My husband and I spent the last two days of our honeymoon in Florence. It’s such a short time to explore a world-class city, yet I knew I couldn’t face a frantic rush from museum to museum after our quiet week in the small Tuscan town of Volterra. “Let’s see the cathedral,” I said. “And then let’s just…explore.” Without the pressure to cram all of Florence’s cultural experiences into a weekend, we were able to simply walk around and get a feel (but mostly a taste) for the city. We came across a street market and sampled Parmesan cheese. We found Florence’s only kosher vegetarian restaurant and had falafels with beer for lunch. We drank house wine that tasted like should have cost more and ate pizzas that could have fed an entire family. We sipped steaming hot espressos and licked melty gelato. “I’m married now,” I said to my new husband as I finished the cone. “So I figure I can let myself go.” Art is everywhere in Florence. We didn’t go to the famous Uffizi Gallery, but we did wander through the Piazza della Signoria, an open-air museum full of marble sculptures. It was buzzing with eager tourists, so we ...

People say that Paris in spring time is for lovers. Well, that may be the case, but in my mind Italy is the place where you go when your love is wishing to express itself all year round and in any season with the partner you love. Rome is the ideal setting for couples who are wishing to enjoy the radiance of a city that is packed with interesting sights to see, beautiful food to awaken the senses and the sound of Italians enjoying life. Ancient moments and wondrous churches lead you past street cafes and Italian Piazza’s where the invite to break now and again for a gelato or a capacino is irrisitable. All is set against the back drop of a blue sky with bright sunshine that filters though through the roof tops. It is no wonder the love that was once ignited in those early days of romance is re-kindled and brought back to life once more. At the Trevi fountain, you throw three coins in the fountain and wish again. The cobbled lanes lead you from there to the Spanish steps, taking you up in the heat, like a stairway to heaven. ...

The summer I turned 16, I spent three weeks studying English in the south coast of England. Of course studying was really just an excuse for the other activities like finding a summer romance. Mine was Italian, and incidentally, he was from Venice. After the course finished, I returned to my native Finland and to the normal life of a small town teenager. Summer generated boredom with long, jobless days, broken by the embarrassingly romantic texts my Italian boy was sending me. The boys I was used to hanging out with wouldn’t be caught dead saying the things he said. Ultimately what he says is: Why don’t you come to Venice for a holiday? I decided to go with a friend, because while I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to see this boy, I knew that I wanted to see Venice. Upon our arrival in Milan we caught a night train to Venice and slept in a small cabin until morning. When it turned light but foggy outside, we arrived in Venice. Stepping out of the railway station at 6am is nothing short of breathtaking. Just seconds earlier, I was inside a railway station. And then… well then ...

Two years ago and again during summer last year, my boyfriend Dominic and I travelled to Rome. It was my first holiday in about 10 years but for Dominic, he regularly goes as his uncle and aunt - Eugiene and Katia - live there. For as long as I have loved art, I have wished to see the Sistine Chapel and in Rome I had the chance! What a holiday! That was made all the more affordable (thank goodness) by the fact that we have family there. Saying that though, renting an apartment for a week or so is a good way of staying in Rome. As there is so much to see, I think having a base where you can completely relax is preferable. You can make packed lunches and your own meals, which saves some money. Not that the food is expensive or anything. It is reasonable and delicious in most restaurants. As the flight took over two 2 hours to reach Rome we caught one at about 6am – which gave us a whole day at our disposal as soon as we arrived. So an early night and plenty of sleep was on the cards, especially as Dominic ...

An important festival on the Rome events calendar, the Festa di Noantri in Trastevere, is a religious celebration that dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. It is held in celebration of the Lady of Mount Carmel and takes place on the first Saturday after July 16th every year. On the day of the festival, a richly dressed statue of the Virgin Mary is taken in a procession through the streets around the Church of Saint Agatha and on towards the Basilica of San Crisogono. The statue is an ancient one, supposedly discovered in the Tiber in 1535. She was donated to the Carmelites at Crisogono, where she became the patron saint of Trastevere. In 1890 she was moved to another local church, Saint Agatha. The return procession includes a journey across the Tiber, to commemorate the site of discovery of the image. The statue is taken in a boat from near Villa Giulia to Ponte San Angelo, where more people join the procession; to move towards the Ponte Sisto, Isola Tiberina and from thereon to Trastevere’s most important church, Santa Maria. The statue is then brought back to its home in the Church of Saint Agatha, on ...

