Italy (Northeast) & San Marino 2017

Northeast Italy (Venice, Bologna, Rimini, Ancona, Frasassi Caves) & San Marino (September 2017)

• I will briefly share a 5 day intense trip with a friend through the northeast of Italy
• From Venice to Bologna we used the train and after we rented a car and enjoyed a busy agenda

Places visited:

• Venice
• Bologna
• San Marino
• Rimini
• Ancona
• Frasassi Caves
  

a) Venice

• What to say about Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in the world
• I love the absence of cars within the city, and no matter where you go it is pretty
• We reached the city by bus from the airport to Venice station and we started enjoying the city from the first moment
• In particular, the San Marco square and the views from Campanello tower are astonishing
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• San Marco Cathedral is also a popular attraction in this square, and even paintings from outside are amazing
  
• One of my favourite places is Rialto bridge with great views of the Grand Canal
  
  
  
  
• I have probably mentioned the most iconic parts of the city but I insist it is all magnificent
• From San Marco square we took a tour to Murano, Burano and Torcello the following for  €20 each, quite a good deal taking into consideration boat prices in Venice
• In Murano we saw a Murano glass exhibition and had half an hour for a short walk
  
  
  
  
• Burano was the greatest surprise and the prettiest and most colourful of the three places in our opinion, a real delight

• Finally Torcello in our opinion was not really necessary and has not much to see
  
  
  
  
• If I had not taken the tour I would have loved to spend more hours in Burano for sure

b)Bologna

• We took the train to Bologna, which was not the priority of the trip
• We had a nice dinner and we enjoyed the university atmosphere of downtown. packed with young people (photo of the Major square during the day)
  
• The Two Towers are probably the most iconic part of the city
  
  
  
  
• From Bologna we rented a car near the train station for a few days with Budget, at a very good price (less than  €20 per day) and we started our journey towards San Marino

c) San Marino

• San Marino, the world's oldest country, was another great surprise in this trip
  
• Up in a hill, the small country is really beautiful and definitely worth a visit
• The main city is restricted to vehicles, views are impressive from almost any point, and the three towers that can be seen in the flag can be visited (for us one of the three was enough)

d) Rimini

• Rimini is an ancient Roman town by the coast which was also really nice to visit
  
• The old town has several Roman ruins such as Augustus Arch, Augusto and Tiberio Bridge or the Roman Anfitheatre
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The main square is also nice and the area, definitely worth a walk
  
• Right next to the old town you can visit San Giuliano, a very colourful neighbourhood
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

e) Ancona

• Ancona is another coastal area that has amazing views, pity we were not there during the summer
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

f) Frasassi Caves

• Lastly we visited Frasassi Caves, which were actually one of the best I have ever visited
• The formation and size of the caves themselves were impressive

• We were very pleased with the trip 
• Hope this info helps someone :)

Perth, Australia (short layover) 2017

Several 24h layovers in Perth

• I will briefly share some ideas for short visits to Perth

Places visited:

• a) Rottnest Island
• b) Fremantle beach
• c) Cottesloe beach
• d) Downtown (Kings Park, Blue Boat House, Waterfront)
  

a) Rottnest Island

• With no doubt, my favourite place to visit near Perth
• Ferry takes 40 min from Fremantle or almost 2h from Perth, and it is quite expensive, around 100 Australian Dollars return including bicycle rental, but totally worth it
• No matter where you go around the island, the views are amazing 

• As you see, the beaches are incredible and you can also enjoy snorkeling

• Furthermore, the "local" quokka is another nice attraction as they are seen in many areas in the island. These animals are only found in Western Australia

b) Fremantle beach

• For a nice relaxing beach day you can visit Freemantle just half an hour from perth, with plenty of communication by train or bus (bus ticket lasts for 2 hours and it is valid for several buses at a time, and once in Fremantle there are even free buses such as Red or Blue Cat)
• Both in North and South Fremantle there are nice beaches.
• However the day I went it was a bit chilly and I only visited South Beach
  
  

c) Cottesloe beach

• For a similar plan as Freemantle this is another great beach area to enjoy
• I liked Cottesloe beach even more than Freemantle probably because I had better weather
• In this case I rented a bicycle in downtown but there is bus amd train connectivity as well (in bicycle you can reach the beach areas either by Swan River or following the cycling track by the railway line)
• 
  
  
  

d) Downtown (Kings Park, Blue Boat House, Waterfront)

• Kings Park offers a huge green area to relax, together with nice views of the city from a hill, some mounmentrs and Botanic Gardens
  
  
  
  
• Not far from Kings Park there is a beautiful iconic boat house by the Swan River called Blue Boat House (also known as Crawley Edge Boatshed)
• I would not change my plans just for this visit but it was on my cycling path towards Cottesloe and it is a nice spot for a few minutes
  
  
• The Waterfront is another nice area for a walk
• There are several pubs with live music and several benches by the waterfront where you can enjoy some relaxing time
  
• From the Bell Tower you can enjoy 360 degree view of the city, but I did not go up as I prefer the natural free views from Kings Park

• Lastly, downtown itself offers many restaurants and commercial areas, with some cute streets close to vehicle traffic which are nice to walk around

• Still lot to discover in this city, and several attractive daily tours I would love to do at some point, but I hope this info can be helpful