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The trip was done in May 2009, was sorting out the right pictures to showcase. The trip was done solo and I traveled through Milan, Tuscany, Florence, Verona and Venice in a time span of 7 days.
This is was my first trip to Italy and I did not plan anything apart from having my initial hotel room booked which was mandatory for my Visa.

MILAN
Arrived in Milan and reached my place of stay in the outskirts of Milan. I explored the areas around Brera gallery and found my place in a pub called BAR brera. The rest of the night till dawn was spent there. The hotel folks were quite accommodating and provided me a complete sheet on how to reach back to the hotel. I would have got lost the first day if not for the precious sheet.
I spent the next day at Milan at the famous Fireamilano trade center which is the largest trade complex in Europe. The place was so well connected and the settings were just right.
Walked around the main city center and decided to head to Tuscany.
I loved Milan for its people. They were so friendly and very fashion conscious. Every one, I mean every one was dressed right and smart. This I suppose is why they say Milan is the fashion capital of the world. I loved the night life and the pubs in the city. Was a relief to be in pub that closed at dawn.
I hated Milan for its exorbitant price for beer and the confusing routes around the city center.

TUSCANY
This will and always will be my favorite place on earth. I arrived in a small town called Bibienna. I arrived by train at 8PM. The station was deserted. The earlier folks had booked me a room and again I had a precious sheet. Found my way walking to the hotel. For your information the town has a population of 2000 people.
Checked in at the hotel which was more like a b&b place. The people who run the place were very warm and good conversationalist. Spent some time chatting and smoking away till late in the night.

I loved Tuscany for its beautiful landscapes and small town atmosphere. It was like most of the people knew each other by the name. A very small town with meager population, yet it was such a lovely place to be. Makes for a good honeymoon destination and the town is so relaxing. The hills and the old cottages dotting the landscape were just breathtaking.
Nothing much I hated here except for the fact that the town goes to sleep early.

FLORENCE.
Also called Firenze the city is a dream destination for artists. The town had lots of architecture from lots of different cultures. There were art exhibits that showcased works of famous artists and also new gen exhibits of the modern art. The town was very touristy which was evident from the many shops that sold small junklets of art and souvenirs.
Was privileged to stay with a beautiful doctor who did a research on marine biology. Her cozy roof studio was bang in the middle of the city. I downed her entire house bar and also gave her an opportunity to taste our very own desi Old cask rum which I had sneaked into Italy with me. I have successfully killed her taste buds with the same. Wish to mention that she had with her sand from all the beaches across the world. The Indian sand was Goan.
Liked Florence for its art and people who were very serious about their career irrespective of the fact however silly or absurd it might be.
Hated Florence for its touristy stalls and people who were all after your money and needed to sell you something attitude.

VERONA
The city of Romeo and Juliet. The town housed some beautiful architecture and was a mix of many designs.
I stayed with a 60 year old who had stayed with me in India for sometime. Do not assume him to be an old man, he is more energetic than many of us here. This person had cycled his way up the hills to meet me in India and I was in for a big surprise.
We stayed in his flat for a while and he offered to show me around his town. I went to get ready and he offered me a pair of shorts. I asked what for and he said that this was his town and I follow his rules. Donned them and went to the parking hoping to see around town in his car. There were two mountain bikes and that was the ride. I told him to cycle and I would follow on foot. Again, I had to live by his rules. The petrol head in me gasped my lungs out. I just wanted to leave that place soon.

I saw the famous balcony of Romeo and Juliet and a beautiful Roman garden which was unfortunately closed. I have attached one picture of the same here.
After, we headed home and I tasted the most delicious pasta with the remaining Old cask.
Liked Verona for Sauro, our cyclist friend. You can see a bit of the Alps from here.
Nothing much I hated about this place.

VENICE.
This does not require much of a write up. The water ways were just amazing. The whole city lived by it. Attaching a picture of the police station and their mode of transport, boats.
The companies even brand their products on these waterways. Attaching pictures again of the same.
The main attraction is San Marco. I got off at the central station and walked following the water way to San Marco. The whole place had a very romantic feel to it. Unfortunately I was alone. The Ferari stores were well stocked. I was able to buy myself a key chain that was the cheapest item available there. The gondolas looked inviting, yet it did not make sense for me to go in it alone. However I heard them sing, and they sound hoarse.
Loved Venice for its water ways and romantic kind of feeling.
Hated Vencie for its high priced restaurants.

Kindly bear with me for the short write up, have been as specific as possible.



Pictures to follow soon. I am not much of a shutter bug and have a few modest pictures to share.


Regards

Looking forward to the pics. I was Italy for several months, liked the people and their way of life.

looking forward for the pics.

Ramkya sir just showed us Rome.

Kartik

Have always wante dto go to Italy, especially Venice, Florence and Rome. Would be nice doing the trip through your camera.

Will re size the pictures and post them here this afternoon.

Here are some pictures.

Good start and nice pictues.... I just finished a travalogue of Europe and UK... we seem to have crossed paths.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...k-end-end.html

Please write some story, looking forward to more.

--Ramky

Beejay,
It would take volumes to write about each of the cities you visited. One post describing your 7 day trip doesn't do justice. Please do write more in detail.

5 cities in 7 days seems a bit much to me. I would have loved to spend more time at each location. I am also surprised to see u didn't visit Rome. It's a must see.

Attaching a pic from my visit to Italy in 2006.
I guess it would have been something similar which inspired Claude Monet to paint 'Sunset in Venice' :)

A wonderful report. 9 GB of pictures:Shockked:.

Wish I was so patient to click, unfortunately I have very few with me. Will post the rest soon.


I understand, yet I am not much of a shutter bug and literally ran through the country.

I did not have time to visit Rome, will definitely do next time. My folks were pretty cross that I did not visit Rome too, in spite of me being Christian:D.

I imagine you would have had quite an experience, but as mentioned your report doesnt do justice. Always been my dream to do a euro trip. Looking forward to the rest of the pictures as well.

A few more pictures.

Just to give a bit of detail about the place. Its Piazza de San Marco (St Mark’s Square) and the church u see there is Basilica de San Marco (St Mark’s Basilica).

Beejay,
I hope you undertook the Gondola ride. Frankly speaking it was quite a let down for me. The inner canals are really foul smelling and not a pleasant site for the eyes.

Just thinking about posting some of my travels in Europe. they are a bit dated though.

I got off the train at the Central station and followed the canal all the way up to San Marco.

You can also take a ferry to San Marco from the train station

San Marco or St. Mark's Square is the center of the city and houses the St. Mark's Bassilica which you can see in the pictures posted above.

The walk was through narrow lanes and was nice. Souvenir stores, bakeries and accessory stores line the streets. There are proper signage's that lead you to San Marco.

The occasional gondolas go drifting beneath the bridges and was a pleasant to see. I did not take a ride in the Gondola and as lsp mentions the stench in some places was unbearable.

A snap shot of our cyclist friend from Verona, Sauro.

Like I mentioned earlier Sauro or Spasso as he fondly called has cycled almost all across the globe. He stayed with me a while last year in Coonoor and came cycling up the Mettupalayam ghats just like that.

A real fun guy for his age and a real good cook.

Mods please delete the previous post. Picture did not load there too.

Here is the snapshot.