I would return to Rome, the city of romance, because there just isn’t enough time to see and do everything in one long weekend. I see Rome as a giant pizza that you keep taking a bite out of now and again. It is so diverse that you could visit a dozen times and do and see something different every time. Rome is not the ‘sit on a bus’ type of sight seeing city – you have to like walking. It is also best if you buy a good guidebook and plan your journey each day. We recently had a three-night break there and enjoyed every minute of it. On arrival we dumped our bags at the hotel and couldn’t wait to start exploring this beautiful city. We wandered along tiny lanes and alleyways and at dusk took a walk over the Ponte Cestio Bridge through the nooks and crannies of the Trastevere district and onto Tiber Island. This is a fascinating place full of esplanades, restaurants and stalls selling books, souvenirs and handicrafts. We had a delicious candlelit meal in one of the restaurants and I fell in love with this little ...

As magical as the city of Venice is, La Serenissima doesn’t have the best reputation for eating out. Sure, there are some legendary restaurants such as Harry’s Bar and the Cipriani, but in the whole finding good, good-value food happens more by accident that design. Luckily Venice does have one the country’s great fresh produce markets; the Rialto. Spilling out from the streets underneath the famous bridge of the same name, shopping at the Rialto market is one of the most ‘local’ experiences you can have in Venice. The Rialto market is closely entwined in the city’s history and has occupied its position near the banks of the Grand Canal for almost a millennium. As Venetian merchants established their trading networks across the Adriatic and beyond, the Rialto area became an important commercial hub. And although the Rialto market has reduced greatly in size since Venice’s Golden Age, it still puts on one of the city’s greatest shows. By dawn, large barges arrive carrying fruit, vegetables and fish, which leads to a cacophony of screaming as vendors bargain for the best prices. Huge carts of produce are then hauled to either the Erberia (fruit and vegetable market) or the Pescheria ...

I was 15 when I travelled to Venice by a hydrofoil from Umago in Istria, where I was on a seaside holiday from my native Serbia. It was a day trip, and the ticket was pre-paid, but it was still a fantastic feeling of freedom. Previously, I’d only been to a few countries with my parents, but I had not been allowed to travel abroad alone before. So I felt privileged to make this first foreign trip ‘on my own’ in the old way (almost like Argonauts!) aboard a ship (even though mine was much faster than theirs!) and to reach one of the world's most unique cities, once the ‘Queen of the Seas’, by water, and not overland. Venice is a miracle. Few other cities remotely resemble it, but none outshine its uniqueness in the beauty of its palaces, the richness of its paintings and sculptures, and the most ornate, bizarre cathedral in four different styles. Equally unique, and bizarre, is the manner of navigating (literally) its locales. Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Bangkok also have an aquatic abundance, but they also have either many more bridges or are not completely built at roughly the same time around the banks of canals. ...

Florence is serviced by two airports; its own and Pisa International Airport. Although the latter is located a good 80 kilometres from the centre of Florence, it is becoming an increasingly popular choice for travellers to the city as it is used by many budget airlines including Vueling, Easyjet, Wizz and Ryanair. On the other hand, Florence airport is serviced by the bigger airlines such as KLM, BA and, of course, Alitalia. Both airports are connected to central Florence (S. M. Novella train station) by bus. From Pisa Airport, the Terravision (www.terravision.eu) transfer bus leaves from the Elenco Corse outside the arrivals hall. The full journey takes 70 minutes and costs 10€ one-way (16€, return) for adults. Buses run from 8.40am to 12.20am but the bad news is that there are long gaps between services. Whilst these have been designed to coincide with flight arrivals, flight delays may cause you to miss your connection, so brace yourself for a wait before you finally arrive at your holiday apartment. Arriving at your accommodation from Florence Airport is a lot quicker. The Volain bus (operated by the local company ATAF, www.ataf.net) departs every half hour and the journey takes 15 minutes. ...

The Pentecost (which in 2010 falls on May 23rd) is a celebration in remembrance of the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles of Jesus and this tends to be one of the most spectacular and culturally fascinating times to be in Rome. And the most lovely of all Pentecostal rituals takes place at one of the eternal city’s most awe-inspiring buildings: the Pantheon. After a celebration of the Mass on Pentecost Sunday, a shower of rose petals falls through the oculus, or the opening at the top of the dome of the Pantheon. This beautiful spectacle is made possible by a group of firemen who scale the exterior wall of the Pantheon armed with sacks of rose petals—a sight almost as wonderful as what is to take place inside. The petals are meant to represent the Holy Spirit’s descent to earth, and watching them flutter through the haze-like light that filters through the oculus is an incredibly uplifting experience. Visitors are welcome to this event but would be wise to turn up early and seating is generally only available to those attending the mass first (even then many of these are pre-booked). At the end of mass, ...