I like to think of myself as open minded, especially when on the road. I’ve lived in Prague, Paris, and Rome, and have gluttonously celebrated holidays in each place. And while I didn’t end up eating the spongy, candied-fruit-studded dessert that night, I eventually learned that one person’s panettone is not just another person’s fruitcake. Enrico’s sweet of choice is what Pistachio baklava is to a Greek or amaranth-laced dulce de alegria (which means “sweets of joy”) is to a Mexican or a cardamom-scented cannoli-like krumkake is to a Norwegian. Holiday desserts—whether at home or abroad—are more than just the last course of a big meal.

My moment of clarity came a few years ago in Prague, when a Czech friend invited me to celebrate Christmas with her family. The traditional main courses are carp and potato salad—two reasons, in my opinion, to consider fasting for the holidays. Not wanting to insult my hosts, I ate some fish and starchy salad—but had plenty of room for dessert. I feared the worst.

The smell of just-baked vanilla-scented goodness hit me first. I was thousands of miles (and a couple decades) away from my grandma’s house in Sumner, Iowa, yet the scent instantly brought me back there. My grandma wasn’t Czech, but, as it turned out, she had a recipe similar to these valilkove rohlicky, crescent-shaped Christmas cookies made with walnuts, vanilla, and butter. And if the aroma transported me to the Midwest, my first bite brought forth memories long buried in my psyche.

Later that night, as I was putting on my jacket to leave, Vera, my friend’s mom, handed me a few tin-foil-wrapped packs to take home. Potato salad in one. Carp in another. And, finally, vanilla crescents. I ate them on the way home, staring out the tram window at the spires of Prague, but feeling like a boy in at my grandma’s house in Iowa. And I realized then that somewhere out there, someone was eating fruitcake—and loving every bite.

David Farley

Occurring normally in the Hindu month of Ashvin, that would be around September or October of the Gregorian calendar, this festival signifies the triumph of good over evil. It symbolizes the victory that Lord Rama had over the demon king of Lanka Ravana. It also shows how Goddess Durga triumphed over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus Dussehra on the whole is a celebration of good over evil and has a lot of enthusiasm coupled with energy involved. Celebrations are the name of the festival and the entire country is a great festive mood during this time. Dussehra also brings the end of the hot summer month and welcomes the winter months with great gusto. The seemingly hot months seem to end and the Indians now look forward to getting cozy in the coming winter.

The Navrathri is the nine day festival which is held to propitiate the Goddess Durga who is believed to have fought the demon king during this period. The tenth day or Dussehra is the end of the Navrathri festival. During this time, people organize a lot of fairs to bring about a get together for all. Effigies of Ravana are burnt in North India.

Dussehra is also known as Vijaya Dashami. This is the day when Rama killed the demon king so there is more reason to celebrate . So people worship Rama and also the Goddess Durga , and pray for an auspicious start to life. It is said that worshipping the power Shakti the symbol of strength would bring a lot of prosperity in the house. Thus the Goddess Durga is worshipped.

In North India, there is an enactment of the whole scene between Rama and Ravana in the form of a play called the Ramlila. It is immensely popular amongst the public and the play ends with the huge effigy being burnt amidst a lot of cheer and celebration. Not only Ravana, but also his brother Meghnadh and his brother Kumbhakarna are set on fire.

The burning of the effigies signify the evil being burnt and people then pray to follow the path of good. Thus people pray that they live like Rama, a noble life of deed and conduct and not like Ravana who had to pay for all his bad ways.

In the southern part of India Vijaya Dashami is celebrated by praying to Goddess Saraswati , the God of Education.

Dussehra is a festival where grudges are forgotten and a new beginning awaits.

Milan Walking Tour

I met my guide Alice and group in the centre of the Piazza Duomo. We start with an introduction to one of Italy’s best-known and most beautiful buildings, the Duomo. For a cathedral that has had 30 kilos of pigeon poo dumped on it each day and was under construction for six centuries, Milan’s Duomo, the third largest church in the world is looking in pretty good shape the morning I see it.

