There are only 9 absolute musts, but thousands of other reasons to Florence ONE: The view from San Miniato al Monte Let everybody else stop at Piazzale Michelangelo for the view over the city. While a very good spot for the pics, it is basically an over-crowded parking. Go uphill, Via delle Porte Sante, to San Miniato al Monte. This is the church with the most beautiful view in the world. TWO: THE ROOFTOPS OF FLORENCE Flirence has a magical skyline to dream on to. The miraculous dome of the Duomo, the unmistakable tower of the Signoria, the tiled rooftops, the marbled facades and the Rennaissance palazzi create an immersive…
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VALENCIA #SINEQUANON: THE THINGS YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT
Last day in Valencia and here are the likely and unlikely musts in this gorgeous and happily (and thankfully) underrated city – besides paella and the old city center. Random order, you really have to try them all1. Bioparc You can call it a zoo, but you’ll be a gross understatement. This is the most wonderful “bio immersion” you’ve seen. The concept of immersing the visitor into the animals’ habitat – and not the other way round, the way a classical zoo does – is magically re-creating Africa in Valencia downtown.
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ISTANBUL #SINEQUANON: THE THINGS YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT
1. Hagia Sophia. The one and only. Amazing, graceful, memorable 2. Topkapi Palace, including the must visit of the Harem. Plan a whole afternoon for it, it may very well be the most wonderful spot in Istanbul. Beautiful park, unbeatable views of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn from the terraces. Take your time, see it all, discover Moses’s walking stick and a fragment from the Mecca stone and the Otoman jewelries, have a coffee or lunch at the restaurant hanging over the sea. 3. Galata Tower and Pera district, the Montmartre of Istanbul. Small, steep, cobblestone streets and the warm vibe around the Galata Tower in the evenings. 4. Sultanahmet/ Blue…
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TUSCANY #SINEQUANON: THE THINGS YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT
Take two weeks for it. You will want it to last forever anyway. There are places you can fast forward, and there are places you can resist the temptations that come along the way. Toscana is not one of them. You have to take it in, breath it, taste it, not just visit it. You have to have the time to live it. ONE: Rent a car and discover the countryside. Toscana has the most beautiful medieval castles and villages in the world, and the most wonderful country roads. If you don’t have the freedom to move between vineyards and take in the iconic cypress tree lined landscape, don’t even…
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ANDALUSIA #SINEQUANON: THE THINGS YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT
She may appear to you as a mala mujer or a bruja (witch), and she will not be tamed. Andalusia will paint your fantasies hot, the color of those wretched blood-boiling impulses. Too hot to handle during the summer, the diva region of Southern Spain is smoking hot all year round. ONE: RONDA TWO: STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR THREE: CADIZ FOUR: GRANADA FIVE: SEVILLA SIX: CORDOBA SEVEN: LOCAL TRADITIONS: corrida, Andalusian horses, flamenco Andalucia is no place to go with a purpose or a timeframe. Don’t ever judge her: it is as intense as its flamenco rhythms and as savage as its corridas. It is also mute and dry at times, but at…
