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The Miraculous Journey to Milan 

4/16/2017

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Milan in a breathtakingly beautiful, interesting and lively place which you fellow PageFlicker fans and followers you must visit.  Located in the north of Italy, it's best to visit Milan in mid spring when it's not too hot, a temperature of around 22-26 Degrees Celsius. Milan is the second most populated city in Italy after Rome. This gives it a lively buzz of culture, new people, food and experiences. 
Duomo.
Duomo is spectacular landmark which you must see. Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy and it dedicated to Saint Mary of Nativity.  This Gothic Cathedral took over six centuries to complete. The majestic building in white marble extends over 157 metres in length. It is the largest church in Italy and the 5th largest in the world. This cathedral is magical, overwhelmingly grand and a famous landmark you must visit in order to get a true taste of Milan. 
   In 1386 architectures and builders started working on this big project under the reign of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. During the long construction period many different shapes and styles were incorporated in the cathedral. In the 1800s  the facade was finally completed and the roof and many towers where only finished in the 1900s. 
   On a clear day you can see the entire Northern Alps starting with the Monte Rosa all the way to the Swiss Alps. To the south, the view from the cathedral extends to around 300km distant of Monte Viso on the French Border. 

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Sforza Castle
Located in the heart of Milan, Sforza Castle was built by the Duke of Milan , Francesco Sforza in the 15th century on the remains of a 14th century fortification. In 1494 Ludovic Sforza became Lord of Milan and collected numerous artists to decorate the castle. These included Leonardo Da Vinci  (who frescoed several rooms in collaboration with Benardino Zenale and Bernardino Butinore) and Bramate. This grand castle is mostly made of brick and is in the style of Renaissance Architecture. This is overall a great place to visit packed with useful and interesting history and information. Just a walk through the castle leads you to Park Sempiore. It is lovely to walk here among the nature and take great photos! 
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Galleria Vittorio
What is Italy without shopping ?! The Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II is one of the worlds oldest shopping malls. Housed within a four story double arcade in Central Milan, located close to the Duomo, the Galleria is a hit place for tourists. The arcade is named after Emanuelle II, the 1st of the Kingdom of Italy. Designed in  1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865-2877 the arcade contains luxury retailers selling couture, jewellery, books, paintings as well as restaurants and cafes and of course -ICE CREAM !!!!

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This is the shopping mall !!                                      50 Shades Of Ice Cream......
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Picturesque Prague 

2/25/2017

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​   Last Easter we travelled to Prague which is located in the Czech Republic; also often called 'The City of 100 towers 'or 'The Rooftop of Europe'. I knew barely nothing about this enchanting city before spending one of the greatest 5 day adventures of my life. This city contains so many hidden secrets and interesting places to see it is impossible to write about them all, limiting me to write about the most memorable moments. 
                                                                 Charles Bridge
   Charles Bridge is a historic bridge crossing the serene and tranquil Vlatava River. Charles IV laid the very first stone of his famous bridge on July 9th at 5.31 am,1357. The notoriously superstitious king was very into astrology and numerology and chose this date because of its written form: 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3. You must put this bridge near the top of your 'Places you must visit' list. Its stunning views and 30 saintly statues contribute to its medieval aura  which your bound to love. 
                                                                  Jewish Quarters
   The Jewish Quarter is a heartbreaking and gut-wrenching historical site. The overcrowded cemetery and Europe's oldest active synagogue make this place a sight seeing destination. The strange name Old-New synagogue and a Hebrew clock that runs counterclockwise makes this an amazing and unforgettable piece of history. 
                                                       

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  Prague Castle and Golden Lane 
Prague castle is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest ancient castle in the world. If you decide to visit a castle, you must see the Orloj, a stunning golden framed clock which not only tells the time but the position of the planets. Golden Lane is located next to the castle and is filled with quaint little houses full of intriguing history. Here lived the world famous alchemist named Edward Kelly who worked on turning metal into gold. Franz Kafka also lived there. It is a place where only the poorest of the poor lived and built their tiny homes in the 16th century. 
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          Historical Gardens ​
There are lots of beautiful, lush, historical gardens, generally located behind high walls, but they are open to the public for free. My favourite of gardens that I visited was Wallentein itself, the famous 17th-century gardens at the Senate palace, with ornamental pools & baroque. This garden is famous for it's breathtaking views over Prague. The southern side of the Wallenstein palace opens onto its garden with an imposing Sala Terrena, an open space with three monumental archways, creating a majestic transition between the inside and the outside.  This place really sums up Prague in one place and I highly advice you visit it. ​

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                                                              House Signs
​   On our trip, one thing that really stood out for me were the house signs. There are over 200 house signs in the city- paintings, symbols or statues so keep your eyes open on your stroll through the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Castle District. These house signs tell you important information about the owner of the house. It was also a type of marketing in the olden days. Nerudova street is a picturesque street leading up to Prague Castle. In this steep street you can find many restaurants, souvenir shops,but what’s most remarkable about this street are the house signs and the people that lived in that houses. The house numbers were introduced in Prague in 1770. Before that the houses were recognized by their signs and Nerudova street has a vast collection of them. One really fun thing to do is to have competitions between your family and friends on how quickly you can find house signs and identify them. You can print them from this website : www.photopragueguide.com 


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2 Comments

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    Fantastic and interesting places. Great to visit when on holiday.

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