The stunning facade that features over 2,300 hundred statues was put in place by Napoleon during the French occupation. Today we’re lucky enough to see it gleaming white and sans scaffolding, the result of a seven-year restoration and clean up that kept the building covered most of the time.

Alice explains that what we see today is like a dress- the real structure is underneath. Inside, we’re able to view the thick black that coats the soft sandstone inside. Having Alice guide us through allows us to admire the little things we may have otherwise missed on the tour.

Shaney at the Milan Duomo

One example is the stained glassed windows inside the Duomo. During World War Two, all the delicate stained glassed windows were removed and placed in storage in the country to protect them from the threat of bombing raids. However, when they were put back in place, they were put back in the wrong order- an error no one has corrected to this day.

Afterwards we head into the stunning Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle, which 176 architects vied to create in the 1800s. Upstairs from the Galleria is Europe’s only seven-star hotel, an establishment so discreet Alice has to point out the unmarked windows and balconies.

We walk though the Galleria past Gucci (strangely opposite McDonalds) to the La Scala theatre, the famous Opera House, and then onto the Castello Sforzesco, a fortress home to seven museums that was founded in 1368. Alice gives a background to the city’s major landmarks but also a sense of what the city was like in the past: fought over by invaders and rimmed with canals just like another more famous Northern Italian city. Now, she explains, most of the city’s beauty is discreet- you have to keep your eyes open to see it.

From the Castello, we head to our final destination, the Santa Maria delle Grazie, the unassuming home of one of Italy’s most famous tourist attractions: Il Cenacolo or as it is known in English, Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

Our Guide Alice at the Milan Galleria

Tickets to see The Last Supper are strictly controlled, which means if you don’t book months in advance you’re unlikely to get to see it, but I’d managed to arrange mine by booking the Milan walking tour.

So what’s all the fuss about this painting? Well, for starters, it is considered the greatest work of the Renaissance, and Da Vinci painted it in an experimental way. Leonardo Da Vinci spent 17 years in the city at the invitation of the Duke of Milan and took two years to paint The Last Supper between 1495 and 1497. Apart from being a good 500 years old, the work has also endured a lot of mischief.

At one point, Jesus’s feet were chopped off during renovations so a door could be added to the wall. During Napoleon’s occupation of Milan, the room was used as a stable. During World War Two, it was shot at by rowdy soldiers, and later the convent was bombed during an air raid. Both walls either side of The Last Supper were destroyed, leaving only The Last Supper standing- left alone, some argue, by God’s grace.

After surviving all this, and the queue to see it, The Last Supper is well worth all the fuss. There’s 15 minutes time given to our group in which to view the masterpiece. We’re led through a series of locked, climate controlled rooms with automated doors that we pass through until it’s our turn.

When we all walk in, we’re all very silent and we look up and see it. It is bigger than I imagined, and awe-inspiring. The fresco has perfect proportions, so that if you stand in the centre of the room, it seems to ‘pop’ off the walls. It looks so eerily real. Alice givens us the drama and context for the piece, but I find myself tuning out. It is beautiful and moving, and I’m grateful to be able to view one of the greatest artistic masterpieces in the world.

Afterwards, we feel all feel a little light-headed after viewing such a masterpiece. Luckily, however, Alice sticks around and advises on the best places to head for our twilight Apertivo- a Milanese tradition of early evening drinks and snacks. While I’m pleased to have seen The Last Supper, I’m also glad to have had a chance to see Milan and better understand the city.

- Shaney Hudson

Boarding the coach at Victoria Coach Station, I was pleasantly greeted by Nick, our tour guide for the day; a very knowledgeable and friendly man. He made us all feel comfortable, as we embarked on a two-hour trip down to Dover. That first half hour of the drive was almost a tour on its own; we passed many of London’s greatest attractions, learning tidbits even I (a proud-to-say-Londoner) didn’t know. Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Tower of London, all witnessed from the comfort of my coach seat. Nick produced a calm ambiance around us, making the journey that much more relaxing.

