La Scala Opeara Theatre in Milan

La Scala in Milan is probably the most famous opera house in the world.

Its construction started, thanks to the Empress Maria Teresa of Austria, in 1776 after the destruction of the Ducal Theatre by a fire and it took two years to complete it. It derives its name from the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, on whose remains it has been built according to a project of the (neoclassical) architect Piermarini. The sober facade heavily contrasts with the magnificent interior. After its first opening performance (a work by Salieri). Many more followed, from Paisiello to Cimarosa, from Rossini to Bellini, Donizetti and

Verdi, just to name a few ones. Arturo Toscanini became artistic supervisor of La Scala in 1898 and the repertoire he chose included then Wagner, Mascagni, Leoncavallo and Puccini.

The Town Hall of Milan purchased the theatre in 1921 from its private owners. The best directors and singers in the world have performed at La Scala which kept its primary role as the most prestigious opera theatre also between the world wars and after the Second World War.

A Museum (opened in 1813) close to the theatre displays portraits, busts, costumes and many antique properties of Verdi and Toscanini.

Unforgettable Vacation in Rome

When you want to go on vacation in Rome, you will want to be prepared in advance so that all of your plans go accordingly. First, you should always book your flight months ahead of time and your hotel in Rome. To book your hotel reservation in Rome you can choose among many Rome hotels. If you are trying to have a vacation in Rome during the peak tourist season, you will want to book at least six months in advance. And then you will also need to think about your hotel. A vacation in Rome won’t be perfect unless you find the hotel that suits all of your needs, as well as your budget. This can be a hotel that is in the center of the city, close to all of the shopping and dining opportunities. Or, this hotel could be out of the way in the suburbs. This is where you can find quiet, relaxing settings without the luxury price tag. So plan your vacation in Rome as soon as you can.

250.000 flowers in Amsterdam

If you are planning your next travel in Amsterdam, we suggest you an attraction to visite. The Hortus Botanicus or Botanical Garden was established in Amsterdam in 1682 after being originally started in 1638 at another location. It is a medley of colors and scents and includes at least 250,000 flowers, 115,000 plants, and 8,000 different species of trees. The garden owes its heritage to the many Dutch colonies and the plant species that were brought back from those locations. It displays the love affair that the Dutch have with flowers (think tulips!). Some of the highlights of the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam include the Semicircle which reconstructs a portion of the original 1682 design; the Palm House which is home to one of the oldest Palm trees in existence; the Mexico-California Desert House which displays plants, flowers, and trees found only in the desert regions of Mexico and California; and the Tri-Climate House that displays various tropical, subtropical, and desert plants. For your hotel reservation near at he area of this attracion you can found your elegant and confortable room in one of many Amsterdam hotels. The Botanical Gardens are open to visitors nearly year round except the major holidays of Christmas and New Years Day. Admission is six Euros for adults, three Euros for senior and children.

Discover Riga and .... Latvia

UNESCO has listed 'Old Riga', a masterpiece of architecture and antiquity, as one of its World Heritage wonders. No wonder that a city that has survived two world wars is now in this list: just wander throgh its narrow streets and alleyways and you will find yourself in a living museum. The 13th century Dome cathedral, the fantastic gothic facade of Saint Peter's Curch, the old residential buildings and the small decorative houses surrounding Liv Square.
If Riga was a mighty seaport during the Middle Ages and a leading port for the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, Riga reminds the traveller of its Hanseatic days (Great Guild and Small Guild) as well as its Art Nouveau or Jugendstil movement (one thitd of Riga's downtown buildings were constructed in Art Nouveau Style). Two more assets: Riga as town of music and arts (Riga gave birth to major artists from the ballet dancer Baryshnikov to the violinist Gideon Kremer) and Riga as the town where Catholic, Lutheran and Ortodox churches meet ( from the Lutheran Dome Cathedral and the magnificent St peter's Church to the Catholic St Jacob's Cathedral to the synagogue in Old Riga).
Just another curiosity: Riga is one of the few places with flower markets open 24 hours a day and believe it or not Riga has an intense nightlife (casinos, bars, discos and nightclubs).
In this small country German, Russian, Swedish and Polish rulers left more than a trace in palaces, castles and manors build in the Latvian countryside. Just south of Riga the grandest in the country is the famous Rundale Palace, designed bythe Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo rastrelli. The same architect who designed the Czar's Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Many good reasons, and not the only ones, to visit this small country and its capital: a journey to Riga in the past and in the future, in this city you can book a your prefered room in one of many Riga hotels.

