Pisa and Florence, a dream come true

English:

Pisa and Florence: a dream come true.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog!

I am here again today with the last post regarding the cruise to Malta and Italy that my students and I went on. Actually, the last stop was in Marseille (France), but we did not have time to see anything there.

The last stop in Italy was at the harbour of La Spezia and, as it had already become our routine during that trip, we took taxis again and went to Pisa, to see its famous leaning tower; and to Florence, to marvel at Il Duomo and eat some gelato. Needless to say, the journey to these places is beautiful, especially in spring: fields full of poppies and cypresses - so characteristic of Tuscany -, the sun setting at the horizon and the bluest sky of all.

A one-day trip to Cologne: padlocks that express a lot of love and one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world.

English:

A one-day trip to Cologne: 

padlocks that express a lot of love and one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world.

As I had already mentioned here, our school exchange with Germany gave us time to do much more than just to visit the places mentioned in my previous post. It was on this trip when my colleague and friend, David, and I went to Cologne by train one day. The train dropped us off right in front of the impressive cathedral of Cologne, our main objective. Built in Gothic style, this cathedral is the most visited landmark in Germany. Its construction began in 1248 and it was not finished until 1880. Until 1884, this cathedral was the tallest building in the world. Its interior decoration is full of medieval stained glass and the urn which supposedly contains the remains of the three Magic Kings.

Berlin: the perfect integration of a contemporary society in a historic city.

English:

Berlin: the perfect integration of a contemporary society in a historic city.

My first trip to Germany was some months after I had come back from New York. Since I had spent most of the summer holidays (before travelling to New York) working and so had my best friend, we had enough money to treat ourselves with a trip together. It was the first time we travelled alone together, but we both loved the experience. In fact, even though this happened in 2007, we still talk about it when we meet nowadays because we have so many good memories and very funny moments to remember. 

From all the European cities we could have chosen, we chose Berlin because we had spent several years of our lives studying German and it would be the perfect occasion to practise the language with native speakers.