The imposing white Cliffs of Dover, Dover coast, England

It was not long before the view outside my window changed. Taken from the busy, industrial scenes of London, we were now in Kent, the garden of England – a picturesque countryside many London tourists miss out on. Nick filled our ears with history, and soon my anticipation was over. I could see the white cliffs of Dover. The town itself is very Olde England. Quaint shop signs, a seaside view and, most of all, a medieval castle, like a shepherd watching over its flock. We were driven right to the castle gates. Nick stopped to carry out all the ticket malarkey with the box office as we walked as if being pulled by a magnet up to the castle’s entrance, a great arch of white stone carrying medieval magnificence.

A Fascinating Taste of History – Recent and Medieval

We were told to explore the castle and its great tower in our own time before we would be taken down into the tunnels. I walked up inside the great tower and found little beds, little dining tables, everything was almost in miniature. Even though everything inside the great tower is not real artefacts, they have been replicated to exact detail, causing my Dover Castle experience to feel much more authentic. The colours that decorated it were rich and were contrasted by the paleness of the stone walls.

Taking my senses back to the medieval times, I tasted some traditional mead. It was sweet, warm and just what I needed on a cold autumn morning, awakening my taste buds to the whole experience. The gift shop has an array of different wines and meads to try, as well as chutneys (Gooseberry with Elderflower being my favourite). Not only can you buy all the medieval goodies but there are books, children’s toys and many collectors’ items to take back to reality with you.

The imposing towers of Dover Castle in Dover, England

Walking a little downhill to the Secret Wartime Tunnels we were fast-forwarded to the Second World War. Although the first tunnels were built in the Napoleonic times, those above and below them were built during the War and aided the evacuation of Dunkirk. Walking through these eerie tunnels you can see the names of soldiers etched into the stone; the old military operation rooms, plotting rooms with real artefacts and equipment were preserved. Each room had its purpose, told its own story. Walking around everyone is silent; all you can hear are footsteps and the voice-clippings of those back in the day. Every one of us are now in awe of the history being told by the white walls. My favourite fact of the day was that the function all of the equipment down in the tunnels – and there was a lot of it – could be carried out by one normal laptop.

Olde England Charm and Literary Tales in Canterbury

Back in the coach we are driven to the city of Canterbury. As we enter the town Nick tells us about its literary history: The Canterbury Tales, The Marlow Theatre and its connection with Charles Dickens, as well as the history surrounding the Cathedral, which is also connected to Dover Castle by one man named Thomas Becket. We are taken to an old style English pub to eat a quintessential British lunch consisting of fish and chips – the best I’ve had in a long time – before we had two hours to explore the medieval city ourselves.

The magnificent, famed Canterbury Cathedral in the town of Canterbury, Kent, England

The city centre is full of old store buildings juxtaposed with contemporary shops, all providing a blanket around the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral. You can enter the Cathedral for just eight pounds and with the great coloured glass windows, medieval tomb stones and immense energy; itis actually worth it, even if you’re not the religious type. One other place I happened to find myself in was the Old Sweet Shop, on the corner of the main high street. Fudge, chocolate, marzipan and all kinds of gummy sweets from ceiling to floor decorated this cute store and it was not long before I found myself spending a little too much on ‘candy.’ One thing that did surprise me was that the shopping rivaled that of London, and you will not hear me say that often, if at all. Feeling rather content and that much more knowledgeable, we boarded the coach again for our journey up to Greenwich.

Another View Just Across the Thames from London Town….

I remember Nick mentioning that this part of the trip was where he found many of us ‘tourists’ fall asleep and, to my surprise, I woke up as we were driving into Greenwich. It baffles me that so many of those that visit London do not travel just the other side of the Thames to Greenwich. There is so much to do, with breathtaking backdrops to accompany it. From Wednesday to Sunday the market is open – home to some of the best Brazilian food you can find except in Brazil, vintage books and clothing, as well as arts and craft collections. There is also London’s only public Planetarium, the National Maritime Museum, and home to Greenwich Mean Time – where east meets west. You can place one foot in the western hemisphere while your other is in the east and funnily enough be in two places at one time.

