Arrived in Florence at noon from Venice. The weather is gorgeous. The hostel is very nice, with the most friendly staff. Time is too precious to blog seriously. I will need to go and explore this famous Renaissance city state. I will provide updates whenever I can. Stay tuned. Cheers, Eric... read more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vduDCk0xWII&feature=related ... read more

Rolled into Milan on a "cheap continental" flight EasyJet from Amsterdam. I was skinned alive at the airport because the prohibitively expensive penalty they imposed on overweight luggage! (Damn you, "cheap" flights with your treacly phrases and seemly incredibly low fares. And before flying, you charged me 12 euros for the 16 kilos for over the weight limit. Totally blew my budget! Collateral Damage#1) Oh well, I told myself just to be angry for 1 hour, and continue on enjoying the rest of my journey. The scene at the airport where people tried to get on a bus to downtown was chaotic. In Italy, you seem to have to run over the ticket seller and beat other passengers with a stick in order to get on the bus. Met a young Dutch backpacking couple, and helped ... read more

I visited the 3 famous museums these past 2 days: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank Huis museum. In Rijksmesuem, I came face-to-face with the works of Masters such as Vemeer (Pregnant woman, Milkmaid etc.) and Rembrandt (Jewish bride, Night watch etc.) The Rijksmuseum is currently under renovation, so only about 200 works are being displayed in 14 rooms. The majority of the works are kept out of sight. What I also found interesting was the section of the Rijksmuseum where it introduced Dutch's once imperial might, its naval history, center of trade, finance and commerce, and its conflicts with the Spanish and the English fleets. Upon reflection, I developed the hypothesis that a sea-faring country, with developed capitalist systems, seem also to correlate with open, tolerant and liberal societies. (Dutch, British, and to some ... read more

Arrived to Amsterdam without hiccups at around 7:00 am local time. Checked in hostel at 11:00 am. Passed out for 2 hours (it is the time lag, people! not my age). Took a hot shower, and went embracing Amsterdam. What a cosmopolitan city, it is hard to walk around for 1 minutes without bumping into tourists...well, Amsterdam definitely lives up to its reputation. First impression of the Dutch kingdom...clean, efficient, courteous, and English is almost like the second language here. I think I will have a great time in this place! Okay guys, until next time, I am feeling a bit tipsy, I think it is that pint of Strongbow with the old sailor. And there is some strange smell in this cafe emanating from unfamiliar sources....so I am going to get some fresh air and ... read more