Europe String

I love reading books during my travels that are somehow connected to my destination. I’m not talking about travel guides, but rather pleasure reading to entertain me on planes, trains, or simply while soaking in the atmosphere at a local cafe. Fiction or non-fiction, books set in the city I’m exploring can help enhance my experiences of the location and the book.
One great city-and-leisure-reading combination is the book When in Rome, you guessed it, while vacationing in the Eternal City. When in Rome is actually primarily a history of the Vatican, written in a charming and entertaining voice. The author, …read more

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A glimpse of Venice, complete with tour guide narration.

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Super Bowl XLII is coming up – on February 3rd, 2008, to be exact. You don’t hear much about this American game over here in Europe, but all is not lost if you’re a fan who finds yourself on this side of the pond for the big day (assuming you’re willing to stay up late).
The game is actually broadcast live on free TV in many European countries, minus most of the pre-game shows, and, sadly, without all those fancy commercials. Broadcasts start at around midnight CET; check the local listings for the country you’re in to find out whether …read more

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That’s me and my husband, hamming it up for the camera as we waited for our food at one of your basic tourist trap restaurants in Siena, Italy. Yes, I should have know but we were hungry and traveling with an antsy 2 year old. Plus, my husband just shrugged it all of with, “who cares… we’re on vacation”. Obviously, I have yet to forget.
It is pretty easy to judge tourist trap restaurants. Usually they have superb locations, right across the most famous landmark in the city and they offer ridiculously overpriced meals.
In this case, though, …read more

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It’s been labeled a “must” for those traveling to Verona. I, on the other hand, consider it (paying to go inside Casa di Giulietta to see the balcony) a tourist trap.
Here’s why:

Shakespeare’s Juliet did NOT really speak from this balcony.
Even if there were 2 feuding families in Verona, no one has really proven the existence of their star-crossed children
You do not need a “symbol” to encourage you to write love notes to the person you love. You can actually do it anytime, anywhere.
Besides, those notes left outside look a lot like graffiti to me.

Anyway, unless you have a Verona …read more

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What if you got lucky in Verona and would want to spend a romantic evening out… where can you take her without having to spend a lot?
Here’s one suggestion of where you can go, with different options on what you can do:
Take her to Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre where they have opera performances.
If you’re both avid opera fans, I suggest that you buy tickets for unreserved seats on the stone steps. They’re a lot cheaper than the padded chairs below.
If the opera performance will just be part of the background to lend ambiance to your romantic evening, …read more

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It’s my first time here in Naples. We’re on an extended weekend getaway, touring some parts of Southern Italy. We’re staying at this beautiful vacation house of our fellow Frankfurt expatriate friends in the Amalfi Coast. Yes, we’re guests: pampered but not required to pay.  One of the best ways to travel on a budget.
But before we were whisked away to this island getaway, we stayed for a night at a hotel a few streets away from Palazzo delle Arti Napoli. And as we were aimlessly walking around, we found a great market where you can get designer clothes — …read more

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The Colosseum in Rome, Italy made it to the list of the world’s top human-built wonders, the new seven wonders of the world. Others which made it on the list are: The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer,Peru’s Machu Picchu, Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid and India’s Taj Mahal.
What does this mean? Not much, I suppose. Even without the wonder of the world label, millions of visitors have already been traveling to see Rome. So…
I wonder, though if prices would skyrocket. Not that Rome was ever cheap.
I’ll let you know …read more

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Happy hour is from 6 or 7pm until 9pm. Price for each drink is fixed. Some bars even have a buffet of appetizers and snacks which budget traveler you can take advantage of by filling yourself as if you are having dinner.
You can go to:

Honky Tonks in Sempione
Birrificio Lambrate near the Lambrate Station (where else?) has the best, imho, buffet.
Bar Magenta in Via Carducci

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There is no need to sacrifice lunch the next day just because you want some cultural entertainment during your visit to Bologna, Italy. Instead, you can head for places where you can get entertainment gratis-et-amore. Why not…

Visit Museo Ducati where you can trace 50 years of Ducati (racing and motorcycle production) history. Entrance may be free but I advise you to call them up in advance to double check and schedule the time of your visit. You can call them up at 05 16413111.
Watch a classical music concert at the Teatro Manzoni or at Teatro Comunale. …read more

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