Usually the coach will drop you off in Blackheath, at the entrance to Greenwich Park, and you can take your time walking through the park, seeing the sometimes forgotten view of London as you make your way down to the Thames, taking in all the sights and history that go with it. However, as this is a very British tour, we had the British weather to back it up – it was raining, heavily. Because of this Nick decided it would be better to get dropped off in Greenwich centre and take us to the middle of the now Greenwich University, a spot from which all the great buildings, the Thames and even Canary Wharf are visible. He narrated the history that tied up all the facts of the day, a nice way to end the trip as there was a continuous flow of the past between the three places we had visited that day.

View of London Tower Bridge from cruise on Thames River, London

It wasn’t long before we all decided to embark on the last part of the trip: a boat on the Thames. We walked the five minutes to Greenwich Pier and before we knew it we were all sitting comfortably in our dry, warm seats watching the bridges of London pass above us. It was a great way to end the day. I had been taken from Olde England and thrown back into modern day London, with a much more cultured view of my city and its history.

- Mariella Agapiou

The Guard at Windsor Castle

It’s just so different

It doesn’t matter where you live: the suburbs of Sydney, the centre of San Francisco, the middle of Manchester or the outskirts of Oslo: nothing can help you imagine what life must have been like for the residents of a place like Versailles, Vaux-Le-Vicomte, Cesky Krumlov, Linderhof or Windsor… to name only a few. Each of these superb “residences” — a word that strains under the weight of any of these places — has a magic and grandeur that sets it completely apart from our everyday existence.

Not the view from your office window…

It’s not just the buildings: after all, some of the architecture is decidedly stodgy (Windsor?) while some (Versailles?) can be just a little over the top. The interior design, furnishings, scale, gardens and surrounding villages all add to the realization that this is not your life, never was, probably* won’t ever be!

No matter how hard-bitten, cynical or world-weary you may have become, a day-trip to these destinations provides a chance to travel back to those days of princes, princesses and fairy tales that were part of your childhood. That’s not a bad thing, and it certainly provides a partial explanation for the wildly enthusiastic reviews we often see for these tours. But that can’t be the only reason, can it?

Away from the City

Buckingham Palace, you say, is right smack in the middle of London! I concede this point… let’s move on! Because most castles and chateaux are anything but central; they demand you leave the city and all its pressures and people behind, immersing you instead in the countryside, in tiny villages and rural surroundings where your mind turns to crops and wines and local cheese and the simpler things of life.

Don’t worry; it’s only for a day. But what a release, to escape the built-up for a moment, to breathe the fresh air of the Loire Valley, enjoy the serenity of a Bavarian lake, or feel the wind as it blows through the Blansky Forest. You can’t experience any of these things in your day to day life, and that’s exactly what makes these tours so precious. A change — even if just for a day  — is as good as a rest.

We make it easy

Viator iPhone Application

Listening to our customers talk about why they like these day trips so much, another one of the consistent messages is that Viator makes it all so easy. So, some patting of our own back is necessary here:

• Our mobile app means you can relax at a Left Bank cafe, browse tour choices, find special deals and discounts, and travel in the following days. If you’re the type who doesn’t plan ahead, Viator’s a lifesaver!
• You can drive to any of these places, or take the train in some cases, but it’s usually easier to let an air-conditioned coach pick you up at your hotel and do all the work for you. Depending on how snobbish you are, we offer small-group tours in mini-vans and limos as well.
• Skip the line, skip the hassles: our tours allow you to skip the long entrance lines that are a feature of popular destinations like Windsor and Versailles, and not just throughout the summer. That’s a benefit that will make you feel a little snobbish!

I could go on, but I think that’s a good enough wrap up of my investigation. Next time you’re in Europe, take the chance to escape the city and submerge yourself in another time and place. We’ll help make it a great experience; it’s what we do best.

- Rod Cuthbert

* Probably? Well, consider the case of Mary Donaldson, account director at an advertising firm in Sydney, Australia, who went for drinks with friends one night in 2000, met a nice young man, and was married to him in early 2004. Now, as Crown Princess of Denmark, she has a number of rather grand residences, too numerous to mention here. For the hopeful dreamers out there: fairy tales do happen.

