Genoa’s been around. Since the establishment of the Republic of Genoa (Genova, in Italian) in 1005, this major Italian port has been a power in the Mediterranean, fought with that other seaside republic called Venice, participated in the Crusades and was the inadvertent entry point of the Black Death into Europe in the Middle Ages (rats!). Today, the city remains as important as ever, serving as Italy’s busiest port.
Whether you’re a fan of baked goods or just getting baked, one finds diversity in diversions in Amsterdam.
In the morning, as sunlight bursts across the canals and bending roads of the central Jordaan, bakeries of the district offer fresh delights like warm stroopwafels, while pancake houses serve a multitude of sweet and savory flapjacks. Flower markets sell their colorful seeds and plants, recalling a time long ago when the Dutch lost their minds in speculative tulip trading.
Continue reading “Amsterdam – Canals, Color & Light”
The last time I was in Milan was also my first visit to a police station. Bag snatched after all these years of vigilantly visiting Italy, it undoubtedly yielded the most stressful night I’ve spent in the country. On the plus side, the officer said my Italian was really good.
It’s my belief that we should endeavor always to undo negative memories and refresh them with positive ones, and so I subsequently decided on a return trip to Milan for a month-long stay to better know Italy’s cosmopolitan heart. I wanted to change the narrative of my experience with the city.
Continue reading “Highlights of Milan, Italy’s Cosmopolitan City”
It’s the 8th century BCE. Colonists have arrived in Sicily from Corinth, a city-state between Athens and Sparta, to establish settlements. On this southeastern part of the island, across the Ionian sea from the motherland, rises the great capital city of Syracuse. Allied with Corinth and Sparta, Syracuse will one day help dominate Magna Graecia, growing as large as Athens in the 5th century BCE.
Continue reading “Palazzolo Acreide & the Ancient Greeks in Sicily”
Florence, I just can’t quit you. After an adventure in Northern Italy, Austria and Slovenia, I found myself in my favorite Italian city for the second time last year. I had already posted on many of my favorite places in Florence in my previous posts, yet, until this trip, I still hadn’t ascended the Duomo or the Campanile, nor had I been inside the Battistero. These are perhaps the most touristy of tourist things to do in the city, undoubtedly the “top attractions in Florence” (there’s a lil’ sum’n sum’n for the Google keyword crawlers #transparency).
Continue reading “More Photos From Florence, Empoli & Tips for Climbing the Duomo”