Florence

Zack Culvert USA - 08-Jun-06

You really need to spend a week here. We did two, with side trips to Sienna, San Gimingano, Pisa and Luca.(first 3 WHS's) The duomo needs a whole day to be awed, one at the Uffici, one in Barboli Gardens, half a day in Academia to look at David and other Michaelangelos, one day walking around the banks of Orno. If there is one WHS you must see in the Western World..... I would stay at one of the villas across the river. Much more space for the money, and the walk is really nice. The hotels are expensive and bad.

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)

Zack Culvert USA - 08-Jun-06

Really disappointed, after seeing other sites in Tuscany. There is the tower, the Piazza, and an EMPTY duomo, as all the art were lost as the Pisans lost a war to the Florentines(?). Now it's just a tourist strip selling souvenirs, and thousands of stupid American tourists taking pictures leaning towards the tower. Better plan the day to spend four hours in Luca (on the train from Florence), and just one hour in Pisa, and go right back to Florence.

Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye

Zack Culvert USA - 01-May-05

Architecturally, the Ascension Cathedral is quite different from most other famous ones in Moscow or Novodevichy, this one being pure white sans onion domes.

Although It is in the suburbs, it is easily accessible by metro (17 rubles) like 4 stops from the central ring. But as the structure was under repairs and closed for visit, the trip was at best an afternoon's walk through the park. If really pressed for time in Moscow, outside the Kemlin, I would go to Novodevichy instead.

Potala Palace

Zack Culvert USA - 01-May-05

I just took the train trip from Qinghai to Lhasa. Due to the influx of tourists from this new train service, the visiting hours to Potala Palace is now only one hour, although they increased the daily inflow from 1,000 to 3,000 people so everyone can get a chance to see inside. The result is a rush through the palace, with barely sufficient time to take in the art and monuments. The tickets are officially 100 RMB (US$14), but scalpers ask for up to US$100. So plan carefully with your travel agent.

Wulingyuan

Zack Culvert USA - 01-May-05

This site is mostly of karst formations, hundres of them, if not thousands of towers of rock, with dense vegetation covering the towers due to the humidty and temperate weather. As opposed to Arches in Utah, where the dry weather kept the rocks red and bare. Do bring a wide-angle lense of 18mm minimum, telephoto of 200mm and and polarizing filter for the waterfall with your camera.

Cable cars and well laid out paths allow you to see most of the sites. It could get monotonous after 2 days, though. Due to lower elevation climbs and walks are not demanding asin Huanglong or Jiuzhaigou, the other two more sites in the region.