From Day 5_Lucca & Pisa & Vinci by Krakow Kate

The accessible, sweet town of Lucca is a destination in Italy’s Northern Tuscany region that embodies a classic Italian mix of old and new. Nestled along the Serchio River, Lucca’s encircling 16th century walls were planted with trees during the 19th century, creating a perfect park atmosphere today for its inhabitants and visitors to walk and cycle. Along with strolling around the ramparts, travelers will find Lucca’s architecture, cuisine, and historic sites only add to its charms.

While studying abroad in Krakow, Poland, Realtraveler Krakow Kate and her friends stopped by Lucca during a recent romp around Europe.

“We walked into Lucca, which is a beautiful fortified city. It’s really cool because the fortifications were well-preserved and were changed into a park on top of the walls, creating a greenway around the town. We got on top of the walls and walked around the path with trees on either side of us. We went to a cool restaurant that was on top of the fortifications. It used to be an artilary station. We also went to two cathedrals: St. Martin and San Michele. One thing I liked about Lucca was all the people riding bicycles everywhere.” (more…)

Discover this gem of Northern Tuscany for yourself through these useful links:

Lucca Travel Guide
Tuscany Travel Blogs
Official Tuscany Tourism Site
Italy Travel Guide

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From Aqaba, Jordan by WBWallace

Looking for a great way to spend time with friends and loved ones, safely sail the gorgeous blue oceans, and see interesting destinations all over the world? Follow WBWallace’s example as they enjoy their retirement while traversing the world aboard a Silver Shadow cruise ship.

We caught up with this adventurous Maryland couple this week in Aqaba, Jordan, a jewel in the Middle East overflowing with history. This Red Sea resort town offers travelers a wide variety of attractions from archeological wonders to superb wind surfing and snorkeling. With five-star hotels, museums, shopping, and fascinating places like the Aquba Fort and the World Heritage Site Petra, there is no shortage of appeal to this area.

WBWallace describes their experience at Petra:

“Today we are looking forward to returning to Petra which has been added to the list of 7 Greatest Wonders of the World. After a very interesting two hour bus ride north along the Desert Highway through hills and desert quite different than our longer ride to Luxor, we arrived and started our walk down that led us to the famous ½ mile long chasm (or siq). This long narrow gorge with steeply rising sides all but obliterates the sun. More than 2000 years ago, this site was occupied by the Nabateans. From caves in a rocky outcrop, they created their fortress city. The siq served as a defense as well as part of an incredible water system for the city of Petra.”

Later, Bill describes his impressions of Aqaba:

“After Sallie and I had walked through a shopping area and bought something to wear at tonight’s Egyptian dress up night she returned to the ship by shuttle and I hired a local taxi to show me around town. For the next 1 ½ hours I had my eyes opened. I saw the old area of town and the new which is growing rapidly and beautifully. From the port you can see the countries of Egypt, Israel and we drove south for about 20 miles along the coast of the Red Sea to the Saudi Arabian border. The port activity is impressive and the development of big resort areas along the coast is dramatic. This area is famous for its scuba diving sites in the Red Sea. My driver could not praise King Abdul enough saying what a great job he is doing in building the country. I really enjoyed my taxi ride and my driver, Hakam Ahmad.” (more…)

Visit this page to see more photographs from their experience in Aqaba, and also be sure to visit their travel blog Cruise Around the World to be wowed by their itinerary and amazing collection of stories from their trip.

To research a similar trip of your own, visit:

Aqaba Travel Guide
Blogs from trips Around the World
Cruise Travel Deals

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