ITALY

ITALY

As we are leaving for Italy, we’ve decided to do a road trip through the country ourselves. We are going to visit 9 parts of Italy. But because of the fact that we are going to do the road trip on our own, we can decide whether we stop somewhere else or drive through to the next place.

Here a short summary of our road trip through Italy. We’re going to land on the airport of Milan. There are we going to stay the day to rest out. On Monday we are going to start our road trip by making a two hour drive to Verona, were we are going to visit the Romeo & Juliet balcony.

After that we are going to Bologna and Monte Carlo. Last but not least, to end our first day of our road trip, we definitely want to see the Tower of Pisa in Pisa. And that’s where we are going to spend our second night too.

On Tuesday, we are going to visit 5 small villages who has got the name ‘Cinque Terre’. And because of the fact that it is admirable to visit them by walking near the water, we’ve decided to do this on one day.

And for our last day, Wednesday, we just want to visit Genova and Alessandria and then turn back to Milan by driving 1hour to take the airplane to leave for our next country.

Sunday the 26th of April 2015

MILAN

So, today we arrived at the airport of Milan to start our road trip in Italy. Because it is already 11 o’clock, we decided to go to our hotel to eat something and to rest a bit. In the afternoon we went to go shopping because Milan is one of the famous shopping villages of Europe. Milan is also the called the second capital of Italy and the most important village of North- Italy.

In Monastery Santa Maria we wanted to see Da Vinci’s famous mural from The Last Supper. It was amazing to see because of the f              act that we’ve seen that painting before in books, on television, on the internet, .. But now we saw it in reality and it was admirable.

It was almost 6 P.M. when we arrived at the hotel, so we decided to go to our room to take a shower so we could eat dinner at 7 P.M. So, after we enjoyed the walking-dinner, we were so tired that we went to our room to go to bed.

In the morning, we are going to leave at 7 A.M. and the hotel manager assured us that our mini-bus would be ready to leave.

Sweet dreams, everyone.

Monday the 27th of April 2015

VERONA

Good evening, guys.

So, this morning we had breakfast at 6 A.M. so we could leave at 7 A.M. Our mini-bus was waiting for us at the front of our hotel. It was exactly what we had asked for, so thanks to the hotel manager who took care of this.

After a 2 hour drive in our minibus and admiring the Italian views, we arrived in Verona. Verona is situated on the East of Milan. Since 2000, you can find the town on the World Heritage of UNESCO.

Here, we want to visit 2 things. First of all, the Roman Amphitheatre. At the entrance still are people in Roman outfits were you can take pictures with. They also give a lot of musicals and music concerts, Opera, … at the theatre. It’s an amazing feeling to stand there. Very cold, but so unique. Hundreds of people are waiting to go in there.

After we’ve seen the theatre, we walked across the shoppingstreet to go watch the balcony of Romeo and Juliet. So many people want to see this. There is security who makes sure that everyone can go in to see the balcony because it is such a small place. But it’s also ones in a lifetime experience, so when you want to visit Verona, you have to go to see the small balcony. It’s not something you want to see every year.

Bologna

The last village we wanted visit today was Pisa ofcourse. But while we are driving, there are 2 beautiful villages (Bologna & MonteCarlo, Lucca) were we stopped for a while too. People said that the views in these two villages are wonderful to see.

Bologna is the capital of the county Emilia- Romagna. It’s known by his university and all of its students and its historical center that still can behold after the urbanization at the end of the 19^th century and after World War 2.

MonteCarlo, Lucca

The second village were we stopped while driving to Pisa, is MonteCalo, Lucca. Lucca is ofcourse the county. But we have to put Lucca after the village because there’s also Monte Carlo in France. MonteCarlo has not have specific sights to visit but it’s knows as one of the most famous places to go and watch and enjoy the views and its authentic shops and small streets.

Someone said to us: “Here, you just have to see the view, once in your life.” And that’s what we did.

PISA

After we were speechless of seeing those amazing views, we drove another 45 minutes to see our last place today, The Tower of Pisa.