Singapore

Singapore is not only a melting pot of religions and multi-racial habitants. This extraordinary melting pot lives also in the flavours of the food and culinary delicacies.
Each immigrant and expatriate has brought favourite dishes, ingredients, techniques resulting in an incredible range of cuisines, among which dishes like fish head curry and chilli crab remain among the favourites.
A special tasty and imaginative cuisine is the Peranakan or Nonya food in Sigapore, as a result of the culinary tradition of Perakanans (descendants of early migrants from China) marrying local Malay women: a mix of chinese ingredients andMalay spices and herbs. Try rempah and belacan (I will not tell you what the ingredients are...)

The hawker center in Singapore offers multi-ethnic meals: here an astonishing variety of dishes are cooked on the spot. An unique experience which confirms the potpourri of etnical races.
Besides simple dishes of noodles or fried vegetables with rice here you can find Vietnamese, Thai, Turkish and even Italian dishes. But honestly I would suggest to stick to a casual eating of far east specialities..

Travel to Naples Italy. The small island of Procida

Instead of choosing the well known islands of Capri or Ischia, we decided for anexcursion to the smallest and less known of the three islands in the gulf of Naples,
getting away from the so-called "mass tourism". And indeed Procida is a fascinatingplace, with its narrow roads, its colored houses facing the sea.
Ferries and hydrofoils dock at Marina Grande arriving from Naples orPozzuoli. The first image that welcome those who arrive at Procida are the colored houses linedup along the sea. This fishermen's little town is dominated by a castlestanding on a rock of turf. But the heart of the island is "Terra Murata", with its medieval houses, gardens, churches and palaces. Donot miss the panorama from the "belvedere".If you like to swim, the semicircular bay of Marina di Chiaolella awaits you with its calm sea.The islands houses also an Oasis protected by the W.W.F. (World WildlifeFund) on the islet of Vivara: it is worth a visit, but do not forget to obtain the
permission from the Municipality.It is not a case if Lamartine celebrated the island in his book"'Graziella" in 1852, also Elsa Morante's novel "L'isola di Arturo" (1957) is set in this small and fascinating island.

Greenwich Village New York

New York, the Big Apple, is known for its fast and continuous innovation in all aspects, however in the Greenwich Village the “old” and the “new” melt together making the so called ‘Village” one of the most fascinating quarters of the world. Yes it is a special place, even the way the streets are set they are not in a symmetric order as the rest of Manhattan. In fact, the Village did not go under the reorganization of the roads of Manhattan. As soon as you arrive at the Village you have the feeling that you can whoever you want. Here artists, students, dreamers, tourists all find what they look for this is the Village!
Even the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe stayed here at the Village form 1844 to 45 in a small house made of red bricks, recently knocked down to build part of the famous NYU (New York University)
This quarter since the 30s was a meeting spot for artists, actors, intellectuals, politicians. Today is a very fashionable and cool place, where buying a house is something reserved to the wealthy. The Greenwich Village is still today a very fascinating place that attracts New Yorkers and tourists from all over the world.

Open Garden Days

Let's say the truth, Amsterdam is best known around the world for its wild side, for its tolerance, for its freedom. Yet Amsterdam is way more than that! If you wish to discover one of Amsterdam's hidden sides we advise you to be there from the 20th to the 22nd of June 2008.
In those three days the Canal Museums are going to give you the chance to view Amsterdam's hidden gardens.
This happening takes place once a year when, thanks to the kindness of private homeowners and various institutions, the doors to private gardens and spectacular hidden arbours remain open from
10 am to 5 pm. The Open Garden Days will let you see what goes on beyond some of the most beautiful façades of Amsterdam, and, with a ticket of 12 €, you will have the opportunity to board the canal boat that will bring you to these awesome hidden Amsterdam's secret gardens.

