Italy is a must for any person, whether you are a history buff or you just love great food and people watching.
My sister and I decided our first stop was Rome, a bustling city filled with modern attitudes, but surrounded by ancient and monumental structures. We decided to start our holiday with a Hop On, Hop Off bus around Rome so we could get to know the city better and work out which sights we wanted to visit first. I highly recommend Hop On, Hop Off tours in places like Rome as the sights can be quite spaced out and on a hot spring day it was needed. The ticket is for 24 hours and you can get on and off anytime at the specified bus stops for no extra charge.
Day 1 consisted in visiting the Colosseum, Palantine Hill, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Pathenoen and Piazza Navona.
Day 2 was the Vatican Museums, St Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant' Angelo, Ghetto of Rome where you can find the ruins of Portico di Ottavia and the Theatre of Marcellus.
The food is fantastic, pizza and gelati that still makes my mouth water and the wine is delicious.
Rome is a must see, from people watching at the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps, to the mind blowing history found at the Forum and the Colosseum, to the breathtaking Basilica and Vatican Museum, you can't go wrong visiting this city.
Florence is for the artist in us all, here you can find the original statue of David in all his glory... located in the Accademia Gallery. Michelangelo's attention to detail is unbelievable. The gallery houses many of Michelangleo works. Next stop was a visit to the Uffizi Gallery, home of The birth of Venus by Botticelli then onto the Ponte Vecchio, when the bridge was first built it housed butchers and merchants, today you can find numerous jewellers. We then walked up to the best look out point over Florence the Piazzale Michelango. Here you see Florence and the surrounding tuscan hills,it's great at sunset. We also visited Pisa whilst we were in Florence. The architecture and lopsided tower was amazing. From Florence you can visit many little Tuscan towns such as Pisa or Siena.
Our final destination on our holiday to Italy was Venice, the floating city. Nothing can prepare you for Venice. We travelled by train from Florence to Venice and when we left Mestre and travelled over the bridge to Santa Lucia station the excitement built up. This city is beautiful, with its labyrinth of alleys, it's easy to get lost here but that just adds to the adventure.
We booked ourselves on a walking tour of Venice and then a tour of the Grand Canal. The walking tour is a great way to see everything and get the historical facts of each sight. The Grand Canal tour is done in a water taxi, we found this to be very enjoyable. We sat at the back and felt very chic... drinking our Prosecco and listening to our guide tell us about the buildings and areas along the Grand Canal. We found the best way to get around is via Water Bus or Vaporetto. You can purchase a 24 hour ticket for around 19-25euros.
We only gave ourselves a day and half here, I wish it had a been a little longer as we wanted to visit the islands of Murano (famous venetian glassmaking) and Burano (famous venetian lace). Venice was magically from silver service in San Marco Square to your humble family run restaurant down a little alley. This city is timeless.
These three cities are a must see on a holiday to Europe. It was a fantastic holiday for my sister and I and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment.