László Varga

I do not think I am exaggerating with this title: Firenze really is a nice place to visit and a gem of Toscana. For this reason we decided to dedicate a full weekend to this place (with a little stop in Pisa).

It took quite a while to plan this trip, because there are tons of things to visit in Firenze and so little time. In the end we chose two primary targets for the two days: The Gallery of the Art Academy and The Uffizi Gallery. I have booked a reservation for both museums on this website.
Also we have chosen a hostel to stay at, which I would recommend to anyone who goes to Firenze: the Plus Florence hostel was a very nice experience.

Getting to Firenze from Genova could be done very easily using only Regionale trains (cheaper, but stops at every station). After the Pisa trip we have arrived to Firenze at around 14:30, which gave us plenty of time to explore the city before the booked visit at 16:30 to the Gallery of the Art Academy. Everything is really close in the city-center. We went to visit the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral first. Entrance into the cathedral itself is free, but if someone wants to enter the Dome (the eastern part of the building) to admire the frescoes, it costs €8, which together with the huge line was unacceptable for us. We took some photos around the church, went in for some refreshments into a nearby bar and went straight to find the Art Academy.

The Gallery of the Art Academy is a pretty simple building from the outside. The entry fee without booking is €6.5. Our additional €4 for the booking proved to be useless, because there was no line at all at that time. We went in to admire a beautiful collection of musical instruments, paintings and sculptures, among which the famous Statue of David (original) by Michelangelo. The whole visit took about an hour and I think we have spent quite some time examining most of the exhibits. One important thing: taking photos is strictly forbidden, and there is a tight security with metal detectors at the entrance, so try not to have too many metallic things with you 🙂 .

We have found our hostel really easily and checked in. We were happy to find out that there was a swimming pool, sauna and some fitness machines included into the price. The hostel itself was really tidy and nice, with a bunch of young tourist. The nightlife was also full, having it’s own party-room in the basement.

After checking in, we went out to find a nice restaurant where we can eat dinner. Around the San Lorenzo Church (Medici Chapel) there is a market, which is pretty crowded in the daytime. In the evening, however, the marketeers take off their tents, and a lot of restaurants get to be visible behind them. Most of them have a waiter standing in the door inviting visitors in. Almost all of them were pretty pushy which was getting to be pretty annoying as we tried to find a restaurant which suited us (price and offer). In the end we have chosen the restaurant whose waitress was the least pushy, she was actually more inviting and kind by doing so. Our meal was great and the pricing was acceptable. Unfortunately I can not remember the name of the restaurant, but I know it is somewhere in the northern corner of the market.

The next day we went out at around 11:00, after an “all you can eat” English-breakfast at the hostel buffet (for €5). We had some time until the scheduled visit into the Uffizi, so we decided to visit the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral again. This time there were no lines, so we said we will try to go up into the tower of the dome-complex, Giotto’s Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto). The entry fee was €6, but again, as with all towers, it was worth it. On the last floor, one could admire a beautiful view of Firenze in every direction. The only bad thing was, that when we realized, that we are starting to be late for our next scheduled visit, and tried to rush down… the bells started to bang. And it was loud. We thought initially that the bells are out of order… well they were not… they were alive and loud 🙂 .

We arrived at the Uffizi Gallery just in time. In front of the museum there was a huge crowd, waiting to get inside. Lucky for us, we already booked in advance, so we just walked in front of everyone (to entrance No 1) and got in (the power of the internet 😀 ). The entry fee is also €6.5 plus the usual €4 for the booking. Again taking photos is forbidden, and the security with metal detectors at the entrance is present here also. All bags had to be left in a locker before entering the museum.
I thought we will be able to finish with the museum in about an hour and a half (maximum 2)… well I was wrong. The museum is HUGE and filled with LOTS of exhibits. It took us around three and a half hours to take the tour. It was well worth it, there are paintings from many famous artists (Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo etc. ) as well as lots of ancient statues on the corridor. Most of the pieces are original, but there are also a lot of copies.

After the visit we only had time to visit the Ponte Vecchio, which is an interesting bridge with jewelry shops on it and a famous landmark of Firenze. From the bridge we went to see the Palazzo Pitti, but we did not have time to enter. The Palazzo Pitti actually contains a number of museums, and entry prices vary according to which group the tourist wants to visit.