A View of the city from Fortaleza Ozama

Begin your tour of Zona Colonial at Fortaleza Ozama, set on a steep hill along the Rio Ozama. Built in 1502, this is the oldest colonial military building in the New World. One of the most impressive buildings inside the walled fortress is the Torre del Homenaje (Tower of Homage), a castlelike structure whose roof provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the city.

Fortaleza Ozama

Across the river you can see the El Faro a Colón (Columbus Lighthouse), where some say the bones of Christopher Columbus are buried. If you have time, the lighthouse is worth a visit.

A Stroll along the Calle Las Damas

Exit Fortaleza Ozama and head north on Calle Las Damas, the oldest street in the New World. It’s an awe-inspiring street, to be sure, as it’s lined with some of the most stunning colonial buildings in Santo Domingo. At the north end of the street stand three buildings worth seeing. On your left is the Panteón de la Patria, built in 1747 as a Jesuit church. Today it holds the remains of many of the Dominican Republic’s political heroes and martyrs. Across the street is the Capilla de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, with its stately brick façade and triple-arched belfry. Just north is the Museo de las Cassa Reales, which holds tapestries and artifacts, tracing Santo Domingo’s history from 1492 to 1821.

Onto Alcázar de Colón

From Calle Las Damas, head west on Calle Las Mercedes, then turn north and wind your way up to the Alcázar de Colón (Alcazar of Columbus), the most extraordinary structure in Zona Colonial. The Gothic-Moorish palace was built around 1500 by Columbus’s son Diego, and now houses an astonishing museum filled with paintings, jewelry, tapestries, and 16^th-century antiques. Downhill from the castle is Puerto de San Diego, which was building in 1571 and served as the main entrance into Santo Domingo. Just north of Alcázar de Colón is the Museo de las Atarazanas, which displays recovered treasures from hundreds of years of shipwrecks.

Alcázar de Colón

Shrines and Sites on Calle Arzobispo Meriño

Walk west two blocks from Alcázar de Colón to Calle Arzobispo Meriño. A walk north will take you to the Iglesia Santa Bárbara, a church and towered fortress that serves as a place to honor the military. Head south to visit a real treasure, the Amber World Museum. Inside, marvel at the engaging and oddly fascinating collection of animals and insects preserved in amber, as well as stunning amber jewelry and other trinkets. Nearby, on a hilltop, are the ruins of the Monasterio de San Francisco, the oldest monastery in the New World.

Keep walking south until you reach Parque Colón, the heart of the Zona Colonial. Across the park is the oldest cathedral in the Americas, the Catedral Primada de América. Embellished with a gold coral limestone façade, the Gothic church was begun in 1514 and finished in 1540. Just behind the cathedral is the Museo del Larimar, a museum dedicated to larimar, which is a blue pectolite stone found only in the Dominican Republic.

If You Have More Time…

Want to spend more time in Zona Colonial? Head down Calle El Conde, a bustling street that traverses the middle of Old Town. As you walk west, you’ll find a plethora of boutiques, galleries, jewelry stores, shops, restaurants, and street vendors. Inside the old buildings, shops sell a booty of local crafts, including wooden masks and carvings as well as local paintings. Walk west until you reach Parque Independencia, a popular gathering spot for locals.

- William Travis

Day 1: A Taste of Chinese History in the Present

Start your day with a dive into China’s ancient history. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1840). For nearly five hundred years, it served as the palace for emperors and their families, and was the political center of the Chinese government.  The Forbidden City is the world’s largest surviving palace complex and a UNESCO Heritage Site, consisting of over 900 surviving buildings with 8,000 rooms. Inside the Forbidden City visit the Palace Museum to witness China’s largest collection of ancient art works.

The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Just north of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square, a large city square in the center of Beijing. At Tiananmen Square, you’ll see the gate to the Forbidden City along with the iconic Chairman Mao portrait. Tiananmen Square was the site of a number of political events and protests. Now, Chinese visitors from all over the country come to Tiananmen Square to visit Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum and pay their respects.

Go for a late lunch at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant located south of the Forbidden City. Here you’ll take in Beijing’s local specialty dish. The Beijing duck is known for its thin, crispy skin and is usually wrapped up in a pancake with hoisin sauce and spring onions.

