiful Boboli Gardens.

11. Celebrate happy hour at Colle Bereto or La Dolce Vita.

12. Party the night away at Central Park, Oibo, Naima, Joshua Tree, Cabiria, YAB Club or Twice.

13. Grab a lovely Italian dinner at Il Latini, Trattoria I Fratellini, Il Chicco di Caffe or switch it up with some Middle-Eastern cuisine at Amon.

14. Bored of being outside? Head over to Galleria dell'Accademia, Museo del Bargello or Giardino di Boboli.

15. Surround yourself with local Italians and nature at Parco delle Cascine.
...there's so many other things to do in Florence but this just sums it up for all you Florence-bound wanderlusters!

 I definitely think once I visit Florence, it will be one of my new favorite cities in the world. I should try to make a trip out there sometime this year...

San Marino...I have always wanted to go there as well and just lay on the beach forgetting reality: 

1. BEAAACH. Lay there all day, get sunburnt, frolick in the sea; do what you please.

2. Mountains! Mount Titano, it's not hard to miss.

3. Climb to the castle, Guaita. 

4. Visit the skinny yet pretty building of town hall, Palazzo Pubblico.

5. Attend an Italian football match (soccer for you Americans).

 Siena...hey, one of the Double 007 movies was filmed there!

1. Make sure to check out the famous horse races twice a year, the Palio di Siena.
2. Breathe in the Italian culture while walking around Piazza del Campo with a gelato from Kopa Kabana in hand.
3. Visit the beautiful and historic Duomo Nuovo and Basilica of San Domenico.
4. Take a walk over to Palazzo Pubblico, Palazzo Comunale, Palazzo Salimbeni and Torre del Mangia.
5. Spend a rainy day in the national museum, Pinacoteca Siena Nazionale or at Museo Civico.
6.Now, this place is a stereotypical Tuscany scene: Villa Cetinale.
7. Visit one of Siena's many churches: San Martino, San Giuseppe, Santa Maria dei Servi, Santo Spirito, Basilica dell'Osservanza, San Giorgio, Basilica di San Francesco.
8. Smell the flowers at the University of Siena's botanical garden, Orto Botanico dell'Universtia di Siena.
9. Go underground to Siena's Crypt.
10. Be artsy fartsy at the Palazzo delle Papesse or at Pinacoteca Nazionale.
11. Grab a bite to eat at: Al Marsili, Osteria Le Logge, Enzo, Il Carroccio, Osteria Castelvecchio, Morbidi or La Pizzeria di Nonno Mede.
12. Ever play one of those video games with fortresses? Visit a real fortress, the Fortezza Medicea.
13. Be happy at the happy fountain, Fonte Gaia!
14. Make sure to stay until Wednesday so you can visit the Wednesday Market.
15.  Get your drink on at Caffe Ortensia, Enoteca Italiana, Caffe el Corso or Al Cambio.

The next post will be on the southern half of Italy. I will share some good places to go and eat with you in: Rome, Sardinia, Naples, Capri, Campobasso, Bari, Cantanzaro then Sicily. 

Travel on wanderlusters and have a lovely Sunday!

ITALY: THE NORTH- PART I

So, I decided to cut up Italy into several posts, a northern and southern, because it is just such a beautiful country which so many places to visit and things to do. Therefore, it deserved multiple posts. So, the first post is on...half....of northern half of Italy. Tongue twister?
Get ready for a looooong post and TONS of pictures!

Some cities in the northern half of Italy that many tourists run to include: Trieste, Venice, Verona, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Bologna, Pisa, Florence, San Marino, Siena and Assini. I'll only talk about Venice, Verona, Turin and Bologna today. Tomorrow I will talk about Pisa, Florence, San Marino and Siena. So...let's get the ball rollin!

Venice. Carnival. Gondolas. Romance. Water. Happiness. I have always loved the thought of Venice. I have yet to go but hopefully will make it there for Carnival in the beginning of 2014.

If you are visiting Venice, be sure to...well...you pretty much know but I will tell you anyways:

1. Land, land, land! Walk around Piazza San Marco

2. Go on a gondola ride in the Grand Canal

3. Snap one too many photos at the Rialto Bridge.

4. Gander at the beautiful Saint Mark's Basilica or the Santa Maria della Salute.

5. All hail land on the island Murano. 

6. Brace your ears for an opera at Teatro la Fenice.

7. Feel like a king or queen at Doge's Palace. 

8. Get holy at: San Stae; Santi Giovanni e Paolo; San Samuele; Santa Maria Zobenigo; San Sebastiano; San Francesco della Vigna; San Cassiano; Santa Maria dei Miracoli; Santa Maria Formosa; San Rocco; Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari or San Zaccaria...these buildings are absolutely jaw-dropping.