In the end we decided to go and have lunch at the same bar near the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral where we took the refreshments the day before. For €13.5 we could buy a pretty neat lunch with soda.

With this lunch our short visit to Firenze was concluded, it was already time to go to the train station and get back home. Anyway, now I know, that Firenze needs more than just a short weekend. I would recommend 4-5 days to have time to visit more stuff. It is a place I would recommend to anyone and a place I will definitely will return to for a longer visit.

I have uploaded some pictures on my Picasa account.

Curious title, isn’t it? Well that is what the small descriptive movie about the Leaning Tower said in Pisa. It is interesting, indeed, but I do not know if I would categorize it as a “Wonder of the World” 🙂 . Anyway, it is a MUST when visiting Italy, being a representative building all over the world.

On route to Firenze from Genova, one must switch trains in Pisa and usually there is at least a 30 minute waiting time, to the next train. We decided, to extend that period to a few hours, and visit the famous building.

Getting from the Pisa Centrale train station to the Piazza del Duomo is really easy: just take a bus from the red bus line. There is a bus stop just across the road from the train station. One can purchase a ticket on the bus also (€1.5).

Tourists can visit any of the museums on the piazza for a small fee (from €3 to €6 and there is no entry fee for the dome). Going up to the tower is a bit pricier: €15 just to climb up. After some thinking, I said, why not… it might be a missed opportunity, if I do not to go up, so I paid the ticket.
It was actually quite an experience to go up on the spiraling staircase to the top: the fact that the tower is leaning, can be felt really intensely. On the top there is a unique view awaiting the curious tourists: looking down on the side which leans towards the ground can be a pretty dazzling experience 😀 .

There are some photos uploaded to my Picasa account.

There is a little hidden treasure just south-east of Genova, and we thought me might pay a visit, since it is close, and not getting there would have almost been a sin 🙂 . The “Five Lands” are five villages called Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore or Cinque Terre in their original name.

Cinque Terre is an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its sheer beauty and extraordinary example of man shaping its surroundings. Life in this area must have been very hard for the locals in the past, yet they have managed to survive and even build beautiful vineyard-terraces on this rugged terrain. The villages seem to be frozen in time preserving the cultural heritage they have received throughout the years.
There are several paths connecting the villages, along the seaside or higher up the mountains. There is also train connection between the villages. For a small fee one can purchase a visitor ticket which allows the entrance into the park on any pathway, usage of the park-buses and the trains which connect the villages.

We have decided to do the trip on foot starting from Riomaggiore to Monterosso al Mare. We arrived to Riomaggiore by a local train (Regionale) from Genova. The location is so hard to acces, that the train had to stop almost in its entire length in a tunnel. We almost did not observe that we had to get off. At the station we have immediately spotted the park-agency and went in to buy the daily ticket. We were sad to hear that most of the coastline-pathways have been closed due to recent landslides (rains) and they have not managed to clean it up yet. This meant that some of the connection between the villages could have only been done by train (or by the long footpath up the mountain). We decided to buy the ticket anyway and visit what we can by foot, and fill in the gaps by train.

Riomaggiore was the first place to visit. The actual pathway of Cinque Terre started from the train station towards the next village. We have spotted however another path which took back to the village itself from the station. It is worth visiting 😉 . Next we have turned back to the original pathway which connects Riomaggiore with Manarola. This path is called “Via dell’ Amore”. One can see a lot of love-messages written on the walls or carved into the cactuses that grow along the path.

After arriving to Manarola, we just went down to the marina and spotted the continuation of the road. It was not blocked entirely. We could walk out towards the end of the cliffs, where one can have a beautiful view of Manarola.

From Manarola we had to go by train to Corniglia, the next village. There was a very long staircase leading up to the cliffs, where the village center is. This seemed to be the most remote village of all five. There is a steep staircase down to its marina, so we decided to enjoy the view from the top.

From Corniglia to Vernazza we took the train again. This little village is in my opinion the most picturesque of all. Following the pathway from Corniglia one can have a beautiful view of the village. Because we could not arrive on the seaside pathway, we had to climb up to the cliff, where the connection pathway ends, just to enjoy the view.

