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A whirlwind tour of Tuscany – Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino
Tuscany ! The mere mention of the name conjures up images of gently rolling hills, acres upon acres of vineyards, with tiny beige and yellow settlements clinging to the top of the hills. So it is no surprise at all that out of one of our days spent visiting Florence, we make a day trip to the countryside to visit the Tuscan hill towns of Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino. How to get to the Tuscan countryside The Tuscan countryside can be a little difficult to get to as there are no major train stations in the region. So the easiest, and the laziest option is to book one of the…
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Exploring Florence in 3 days
Florence hits the top spot in most travel listicles with amazing regularity. Not only is it’s reputation as the Italian cultural center-piece and as the birthplace of the Renaissance reason enough for the faithful hordes, it’s proximity to the unique topography of Tuscany’s rolling hills and the Tyrrhenian sea makes it the perfect spot for a lot of countryside and seaside getaways. “This is the fairest picture on our planet, the most enchanting to look upon, the most satisfying to the eye and the spirit. To see the sun sink down, drowned on his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the…
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Exploring Venice in a day
Venice, the city of canals, romantic gondola rides and ballad singing gondoliers, James Bond movie sequences and a playground for the rich and famous is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Prestigious events from the art, architecture, music and film fraternity, like the Venice Biennale (a part of which, is the Venice Film festival that awards the ‘Golden Lion’ – we’ll revisit this later) are conducted here. No wonder then, that this is a place where the rich and famous often hobnob. The seducer Casanova had Venice as his playground. Ernest Hemingway was fond of the place, so was Henry James, Charlie Chaplin, and a whole horde…
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Hallstatt – The picture perfect village of Austria
Hallstatt’s reputation as a UNESCO world heritage site and as a contender to the prettiest village in Europe. It’s trademark pastel and wood houses built on the steep hillsides, overlooking the crystal clear lake are now a famous tourist destination. But Hallstatt first gained fame in prehistoric times for it’s salt. Salt, a natural preservative for meat, was quite valuable then and Hallstatt’s mines brought it considerable trade and fortune. Even as late as the 20th century, it’s salt mines continued to be active. How to get to Hallstatt Hallstatt is perfect for a day trip from Salzburg. It is about 2 – 2.5 hours depending on the mode of…
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Exploring Gosau and Gosausee in Austria’s Salzkammergut
Gosausee is one among numerous lakes dotting the Salzkammergut landscape in Austria and arguably, one of the prettiest. Fed by melt water from the Dachstein glacier, these are actually 3 lakes, the most famous of which is the Front Gosausee. On a clear sunny day, if the waters of the lake are placid and calm, it reflects the Dachstein glacier on the massif above. This is a photo op that has been captured for posterity a lot of times, but tourists can seldom imagine the colors reflected in the Gosausee. And coming from somebody who has been to extremely pretty Himalayan lakes as well, this shade of green, surrounded by alpine…
