Advantages: Friendly town with lots to do, a lovely holiday. Disadvantages: If you steer clear of the 'English Bars' there are none
COSTA DEL SOL
Benalmadea Costa,
I'm afraid I was always a bit of a 'travel snob' regarding the Costa del Sol. I envisaged the types of scene in TV's Benadorm, a type of Blackpool with sun.
As members of a vacation club ( it was then Sunterra now Diamon Resorts) we had the opportunity for a weeks break for relatively few points at the Sahara Sunset in Benalmadea Costa, as we could get Easy Jet airfairs to Malaga for a very low price we decided to try it.
We have been three times more since then - so needless to say I was not disappointed.
Benalmadena is only 15 kilometers from Malaga Airport, car hire is easily obtainable but it is only 25 euros for a taxi from the airport and there are plenty of excursions and good public transport available in the resort. It is set on the Costa del Sol between ...
Advantages: Must-go Italian city Disadvantages: No
In my last trip to Italy, I stayed in Florence for one and a half day. Let me share with you my fantastic experience of Florence.
Florence is the cultural capital in the medieval time, and the key player in the Renaissance movement. A small city it seems, but the home of some of the most famous people in history-Michaelanglo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo etc, just to name a few.
Again with narrow streets and allys, our first stop was a demonstration of leather. Italian/Florentine leather is world famous and shops selling leather cloths and accessories are everywhere. Obviously, I didn't leave without getting some goods myself. After that, we had a walking tour with a local guide.
Best known of all Florence's treasures is the Ponte Vecchio. This glorious bridge was the only one spared by the German attacks in the second World ...
Advantages: A must-see when in Italy. Disadvantages: Other tourists know that, too.
and rest, you can’t get down to the river and sit on the banks, either. Florence means stone, massive stone.
We’re in the quarter which is called ‘Oltrearno’ (the other side of the river Arno), the most famous attraction here is the church Santa Maria del Carmine where the painter Masaccio painted the walls of the Brancacci Chapel. When you walk through the streets nearby, you can see many open workshops of carpenters, smiths, bookbinders and people who put gold leaf on wooden picture frames. Look friendly, say ‘Buon Giorno’ (literally ‘Good Day’) and you can watch them for a while.
Maybe you already know the thrillers by the English woman Magdalen Nabb set in Florence? Her protagonist works in the police station near the Palazzo Pitto, this is his quarter. If you don’t know them yet ...
