Travel Tips from Italy, Spain and Ireland
By Michael Russell

ITALY

The best places to buy red lingerie. Every December, Romans buy new red lingerie to wear when they usher in the New Year. As a result, the city is home to many shops that specialize in red underwear. For the finest lingerie in Rome (red and otherwise), visit the via Frattina area. Try Vanita, via Frattina 70, which has beautiful lace slips, hand-embroidered silk items and a good selection of beachwear. Also visit the elegant shop Tomasiini, via Sistina 119, run by Luisa Romagnoli. Romagnoli's silk slips are works of art. Gentry, via Frattina 100, sells designers' men's lines, including Valentino and Cardin.

The world's most beautiful crèches. During the Christmas season, Rome is decorated with creches rather than lights and Santas. The three most beautiful are the Spanish Steps, in the Piazza Navona and in St. Peter's Square. The oldest Roman creche, in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, contains figures crafted by Arnolfo di Cambio, the most celebrated architect of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. However, the creche most beloved by Romans is at S. Maria d'Aracoeli, at the top of 122 stairs on the Capitoline Hill. It features the Santo Bambino. Every afternoon from Christmas Day to Epiphany (Jan. 6) children recite poems in front of the creche. Cosma e Damiono, via dei Fori Imperiali, houses an 18th century Neapolitan masterpiece-the only creche on display year-round.

The best ice cream in Florence. Vivoli's, via Isola delle Stinche 7, behind Santa Croce Square, is one of the best places in the world to buy ice cream. The lines are long, but the choice of flavors is great and the ice cream out-of-this-world.

SPAIN

The best bull in town. While bullfights may seem barbaric to animal lovers, the Spanish believe the odds between man and bull are even. They see bullfights as a match between man and the untamed elements. The Spanish sense of fair play in a bullfight can be gruesome to the uninitiated. A recent match pitted a matador against the bull who had gouged out his eye. In the rematch, the bull's eye also was removed. An eye for an eye, so they say! The rematch was one of the most heavily attended events in Spanish history. Incidentally, the matador won. In Madrid, bullfights can be seen nearly every Sunday and Thursday from Easter through October at Las Ventas, Plaza de Toros Monumental, or at the smaller ring, Vista Alegre. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the counter at Calle Victoria 9, near the Puerta del Sol. But you usually can get a ticket at the door. Shows generally start at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. (Make sure you buy tickets for the shady side of the ring, even though they are slightly more expensive.)

Pamplona: the ultimate machismo. Each July in Pamplona, the ultimate display of machismo takes place. The townsmen pit their lives against hundreds of bulls set loose in the streets and herded toward the bullring. To display their courage, the men run before the bulls, often injuring themselves. Festivities begin when a rocket is fired from the town hall. Then bands of bagpipers march through town announcing the running of the bulls. Young people roam the streets singing, dancing and drinking. The celebration was made famous by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises. All this revelry is in the name of the town's patron saint, San Fermin, a bishop and martyr from Pamplona. Buried in Amiens, France, his body mysteriously disappeared. The body was miraculously found six centuries later and legend says that, although it was midwinter, the trees burst into leaf.

The best nude beach. The Costa Brava has a number of lovely secluded beaches perfect for nude sunbathing. Cabo de Creus has clean water and little caves hidden among the rocks.

IRELAND

The oldest pub in Ireland. The Brazen Head, Bridge Street, Dublin, is the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to the 12th century. It is five minutes away from the antique shops on Francis Street and it's a perfect break from your shopping. The Guinness here is superb; the brewery is only a stone's throw away and the smell of hops stays with you for hours after you've moved on.

The holiest mountain. Ireland's holiest mountain is Croagh Patrick in County Mayo. More than 2,500 feet high, it was from here that St. Patrick reputedly banished all snakes from the island. Each Garland Sunday, the last Sunday in July, 60,000 pilgrims clamber to the summit.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Travel

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

September 10, 2001- Today’s agenda is Bavaria’s Castles, which without exception, have a connection to legendary “Mad” King Ludwig. Our chalet-like hotel in Füssen was incredible but we are packed and aboard the bus moving on to see the most amazing castles (at least those which- up to about a week ago- I only dreamed about seeing) we will see on the trip.