9. Grab an Italian coffee at Caffe Florian.

10. Sail past the Palazzo Grassi, Ca'd'Oro, Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro, Palazzo Cavalli-

11. Visit the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Scuola Grane di San Rocco, Dorsoduro and the Ponte della Costituzione.

12. Feast on Venetian dishes at: Trattoria Corte Sconta; Antiche Carampane; Osteria Alla Vedova; Osteria Mocenigo; al Covo or Fiaschetteria Toscana.

13. It only makes sense to eat seafood in a city by the sea, get crackin at Hostaria Da Franz.

14. Satisfy your sweet tooth at Pasticceria Tonolo and Pasticceria Rizzardini (cannoli, chocolate and regular flavor!) or grab a gelato at Da Nico (caramel or pistachio gelato is the best!)

In Verona...have you seen the cute movie Letters to Juliet? Ever since watching that movie, I have wanted to go...anywho, be sure to: 

1. Climb the stairs...or try...at The Verona Arena.

2. "Romeo, Romeo" for you Shakespeare readers out there, visit Juliet's balcony.

3. Break your neck looking up at the beautiful ceiling and arches in the Verona Cathedral.

4. Get holy at the San Zeno church.

5. Walk around the beautiful Piazza delle Erbe. 

6. Visit the Castelvecchio and go under...or over...the Scaligero Bridge.

7. Drink some authentic Italian wine at Osteria del Bugiardo. 

8. See a show at the Roman Theatre.

9. Smells the flowers and see the city in a new view at the Giardio Giusti.

10. Spend a day in at the Casa di Guilietta or the Museo di Castelvecchio. 

11. Shop, dine, wine, etc., at Oreste dal Zovo.

12. Go out and party with the Italians at M27. 

13. Square. Heaven. Go check it out and find out for yourselves.

14. Grab some authentic Italian grub at: Il Desco; Osteria al Carro Armato; Bottega del Vino; Trattoria all'Isolo or Al Pompiere.

15. Grab a beer at Caffe Antica Osteria al Duomo or dance the night away at Teatro Filarmonico. 

Turin, which in the very northern part of Italy: 

1. Visit the Mole Antonelliana or the city's symbol. 

2. Walk around Castle Square. 

3. Visit Palazzo Madama.

4. Spend a few hours in the Antique Art Museum.

5. Say a prayer at the Turin Cathedral and the Chapel of Holy Shroud.

6. Walk like an Egyptian at the Egyptian Museum. 

7. Visit the beautiful Castle and Park of Valentino.

8. Grab a gelato at Grom...they have green tea flavor- one of my other favorites!

9. Drink a cup of joe at Fiorio or grab a bite to eat at Sfashion or Porta di Savona. 

10. Give your arms a workout by shopping in McArthur Glen. 

Baloney? No, silly Bologona! 

1. Wander around Piazza Maggiore. 

2. Put on a pair of sunglasses when you look up at the Two Towers of Bologna.

3. Visit the beautiful Teatro Comunale di Bologna for an opera show.

4. Forgive your sins at Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, Bologna Cathedral or San Giacomo Maggiore. 

5. Visit the San Petronio Basilica. 

6. NEPTUNEEEEE. Go visit him in the Piazza Nettuno. 

7. See some art at Palazzo d'Accursio or at the Bologna Museum of Modern Art.

8. Visit one of the city's most important buildings: Archiginnasio of Bologna.

9. This is monastery style...no. Anyways, just go to Certosa di Bologna.

10. Be royal, be great but don't get treated like it at Palazzo dei Notai. 

11. Nom nom nom at Trattoria Fantoni, Drogheria della Rosa or Osteria de' Poeti.

12. Get your drink on at Godot Wine Bar.

13. You scream, I scream, we all scream for...gelato at La Sorbetteria Castiglione.

14. Rainy day and you have already been to the other museums? No problem, try the Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore.

15. Where the most "beautiful people in the world" drink their coffee and eat yummies...Cafe le Palais.

Tomorrow will be the remainder of the northern half of Italy's beauties and then the following day will be southern Italy. I hope you all are dreaming of Italy like I sure am now! 

Travel on wanderlusters!