After finishing lunch, head to the Temple of Heaven. During the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of China would come to the Temple of Heaven to make sacrifices to heaven and offer prayers for good harvest. The Temple of Heaven is an architectural masterpiece and the design of the temple halls in circles and squares reflects the ancient Chinese belief that heaven is round and the earth is square. Nowadays, you’ll find the park inhabited by retirees playing Chinese chess or practicing tai chi.

Chinese architectural masterpiece, Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Next, take a cab to the Drum and Bell Tower, then wander in the alleys (also known as hutongs) that run between compounds of housing built inside courtyards. These housing complexes are quickly disappearing as more and more high rises are being built. Lastly, climb aboard a rickshaw and visit Prince Gong’s Mansion, Beijing’s largest and best preserved Qing Dynasty royal mansion.

Near the Drum and Bell Tower, you’ll find Houhai (Back Lakes), where you can unwind after a long day with a classy meal and a glass of wine while enjoying a view of the night lights around the lake.

Day 2: From the Great Wall to Beijing Opera

No trip to Beijing is complete without a trip to the Great Wall. Get up early in the morning to beat the traffic and crowds at the Great Wall. There are several sections of the wall you can climb. Badaling is the most visited section of the wall and provides stunning scenery of the wall snaking into the distance. Mutianyu is a less commercial section of the Great Wall and is known for its guard towers and its awe-inspiring views.  If you like to climb steep hills, Simatai is the choice for you.

The Great Wall of China, stretching for 5,500.3 miles (8,851.8 km)

After a day of hiking, take a bus back into the city and visit the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was the vacation spot for the royal family. Inside the Summer Palace, you’ll find gardens, pavilions and lakes where Empress Dowager Cixi once frequented.

In the evening, take a seat at Lao She Teahouse and experience Beijing opera, a form of traditional Chinese theater, which includes cross-talk, music and acrobatics. Enjoy your show in a traditional teahouse and sip some green tea and enjoy light refreshments.

Day 3: Exploring (and Tasting) the Beijing of Today

Begin your morning at Panjiayuan, a lively weekend market selling a variety of antiques. This market is the best place to pick up art, crafts and antiques. You’ll find calligraphy, Tibetan beads, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, and a variety of knick knacks. Be prepared to bargain intensely before making a purchase.

After stepping through the history and culture of ancient China, soak yourself in Beijing’s modern architecture and art. First, visit the China Central Television Tower in Beijing, a 44-story skyscraper in Beijing’s Central Business District constructed in 2008. Then head over to 798 Art Zone to view artwork by up-and-coming local artists. Finally, take a trip out to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games site to view the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube.

Stalls at Beijing’s Dong Hua Men night market, Wangfujing Snack Street

Finish your evening snacking your way through Wangfujing Snack Street. Food vendors and restaurants are lined up on Wangfujing Snack Street sell a variety of food including lamb kebabs,  fried pancakes, candied fruits and even fried insects!

- Amy Zeng

In 1563, Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Florence, was feeling a little insecure. His family had been battling with other local families and guilds for control of the city for about a century and had finally succeeded in turning the once proud republic into a hereditary monarchy, thanks to intervention from Pope Clement VII (himself a Medici). From 1532 onwards, the Medici would be kings, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

The Making of the Vasari Corridor: A Royal Strategy

When his son Francesco was due to marry Johanna of Austria, Cosimo decided it was time to take care of his own security. He commissioned Giorgio Vasari (famous as painter, architect and writer of Lives of the Artists), to build a corridor connecting the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of government, with the Palazzo Pitti, the royal home. Unlike most building projects at the time, this one had a limited time for completion. By using a simple brick design, rather than the habitual Renaissance carved stonework, Vasari managed to build the passageway in just five months. This despite the fact he had to displace whole families and remove the butchers from their shops on the Palazzo Vecchio because Cosimo did not appreciate the smell. Since then all the shops along the bridge have been occupied by local gold and silversmiths and the law putting this in place still exists today, which is why, much as they’d love to, Prada, Gucci and the like cannot get into this prime retail space.