First one, of course, will be Neuschwanstein which is clearly the most visited castle by tourists and Europeans alike. Many castle “elitists” purposefully leave this castle off their list. Why? Because, by all rights and purposes, it was fabricated to look medieval, at great expense, during a time when the tide was turning against the flagrant misuse of public funds by the aristocracy. King Ludwig II displayed all the attributes of a money-hungry spendthrift tyrant King. He did not appear to be a public servant of the people- which was the mark of noblesse oblige inherent. He was one of the few monarchs singularly sought out for assassination. This cannot be absolutely proven. All that can be attested to, is that he died tragically and mysteriously by drowning in Starnberger Lake in 1886. He also left behind some architectural wonders!

We took to the Marienbrüke suspension bridge first (and it was a long, steep walk over Pöllat Gorge) to take photos of all of us, individually, with Neuschwanstein in full view behind. This bridge reminded me of the Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City, Colorado (back home!) although the Royal Gorge Bridge is much longer. This is the most popular photo to have taken of oneself in connection to Neuschwanstein although the location of the bridge is not that well known.

Once we finally made it up to the upper courtyard of Neuschwanstein you could look around the surrounding landscape which is absolute beauty. Ludwig II chose well when he decided Swan Rock would be the ideal location. I happened to look at a brass placard giving the basic information and my eyes must have popped out a mile when I saw that the foundation was laid September 5, 1869! New note: This, I found out later, was done purposely by Ludwig because he believed he was the reincarnation of Louis XIV! Later on, when we viewed the entrance hall of Linderhof it became apparent that this belief about him had some basis in fact.

As we toured the interior I found myself admiring the “chapel” portion of the Throne room the most. It was inspired by the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul) and the chancel portion was an arched dome depicting Christ with Mary and John on either side. There were six rounded inscriptions painted along the soffit portion of the arch each of which read ‘spiritus’ with variations like ‘spiritus ultimus’. Each one was different.

Ludwig had a life-long admiration for the composer Wagner and most of the murals in the interior depict scenes from his operas, and the interior- in fact- was entirely constructed by Eduard Riedel, Christian Jank and architect George Dollman- the two former named were designers for the stage. The entrance hall, dining room, bedroom, chapel, dressing room, richly decorated living room, study, and Singers Hall are filled with elaborate set design depictions of the legends Wagner composed. Along with the solid mosaics throughout the effect is stunning and overwhelming.

When we took to the main tower (the second tallest one!) to view the various rooms, the windows, I found, were strategic. From two viewpoints Hohenschwangau (Ludwig II’s boyhood home and the castle of his father Maximilian II) could be seen well, only a few smaller windows gave views of Alpsee Lake.

When we met back down in the restaurant/hotel valley I decided to take some outside photos of Hohenschwangau since we were not doing an inside tour of it and got back on the bus. The next stop is Linderhof after a lunch stop somewhere.

As a flamboyant monarch, it is surprising to find out that Ludwig II was actually reclusive. Linderhof is very small- Italian Renaissance- but over done in heavy rococo and was his favorite residence. The gilding throughout is actually too heavy for the eyes to bear but perhaps kept Ludwig positive in seclusion. The Entrance Hall ceiling is the precursor to the splendor and never quits! It’s the surrounding park with two well-landscaped slopes that made me absolutely adore this petite masterpiece. I felt claustrophobic in the castle but the views of the grounds from its windows were like viewing Wonderland with fountains, porcelain and gold statuary and terraced staircases that go on forever! A small Moorish palace is also on the grounds which we didn’t tour but I insisted on seeing the Venus Grotto which was very beautiful- a partially natural cave but also decorated Wagnerian-style, of course!

Tonight we’re headed for Seefeld to stay overnight at Ferienhotel Kaltschmid. We are straddling the Austrian/German border. Apparently we will go back over to the German side tomorrow to see Herrenschiemsee (another Ludwig II castle!) before we head for Salzburg.

New note: That night I discovered our hotel was situated in the Tyrolean Alps and it was one of these family-oriented grand chalets! Mein Gott! It had everything! Before we met for dinner that night I wandered around the gym/spa area and the larger family rentals. In truth, it was a high-caliber ski resort and there was a delight everywhere you looked. I spotted Mary Ethyl picking up her e-mail at one of the free-use computers and she wouldn’t give it up!