LONDON PECULIAR

TEMPTING STORES: LONDON TOP 5

FORTNUM & MASON (Piccadilly): a most glamorous grocer
SELFRIDGES & CO (Oxford Street.): hippest department store in town
HARRODS (Knightsbridge): “Everything for everybody everywhere”
WATERSTONE’S (Piccadilly): the biggest bookshop in Europe
HAMLEYS (Regent Street): largest toy shop in the world


LONDON MARKETS. 5 best ones

PORTOBELLO ROAD: antiques market - Saturday 7 a.m. – 6 pm
PETTICOAT LANE: second hand clothes – Sunday 9 am – 2 pm (metro Liverpool Street Or Aldgate)
COLUMBIA ROAD: flower market – Sunday 8 am – 1 pm
CAMDEN PASSAGE: antiques – best Wednesday/Saturday (metro Angel)
JUBILEE MARKET: souvenirs; APPLE MARKET: jewellery; in Covent Garden Piazza


MUSEUM SHOPS

Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). silk and organza scarves, hand dyed Indian bathrobes, Raku ceramics
The Science Museum: educational and scientific toys
Royal Academy and Tate Modern: products linked to special exhibitions
British Museum: a last-minute-shopping at Heathrow Terminal 4

THE BEST FISH & CHIPS

Rock & Sole Place in Covent Garden, Costa’s ( Notting Hill) owned and staffed by Italians, Sea Shee in Lisson Grove and Geales in Notting Hill, Fish Central (near the Barbican Centre), Masters Super Fish (Warterloo) and Seafresh in Wilton road (close to Victoria Station).

London over 30.000 shops to satisfy your desires.

That's what London can offer you, but this is only one of hundreds of ways to visit this extraordinary town. From fashion boutiques to the big institutions like Marks & Spencer or Selfridges, to the multiclored stores of music chains HMV and Virgin, to a wide range of bookshops /mainly concentrated at the eastern end of Oxford street/Charing Cross road, to fashion stores and boutiques, to sex shops ... Indeed in London you can find anything you might wish, There is even a list of 'London's top 10 tempting stores': amond them the most glamorous grocer Fortnum & Manson (Piccadilly), Harrods (Knightsbridge), Waterstone's (Piccadilly), Europe's biggest bookshop whioch is worth a visit for its interior of the 1930s.
One cannot miss the area of Covent Garden, its market, its shops, its theatres, opera house, cafès and bars, one of the most pleasant shopping London areas. If you look for most famous European designers (like Armani or Versace) or some of the best-quality British accessories (like Mulberry's leather handbags and Church's traditional English shoes) just walk along New Bond street. Since you cannot but visit some of the many museums in town, do not forget that the shop inside the Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington) sells beautiful scarves in silk and organza and a stunning collection of Raku ceramics while at the Natural History Museum you can find prodcts made from recycled or raw materials. We suggest a weekend or city breaks, you can enjoy your shopping days, you can choose in many hotels in London to book your cheap or luxury room . Shopping in London is quite an experience!!! Good Shopping!

Sydney - A masterpiece 20th-century building.

There are many examples of modern architecture in Australia. First of all, Sydney’s Opera House, designed by a Danish architect (called Utson), and opened in 1973 in Sydney’s Harbor, which has achieved worldwide recognition and is still considered a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. But modern architecture in Sydney is not only represented by the Opera House and I would rather point out another landmark of the city: the Sydney Tower, Australia's tallest building ( 320 meters high) which opened in 1981 to serve as a communication tower as well as a tourist facility. Three high speed elevators lead to the turret at the top, with observation platforms and restaurants that can accommodate almost 1000 people. Just imagine that the size of the top turret is equivalent to a nine-storey building... But if you choose Sidney in Australia for your next holiday, you will find many more innovative buildings and examples of modern architecture in Sydney together with examples of art deco. It is said that the inner-city precincts of Potts Point and Elisabeth Bay contain the highest density of art deco architecture (a phenomenon of the 1930s) in the southern hemisphere. One good example is the Criterion Hotel in Park street, another one the Piccadilly Hotel in Pots Point. Hotel reservations in Sydney in Australia.

New York, March 13 2008

Greetings,

welcome to my blog. This is the opening date of this blog. This will be a place to exchange opinions, experiences and reviews about travel in New York and Italy.