Pisa is a village in the region of Toscane. It’s known and famous because of the Tower of Pisa and the Catedrale of Pisa, Duomo Santa Maria. More then these two sights isn’t there to see or visit.  

The Tower of Pisa is the campanile of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for tis unintended tilt to one side. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa.

The tower’s tilt began during construction, caused by an inadequate fondation on grund too soft on one side to properly support the structure’s weight.

The Santa Maria Cathedral in Pisa was founded in 1064. The layout of the basilica with its classical columns and external marble decorations are thanks to the architect Buscheto, whose name is carved on a stone on the façade.

Serious damage was done to the cathedral by a fire at the end of the sixteenth century. But now, you can visit it during the specific opening hours and by paying an entry fee.

It’s a very big and detailed monument. It’s amazing to see, but because the row of people who were waiting to go inside was so long, we decided to go back to the car to search our hotel to eat and sleep.

Tomorrow is a big day. We are going to walk from village to village, across 5 villages near the water. Cinque Terre, here we come!

Sleep tight, everyone!

Tuesday the 28th of April 2015

CINQUE TERRE

So, the Cinque Terre is known by its 5 villages near eachother and the water. You can visit them by train or by walking the paths. And today we are going to walk the whole day but most of all enjoy the Italian views.

Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre area is a very popular tourist destination.

A walking trail connects the five villages. The trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore ("Love Walk") and is wheelchair-friendly. The stretch from Manarola to Corniglia is the easiest to hike, although the main trail into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 steps.

It was though! We are broken! But on the other hand, we’re glad we did it and saw evertything that the people are talking about when they talk about the Cinque Terre. The most beautiful, wonderful, admirable, unique, … views we’ve ever seen! A-MA-ZING!

In 3 of the 5 villages we have drinken something. It was very warm and because those villages were very beautiful we decided to walk there a while too. During the walks we had our own picknic to drink or eat something.

In the last village, Riomaggiaro, we decided to eat something local, something Italian. Given its location on the Mediterranean, seafood is plentiful in the local cuisine. Anchovies of Monterosso are a local specialty designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union. 

The mountainsides of the Cinque Terre are heavily terraced and are used to cultivate grapes and olives. This area, and the region of Liguria, as a whole, is known for pesto, a sauce made from basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino cheese. Focaccia is a particularly common locally baked bread product. Farinata, a typical snack found in bakeries and pizzerias, is a savoury and crunchy pancake made from a base of chick pea flour.

We didn’t want to drive any further, so we started to look for a hotel were we could stay for the night. Tomorrow, we have to drive back to Milan to take the airplane to Algerije. It’s just about 2 hours far from here, but we want to visit two more villages on our way back: Genova and Alessandria.

Goodnight!

Wednesday the 29th of April 2015

Goodmorning, everyone.

In addition of me writing about how our day went, I’m going to tell you today what our plans are, because tonight we will be on the airplane, so I won’t be able to write in the evening.

So, today we are driving to Milan to take our plain in the evening. But first of all we are going to visit 2 more villages.

After driving 1 hour, we should be arrived at Genova. Genova is the capital of Liguria. It’s the biggest port of Italy. In 2004, Genova got the name of the most culturel capital of Europe.

So in Genova we are going to visit Piazza Vittoria, a homage to the port, and Cathedral di S. Lorenzo.

Then we are going to drive for one more hour to visit Alessandria. Alessandria is a village in Piemonte. It’s named after paus Alexander the 3th

During the heavy bombing in World War 2, the historical heart of the city was completely ruined. And because of that there isn’t much left of sights to see. But what you can discover there is ruines, authentic places, amazing views, … basicly everything an italian needs.

And in the late afternoon we will arrive at the airport, so we will eat something over there and then at 8 P.M. we’ll take the plain to Algerije.

Thank you for following us! We will keep you posted!

Lots of Love. XOXO LIEN




Sources
http://www.italia.it/en/home.html

http://wikitravel.org/en/Italy

http://www.top10bezienswaardigheden.nl/italie/verona.htm

http://www.wandelenlangskusten.eu/Cinque_Terre/Cinque_Terre.php

Personal stories. I've already visited all these places with my family.