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Tuscany Travel Blogs

Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

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By maytorenajr
September 15th 2009

Finally get to relax for a couple days in Florence Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

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Alright after an 8 hour trip from Taormina to Rome, then a 4 hour trip to Pisa, then a 1 hour trip to Florence. I finally get to relax and kick back for a couple days till I head to Venice. Well that is the plan so far. Florence is pretty nice its not to big. The Church of Santa Maria in central Florence is beautiful. I am going to site see some more tomorrow then maybe a wine tour the following day. I am real sick of trains, buses, and subways but I still have many more of them to [View Full Entry]

By maytorenajr
September 14th 2009

taormina, rome, pisa Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Pisa

Leaning tower

I arrived in Pisa today and I must say it is pretty nice here. Their is not much to do here but its real laided back and easy going. I was in Rome last night and I once again drank way to many beers. Then a girl from england kept buying me this weird shot with bailys, some mint liqour, and chocalte liqour. It was good but not so good when I woke up this morning. I felt like I died and reincarnated into a pile of donkey poop. I was hating life for sure which made for a great time [View Full Entry]

By Andy n Jen
September 12th 2009

Under the Tuscan Sun Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Cortona

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Zurli Villa was absolutely beautiful. 5 days of nothing to do but just sit back, relax and enjoy the Vino. The Villa was set at the top of a hill surrounded by Vineyards and sunflower fields.. The gardens were beautifully kept and the place included our own pool, Jacuzi and woodfired pizza oven....And we cant forget the table tennis table either. Our time was so amazing and when we werent lounging around the pool and drinking we would take time to explore the local towns nearby. Day 1 Jen Jen prepared what was to be a feast of home-made pizza from [View Full Entry]

By AMV
September 12th 2009

Pisa and so much more! Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Pisa

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On September 11, I was fortunate enough to visit Pisa with two people from my program! It was such a great time, and we only went for the day! We got to eat our lunch in front of the leaning tower of Pisa, which was really cool! I loved it. We also took some really goofy photos as well. Some of them are posted. We basically chilled, looked around and shopped. Everything was a lot of fun. Hope you love the pictures! Today is a really chill day in Florence. I did some additional shopping and finally bought myself a journal. [View Full Entry]

By bev barry
September 11th 2009

Finally A New Entry! Europe » Italy » Tuscany

Rural Italy can have it interesting charms. Cell phone and internet access is part of it. The term (how many bars do you have?) is really important. Finally found a spot on the top floor that gets a consistent 1 bar and connection to internet so here we are. Shopping for grocerys, etc has been fun and we found a huge store IperCoop that is bigger then a Walmart to satisfy every need plus more. One interesting point was the fruit and veggie section. You take a plastic hand bag for picking th itme up and putting into another plastic [View Full Entry]

By AMV
September 11th 2009

Class and such Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

HELLO WORLD! Aka friends and family! First...Always remember, never forget 9/11...even in Italy. My prayers go out to anyone who lost someone on that day. God bless! So I have officially finished my first week of classes! I am really excited but also nervous for them. It seems as if they will be more difficult than I had previously thought, but I know I will be fine!  I am taking four classes, Italian 101! Ciao, mi chiamo Amanda, e tu? Sono di Chicago e sto molto benne! Do not act like you are not impressed. I am also taking a [View Full Entry]

By Kathy and Andrew
September 8th 2009

His name was Lucca and he lived by the Ghetto Riviera Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Lucca

Lucca

August 29, 2009 - Lucca & Viareggio, Italy Today we left Rome and had a long day of driving to get to the northern hilltop town of Lucca just west of Florence. On the way we passed Pisa, which is only famous for the leaning tower. We saw it from the road and decided to pass on a closer look as it was getting late in the day. We parked easily and got our bike out to ride in to town. As we rode into the completely walled village we noticed it was very clean and cute. I feel much more [View Full Entry]

By Courtt
September 8th 2009

The First Few Days Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Siena

CIAO!! So I am finally here. It took forever to arrive but i am here. The plane had a few bumps here and there. That combined with my fear of flying and my nerves made it an unpleasant 8 hours. However, we arrived an hour early so that made up for the rest. I would rather be on the ground than in the air. Once I got to the airport and made it through customs I found some of the other girls from Siena and we waited for the whole crew to arrive. Because we were there at 7 am it [View Full Entry]

By AMV
September 7th 2009

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting" Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

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Ciao Bella- Happy (American) Labor Day Everyone! We, unfortunately, do not celebrate and today is my first official day of classes. I am really excited! Last week, I was in Barcelona for the beginning of the week and then trucked my way on over to Florence. Barcelona was AMANZING! It is somewhere I will most definitely go back, if not this trip then sometime in the near future. Getting to Barcelona was not as easy as it could have been. My brother (Q) and I missed out flight from London to Barcelona. Being a first time traveler of Europe, I maybe [View Full Entry]

By bev barry
September 6th 2009

We're Here! Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Cortona

Our first night at the villa---sitting outside by the pool, glass of wine in hand (of course) sampling fresh pecorino cheese and italian bread, with a gentle breeze and the full moon rising. This is heaven! The villa is as beautiful as we hoped. Not the Ritz but lots of room, a functioning kitchen and hot water. We think we could get used to this! Shopping at a store (the Ibercoop) larger than a Walmart was an experience. The prepackaged rooster with head attached, fresh porcini mushrooms, and 10 eggs in a carton instead of a dozen, were all unique finds. [View Full Entry]

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