The Uffizi itself took so long to build (1560-81) that the originators of the project never saw its completion. Guess who they were? Yes, Cosimo I commissioning Giorgio Vasari. Both died in 1574. And it was not built as an art gallery but as a place for the guilds of the city’s artisans to meet and work, all under the watchful eye – and control – of the Medici.

But enough history, today I saw the Vasari Corridor in the twenty-first century and it’s still something special. For starters, access is extremely limited. Visitors are only allowed in on guided tours of limited numbers, and only along the section from the Uffizi Gallery to the Boboli Gardens. A guardian stands by the unmarked doors in  the Uffizi with a special key, and a guardian follows you through the passageway, checking you don’t photograph the paintings along the way or linger too long to enjoy the exclusive view along the river.

Façade of the Uffizi Gallery along the River Arno

The Uffizi Gallery: Special Access to the Masters

Our tour started in the Uffizi itself with a quick tour of some of the key works of the Renaissance. A bonus of being on a tour was gaining entry to the Uffizi through a back door and not having to battle the queues snaking through the courtyard and down the street. My advice: always book a Uffizi ticket ahead of time. It’s crowded enough once you get inside, you don’t want to already be fatigued from hanging around waiting outside. A guided visit with special access to the Vasari Corridor can also be pre-booked, for a much smoother, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Be warned, Florentine galleries involve a lot of stone stairs. And a lot of people. From the beginning, we were jostling with other tour groups in front of the most significant paintings but our patient and polite guide took us through, still managing to take time to really explain how art changed in the significant years of the Renaissance. Beginning with the flatness of the Madonna and Child as rendered by Giotto around 1306, through to the more rounded figures and perspective of Gentile de Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi of 1423, via the naughty monk Fra Lippi who had a child with a nun (she was the model for so many of his Madonnas), past the delicate beauty (and incredibly crowded room) of Botticelli, and on to the genius of Michelangelo and his only finished panel painting, the Doni Tondo of 1507. Here our tour of the main gallery ended – with so much art left unseen. (I realized I definitely had to come back and when I got home I went online and booked an advance ticket for the next day.)

More Storied History…

Painting Gallery, Uffizi

And so, our Vasari Corridor guards and guides awaited us. As we milled around waiting for those who had taken the opportunity to run to the toilets (very long queues – which is a bit of a theme for any Uffizi visit), we looked at the great view from up there. The Medici certainly had a way of putting themselves on top of Florence looking down on the city they basically owned. Originally this top floor was open to the sky and displayed Cosimo’s sculpture collection.

Then we entered the Vasari Corridor, more stairs, and the first thing I saw was a majorly damaged painting. I could hardly see what the image was meant to be. And there was another in similar condition at the bottom of the stairs. I had waited years for this moment and was looking at ruined art. The guide explained that they were examples of the damage caused by a Mafia bomb set off one night underneath the Uffizi in 1993. Five people died. If it had been during the day, the toll would have been so much higher. It was horrifying to think about.

In sober frames of mind, we headed down the corridor, following in the footsteps of the Medici family from 500 years earlier when they came and went from home to work avoiding the people they governed. The route of the corridor goes from the gallery, turning right above a specially-built colonnade next to the Arno, turning left to run across the top of the shops on one side of the Ponte Vecchio, around a tower (there was one family who stood up to the Medici and refused to give way for the corridor), across more shops, then the front of the church of Santa Felicita, then over shops and houses and on into the Palazzo Pitti. Our tour ended at the Boboli Gardens where a few steps lead us back outside.

Beautiful Views Inside and Out

The corridor is lined by closely hung paintings – this is the gallery’s famous collection of artists’ self-portraits. There is Rembrandt, Rubens, Filippino Lippi, right through to the twentieth century and a wonderful blue swirling self-portrait of Marc Chagall. Of over a hundred portraits of famous artists that we passed, I estimate only fifteen were of women.

Between the paintings are small windows, rectangular on one side, circular on the other. And the views are great – views you rarely have of Florence and so wonderfully framed by these almost portholes. Mind you, some of them were enlarged by Mussolini in 1939; it wasn’t only the Medici who had visions of grandeur.