September 11, 2001- We left the nice chalet fairly early in the morning. We didn’t head straight back for the Alpenstraβe but we took a little excursion into Innsbruck. It is completely enchanting! There are streetcars running through the downtown area where we took a little shopping expedition. First we visited Dom St. Jakob which was awesome inside. We all went into Swarovski together and everyone else bought some crystal. I bought a CD of wonderful new age music (which I still listen to for meditation.) Actually, we all went a little nuts shopping. Everybody scattered to different shops, as did I. You should’ve seen everybody’s face when I strolled back onto the bus popping Mozart’s Balls (Chocolate with marzipan inside) into my mouth! XD

We made our way back to Alpenstraβe to get to Chiemsee and booked a Schifffahrt (ferry) to get to the island where Herrenschiemsee Palace is located. This lake is surrounded by the German Alps and it is a wonderful sightseeing expedition once you are on the ferry! It was certainly different from all our other expeditions! Ludwig II bought this island in 1873 and Herrenschiemsee became his tribute to Louis XIV. Much of it replicates certain features of Versailles, such as the Hall of Mirrors and the fountain landscaping. I liked the overall consistency of style that prevailed. I also feel that the Herrenschiemsee Mirror Gallery supersedes that of Versailles in gilding alone. New note: When the tour finished and we were doing a group photo outside the sedate fascia of Herrenschiemsee, the World Trade Center Towers in New York were engulfed in flames and we were all clueless. I look at that group photo sometimes and think of it as a “before” photo.

(Before midnight) I haven’t turned on the TV in the hotels we’ve stayed in through most of this trip but tonight for some reason unknown to me- I did. It was supposed to convert to English but it didn’t and the German which poured out of the speaker was in heavy vernacular German or maybe Austrian. I had to rely on my eyes. My first thought was,” Why are they showing old footage from 1992 of the twin towers?” Then what I was seeing hit me like a thunderbolt. It made me feel sick inside. I had an instant replay running in my mind and later when I went down to eat dinner with the group I heard the name Bin Laden and knew my feelings were right on target. Probably at the same time that the Pferdekutschenfahrt driver was cursing at Colin and I, those sicko Taliban were terrorizing planes full of innocent passengers, stewardesses and pilots.

After dinner everyone still looked shocked or depressed and Collin suggested that we all get some air and stroll through Salzburg. It was a great idea. We visited Mozartsgeburtshaus on Getreidegasse (I sang part of Allelujah outside it for a small tribute!), went through Mirabell Gardens and walked back.

September 12, 2001- Today everyone was assembled for the trip up to Hohensalzburg Castle outside Mozartsgeburtshaus. I hung back on Getreidegasse and shopped and hung around outside Mozartsgeburtshaus. The Austrian schilling is at an all time high. New note: They hadn’t converted to Euros just yet.

Later when the group came back from the tour Collin gave everyone a one hour break and he paid for my entry to Mozartsgeburtshaus to tour. I had read all about this museum in Marcia Davenport’s book on Mozart so it was wonderful for me to actually touch his clavichord and see the portraits of which I’d only seen black and white photographs. We checked out of Renaissance Hotel this morning, so we’ve headed right straight for Munich, back over the border into Germany.

By this time everyone is worried about what kind of delays we are going to experience at the Munich airport. We are to have dinner at Hofbrauhaus tonight but I don’t know if anything else is planned. (This is where I originally wanted to rendezvous with Eva, but she couldn’t work it out with hers and Hans Jurgen’s schedule.) We still had Thursday slated for Nymphenburg Palace which is on the outskirts of Munich.

I certainly didn’t expect to see Eva and Hans Jurgen when we arrived at the hotel, but they were there and Eva looked as worried as my Mom. I was very touched that they would go out of their way to see to it that I was okay. When I finally had to leave for Hofbrauhaus, I had to go as I was, but I was certainly glad to see them again.

As it was, Germany had pretty much shut down. Most of Hofbrauhaus was closed in honor of 9/11 victims and safety factors, people were holding candle vigils outside Marienplatz (a short distance from Hofbrauhaus). By nightfall it was very moving to see how many candlelight mourners had assembled there.

September 13, 2001- I didn’t go on the tour with the group to Nymphenburg. I’m trying to make arrangements for rescheduling my flight. Everything’s up in the air and I’m just trying to make sure I land on my feet!

Next month- Fifth and final part of our part series. What happens when everything goes wrong!

I hope you have enjoyed reading issue 22 and I would like to take this chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

If you have any suggestions or comments about any part of the newsletter then please feel free to contact me.

As always, if you have a story,photos or questions you wish to ask or share with our readers then please email me and I will be happy to include them in our next edition.

All submissions should reach me by no later than the 20th of December