San Remo Harbour, Liguria, Italy by Dr. Gert Blazejewski

City of Flowers

San Remo is special for a few very simple reasons. The atmosphere here is pleasant- meaning that you will get accustomed to its fresh food, warm weather, majestic mountains, and Italian ambience rather quickly. San Remo’s favorable climate conditions are part of what make sailing a pastime here. There is plenty of sunshine without much rain, and the wind is quite predictable. The nice weather also means that attractions are open all year so you can enjoy a round of golf or a trip to the outdoor market any month you happen to dock here.

For those who opt to charter a motor yacht instead of a sailing yacht, San Remo will beckon you to get your exercise by experiencing the town on foot. La Pigna is San Remo’s town center, and many of its old treasures are only accessible to pedestrians. The harbor, popular among the luxury yacht set, is the place to go for restaurants with the freshest seafood. Imagine taking in Mediterranean sea views while dining al fresco only to turn around and see mountains stretching up into the sky behind the bay. After the meal on land, you’ll get to return to your private yacht for a nightcap and a good night’s sleep.

Streets in San Remo, Italy by Susana Ferreira Machado

The Music

The other appeal of San Remo is that music is very much alive and appreciated in this town. There is the requisite annual Music Festival, but also, their Symphony Orchestra performs 120 concerts a year! And true to its name, the City of Flowers hosts a Flower Parade that reminds everyone of the town’s most fragrant residents. San Remo not only revels in these simple delights, it also caters to high rollers’ favorite vice: gambling! The casino in San Remo is 100 years old, and the town takes advantage of the building’s cache by hosting the European Poker Tournament every year.

Getting to your private yacht (or planning a meeting place for your guests) should not be too much trouble since the Cote d’Azur Airport serves this area. Trains frequently go between Nice, Genoa, Milan, and the Italian Riviera. Perhaps you can arrange for a boat transfer instead and cross the Med to get to your chartered yacht! Alfred Nobel deemed San Remo the perfect spot for his villa, and he was a pretty smart guy. Why not follow in the footsteps of his legend and head to San Remo where picturesque anchorages are idly waiting for you.

International Yacht Charter Group is the only yacht charter contact you’ll need to make.

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Tuscany landscape / Gabriele Cantini

Airfare is usually the largest concern. Fortunately, there are so many options and airlines now that you just have to do a little homework to find a deal. Sign up for daily deal newsletters; there are many companies that will comb through flight deals and email them directly to you automatically. Some airlines, however, won’t publish their prices anywhere except on their website. Compare your email savings to the airline pages to find the cheaper source. You can use flight cost predictors as well if you want to track changing fares and try to nab the best one. A last resort should be a bidding or blind cost-naming site. While you can get really amazing deals with these tools, you’ll have little control over the flight times or details. If you’re part of a small travel group, this might be best for you. But if you’re traveling with children or many others, don’t gamble with the air travel.

The second largest cost of a vacation is usually accommodations. But if you’re looking at expensive Tuscany hotels, you’re not only wasting money, but you’re also wasting the culture of Tuscany! Tuscany is a countryside region of Italy that is famous for its lush landscapes and stunning villas. But though you may feel intimidated by the airy, luxurious architecture, most villas are actually for rent. It may seem surprising, but Italian homes are not just for celebrities and locals; you can relax in style with Tuscany villa rentals. Just like regular rental homes, villas are available in all sizes and can hold your group whether you’re as few as a couple or as large as a family reunion. These are fully furnished homes, so you’ll have access to a kitchen and private bathroom: Just remember that an Italian kitchen can be quite different from what you’re used to. Look at all of your options before you rent a villa. It’s best to compare between rental companies or property managers and web sites that let you book directly through the owner. There will be many options, so make sure you take everything into account.

Amazing sitting area at the villa in Tuscany / Jeremy Vandel

Don’t worry about spending money once you’ve settled in; Tuscany has numerous cheap activities. If you’re an outdoors person looking to enjoy the famous mellow Mediterranean weather, then the beaches won’t disappoint. The most famous beaches are Versilia, Pisa, and Livorno, which have been awarded by the Foundation of Environmental Education. If you’ll be staying in Tuscany for a while, there’s no reason you can’t see all three!

Especially if you’re traveling with a family, you might want to make sure that you experience some culture and education. Fortunately, most of the museums and landmarks are either free or very cheap! You can visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but Florence is the star when it comes to art. Don’t miss the Uffizi, famous for housing paintings by Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Botticelli.

Don’t fret about transportation either; Italy has a cheap and efficient train system, and you can easily explore all of Florence on foot. The countryside, littered with medieval fortresses and villages, can be explored by hiking or biking. Save money by skipping the tour group and you’ll find that discovering the countryside on your own is much more exciting.

If you combine the savings from discount airfare, Tuscany villa rentals and experiencing all that Tuscany has to offer on your own, you’ll be able to afford the trip of a lifetime without spending your life savings!

Matt Papa is a professional inbound marketer, discussing Tuscany villa rentals, who guest blogs for a variety of online publications. Matt is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites, including Reuters, SEOmoz.org and The Washington Post. Follow him @MattPapa77.

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Piazza del Popolo, Ravenna, Italy by freshcreator

The most popular attraction in the city is the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia which is the resting place of Emperor Theodosius I’s daughter, Aelia Galla Placidia. The mosaics found within the mausoleum date back to the 5th century and today are considered some of the most well-preserved in the world.

Back when the city was first being developed, by Bishop Ursus was built a mammoth basilica in Ravenna. Most of the basilica was destroyed back in 1734 and the only part that remains today is the Battistero degli Ortodossi. You will also find nearby, the Battistero degli Ariani which has an amazing mosaic of the baptism of Christ.

There are many other popular structures in Ravenna that have been built over the centuries. While not dating back to the 5th century, many of these sites have none the less been well preserved over the years. There is the ancient Palatine church of Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo which features mosaics that depicts both Christian and Arian beliefs. The Basilica di San Vitale was built back in the 6th century which is also another very popular attraction in Ravenna.

You will also find the Dante Museum in Ravenna which is dedicated to the world renowned author, Dante Alighieri. Known for having been banished from Florence because of authoring the Divine Comedy, Dante spent the remainder of his life in Ravenna where he died in 1789.

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There is somewhere between 100 and 150 of these naturally occurring pyramids which are built through thousands of years of glacial erosion. Atop of them one can find mammoth sized rocks which are the reason that the pillars first started to form. As the years went on, more of the land was worn away below the rocks resulting in some of the pillars towering more than 130 feet above the ground.

Ritten Earth Pillars, Italy by Internet Consulting

Eventually, as the pillar is work down below the point where it can continue to support the weight of the rock, it simply collapses. While these naturally occurring pillars of earth can be caused by a number of weathering processes, the ones just outside of Ritten, Italy were as a result of the glacier that had once covered the valley Ritten sits in today. 10,000 years ago, as this glacier melts with the ending of the last ice age, the pillars began forming and their formation continued long after the last remnants of the glacier melted away.

Today, the Ritten Earth Pillars are a well known and popular attraction throughout Europe. There are also a number of similar sites that can be found throughout the Alps. There is something mysterious about these pillars of clay. Some of the pillars have boulders on top of them that weigh several tons which only adds the enchantment of visiting this natural wonder. Over the centuries Ritten earth pillars have attracted the attention of countless tourists from all over the world. There are many legends that surround the creation of these and many other pillar sites throughout Europe.

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