Porthole window view of Florence at Uffizi Gallery

The most revealing window of them all is towards the end of the corridor and does not look out onto a view but into a building, the church of Santa Felicita. Cosimo decided that seeing as he was passing through a church along the way, he might as well participate in the service, but still only if he could stay aloof from those he ruled over. Hence this window looks down into the church and towards the altar with a small balcony and very thick protective railing. If you look up at the church from the road outside, the front is crossed, and largely obscured, by the Vasari Corridor.

In fact, once you are aware of the Vasari Corridor, you can clearly see it’s uniform façade running alongside the river, over the bridge and atop the buildings towards the Pitti Palace. Not so secret then. But clearly effective – Cosimo I managed to rule Florence for 37 years without getting knifed in the streets even as he accumulated wealth untold.

In fact, the family stayed in control of Florence until the mid-eighteenth century when the Medici family literally died out. Luckily for us, the final Medici, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, bequeathed all the family’s possessions to the Tuscan State on the proviso none of it ever left Florence. It’s thanks to her that Florence is what it is today and that we get to see all these incredible buildings and artworks. She is definitely my favourite Medici.

The first attraction to open its doors is the Las Vegas Mob Experience located at the newly renovated Tropicana Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. This interactive experience takes you from the streets of New York where you will meet characters along the way trying to tempt, bribe and cajole you into doing illegal activities. You’ll meet the mob boss, the police and more on your journey through the history of the Mob.

Old time getwaway gangster car

You’ll then come upon the famous desert scene, where Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky discussed how Las Vegas was the next ‘big thing’. This was where gambling was legal and the Mob could make a fortune from skimming the takings. As history buffs know, this is exactly what happened, but unfortunately for Bugsy, his girlfriend Virginia Hill was skimming from the Mob and Bugsy was ‘hit’ in Virginia’s large house in Beverly Hills right after the Flamingo opened its doors on 26 December, 1946.

Your experience continues with an insight into the counting room, the ‘back room’ where you determine the outcome for a casino thief and then finally to the point where the decisions you have made up until now come to fruition.

Before you exit the attraction, there is a plethora of memorabilia and artifacts from some of the top gangsters in Las Vegas’ history – Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Sam Giancana, Anthony ‘The Ant’ Spilotro and Allan Sachs.

Inside Bugsy Siegel’s house

The second museum to open will be The Museum of Law Enforcement and Organized Crime spearheaded by Las Vegas’ own ‘Mob Mayor’, Oscar Goodman and scheduled to open in December, 2011. The museum will be located Downtown on Stewart Street in the former Federal Courthouse and Post Office.

So on your next visit to Las Vegas, be sure to stop by the Tropicana Hotel (a one-time mobster haunt) to catch a glimpse into the life and times of some of America’s most notorious criminals and their rise and subsequent fall in Sin City.

- Jenny Crossling

Beginning in 2007 with the Berlin in Lights festival, Carnegie Hall has featured the music and culture of global destinations through wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary programming in its three concerts halls and at institutions throughout New York City. But right now, perhaps no other festival may be as important as JapanNYC (March-April), which celebrates the diversity of Japanese culture in more than 40 performances and events and pays special tribute to Japan and its people in the aftermath of this month’s earthquake and tsunami. Some of Japan’s finest classical musicians and organizations, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, with principal guest conductor André Previn and soprano Kiri Te Kanawa; the violinist Midori in solo recital; and Bach Collegium Japan, the country’s leading period-performance instrumental ensemble, appear alongside traditional Japanese music performers, such as Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta, masters of the evocative shamisen, a three-string lute-like instrument.

JapanNYC encompasses dance, film, and the visual arts, including “Bye Bye Kitty!!!”—a survey of contemporary Japanese art—at the Japan Society (through June 12) and the special installation of a Japanese Garden at this year’s Macy’s Herald Square Flower Show (through April 10). Both are free.

A related festival, JapanOC, takes place at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts (philharmonicsociety.org), and throughout Southern California, where performers range from the Tokyo String Quartet to ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.