Lastly we have visited Monterosso al Mare. This village has long sandy beaches, and is by far not as remote as the other four. It too has some interesting features and cliffs to climb at the north west side.

Pictures have been uploaded to my Picasa account. I think the pictures can say more 🙂 .

I have passed for several times through Milano since I was here in Italy and never had the chance to actually visit the city. After the Torino visit, we thought of making a trip to Milano also, right on the next day. This time, we have not booked in advance, we went with possible ad-hoc plans to visit the city.

As usual we have arrived in Milano Centrale which was already very familiar to me. Nothing much has changed. The central station was almost completely renovated and everything was looking nice. From there we went to take the subway to go directly to the Piazza del Duomo (taking the yellow, number 3 subway).

As we exited the subway, we have found ourselves in front of the very imposing Doumo di Milano. The structure itself has an amazing Gothic architecture, with an almost painfully white surface. The square in front of the dome (Piazza del Duomo) is full of tourists, pigeons and a number of annoying people telling you to take this, take that because it brings you luck… well, don’t.
After taking a reasonable amount of photos on the square, we decided to go inside. The entry fee into the dome itself was absent. Tourists can go in and out without paying anything. There is only a control at the gates checking your luggage. The interior of the dome is amazing, full of paintings, pillars and beautiful sculptures.
Visitors can also go up to the top of the Duomo. The entry fees are: 5 euros for using the stairs, 9 euros with the elevator. The entry point is on the left side of the Duomo (I am telling this, because we actually did a whole circle around the building – which is huge – before finding it).

The Galleria Emanuele II is right next to the Doumo. It is a classy collection of expensive shops and restaurants. The cheapest is McDonalds (which for the sake of integrity, has beautifully painted golden signs instead of the plastic yellow ones). Again, we had to eat there… On the other side of the Galleria, is the Milano Scala (opera house). Unfortunately we could not go in 🙁 .

After the Galleria we went to Castello Sforzesco, an interesting fort in the middle of the city, and from there we strolled on the passages of the very nice park next to the Castle.

Milano is a very classy and culturally rich city of Italy. Before the visit I did not pay much attention to it, but now I can say it is too a MUST if you are in Italy. For us it was an effortless trip, because most of the landmarks can be reached on foot. Also the plan of going without guided tours went well, we have seen a lot and remembered a lot 🙂 .

I have posted images of the trip on my Picasa account.

We went for a little sightseeing tour to Torino the other weekend. For me this was the second time in Torino, but the first time I was just passing through, so it was an exciting trip for me, too.

We have booked a trip in advance here. We have booked the complete tour (historic center and the Egyptian museum). The city center tour was really good, because there is much to see in Torino. It has a lot of squares with lots of monuments, so it was good to have a guide to tell stories about it. The guide spoke fluently in Italian, English and also French. The historic center trip contained a trip on foot from the Piazza Castello (this is where the guide agency is), continued in the San Lorenzo church (copy of the Holy Shroud), Piazza San Giovanni, Piazza San Carlo and concluded in front of the Egyptian Museum, where for the ones who have chosen the full trip, the guide continued to present the museum also.

I can say the Egyptian Museum was awesome and for St. Valentine’s Day it was really cheap for couples (3.50eur for both). The museum itself is pretty amazing, covering a great deal of Egyptian history and the guide was able to answer most of the questions we had.

After a quick McDonald’s meal (I have had it with that for a while) we have decided to continue our tour on foot to the Mole Antonelliana (the Museum of Cinema). This was amazing. The Mole itself is a very tall and beutiful building, and for St. Valentine’s day, the entry fee for both the museum and the elevator (which takes you up onto the top) was free. First we went to the elevator, which is pretty amazing: it takes you through the inside of the building (it is like floating in the middle of nowhere) all the way to the top, where you have a beautiful view of the city and the Alps in the distance.
The Museum of Cinema was also very interesting (and long, I did not even notice that we have spent quite a few hours inside) and it had a pretty good coverage of the history of this beautiful branch of art. In my opinion it is a must for all movie lovers!

All in all it was a very nice experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go to Torino. I have uploaded a number of pictures to my Picasa account.