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Visiting the city of Milan for the Christmas holidays is a great experience and could turn out to be one of the finest holidays you will ever have. Since the festive season is always busy it is highly advisable to arrange your airplane tickets in advance, as well as to book an apartment in Milan or apartment in Rome well before the trip. Many people prefer to spend the Christmas holidays at home, surrounded by family and relatives. There are however, people who love to travel with their families around Christmas and enjoy a different place each year, finding out how the locals celebrate the holidays.

befana santa

Italians call Christmas “Natale” and actually this is quite a huge holiday for them, which is widely celebrated. All the cities and small settlements in Italy are beautifully decorated, lights are being arranged and there are festive Christmas markets everywhere. The Christmas decorations also include beautifully arranged nativity scenes, which are called presepe or presepio. These special scenes are displayed around the country in public squares and in churches, as well as on shop windows and in private homes. Images of Santa Claus are also to be seen, but there are not that many as the nativity scenes. This character is locally known as Babbo Natale or Father Christmas, but he is not the one to give presents like in the other European countries. Another symbol of the Christmas holidays is a witch placed in a broomstick called La Bafana. This is a good witch who gives gifts to the Italian children. La Bafana comes on 5^th January, on the night of Epiphany.

The traditional food at Christmas in Italy is very tasty. On Christmas Eve, the traditional meal is without meat, while on the Christmas day the traditional meal is based on meat. The desserts are wonderful and mouth-watering. The different regions in Italy have different specialties and they can include marzipan and candied nuts and fruits, as well as deep fried pastries, however the most popular Christmas treat is called panettone and it is very delicious. The Panettone is a kind of sweet bread that is filled with fruits and sometimes with nuts and it originally came from Milan

panettone

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The other major events that are connected with Christmas in Italy are the Christmas markets. These festive markets are joyful and offer beautiful decorations and many presents. The Christmas holiday markets are held on big public squares, usually in the centre and also offer different foods and drinks connected to the winter season and the Christmas holiday.

Christmas is among the main holidays in Italy and it provokes the interest of holiday makers. Thus, at that time of year, prices could be higher and this is normal. The transportation in Italy during the Christmas holidays could be difficult, since the public transport works under the holiday schedule and is thus less frequent than the normal timetable. Another thing to consider is that many of the attractions in Italy are to be closed on  Christmas Day itself and on New Year’s Eve too.

If you are looking for another destination with Christmas spirit you should check out the Netherlands where you can stay in an Amsterdam apartment.

If you are among those travellers who will leave their comfortable London apartments they have booked to go hiking around London, then this article is just for you. Now, prepare your backpack and boots and check out the nicest country walks that you could try that are set outside the city of London.

The first one to be presented is the three hours long stroll from Hurst Green to Oxted. The length of the hiking tour is 8 km. There are two trains an hour that can bring you to the Hurst Green Station, which start from Victoria Station in London and take approximately 40 minutes. On this tour you will enjoy the hills of the northern part of Kent and Surrey and the woodlands along the way. The tour is very pleasant during the autumn months when the leaves change their colours. There are two refreshment stops along the way, the last one being set next to the stations.

The next hiking tour is ideal for coastal views and it covers Hastings circular in East Sussex. The tour is 9.5 km in length and lasts for two hours and 40 minutes. The tour starts from the Charring Cross station and the journey lasts for one hour and a half. The tour covers the Old Town of Hastings and then along the Rock-A-Nore seafront and continues with a coastal walk and some steep climbing. Once inside the Country Park Hastings, then there is the funicular railway East Hill. Close-by is the Fairlight picnic site, as well as the St Clements Caves, and also Hastings Castle, which is in ruins. For those who want to experience the country pubs there is the Pluckley circular tour in Kent. This tour is 11 km long and lasts for approximately 3.5 hours. It starts at the Pluckley Station, which is easily reached from Charring Cross Station. The trip covers rural Kent and goes through small farms and vast pastures, orchards and houses. There are many nice pubs along the way.

Another tour, which is good for families, is the Saunderton tour in Buckinghamshire, which goes through the West Wycombe circular. The tour lasts for five hours and is 16 km in length. It starts from Saunderton Station. This walk includes the meadows of Chilterns, the Chiltern Hills, then Bradenham and then towards Flagmore Wood and Naphill Common to reach the Hughenden Manor. Those who want to enjoy some sea views, should go on the Seaford to Eastbourne hiking tour in East Sussex. The tour is 21 km long and lasts for twelve hours, of which seven hours are for walking. There are two trains each hour that can bring you to Seaford and they depart from Victoria Station in London, and the journey time lasts for 30 min approximately. This is a great walk on the top of cliffs, looking towards the coast of England and the sea. One could enjoy here the Seven Sisters white cliffs and the Beachy Head. One could also go swimming here during the summer at Birling Gap or at the Cuckmere Haven.

A post by Grace Wilson who also writes about apartments in Prague and Paris apartment.

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a great city to visit with plenty of attractions, historical landmarks, cultural sites and dining establishments, not to mention the numerous bars and night clubs for which the city is so famous. Getting to know the good places for dining near your Madrid apartment is not easy, especially if you are focused just on the typical tourist places. If you want to go off the beaten track and taste the real cuisine of Madrid, then a good idea would be to sign up for one of the Madrid food tours. Among the Madrid food tours, we have selected to present here the Madrid Tapas Night Walking Tour, which offers the guests the chance to sample the nightlife in the Spanish capital and check out the tasty tapas in Madrid on an evening walking tour.

This Madrid food tour lasts for approximately four hours and is led by a food expert, who is knowledgeable, fun and fluent in English. The tour has a friendly atmosphere and its aim is not only to show you some nice places to dine and some tasty local meals, but also to introduce you to the laid-back lifestyle of the locals. Its aim is also to show you places that you will never discover on your own and for you to sample fantastic food and drink you will never order on your own. The tour covers four of the typical Madrid tapas bars and restaurants and usually the first drink and tapas are free. The groups tend to be small so that all the people in the group will get the attention they deserve. From the authentic Spanish meals, one would probably try chorizo in cider, cider from Asturias, octopus from Galicia, sherry from Andalucía, etc.

Paella

Cochinillo

The Madrid Tapas Night Walking Tour is organised in such as way as to get the first drink and tapas free, then during the rest of the tour it depends on you how much you will order to eat and drink. During the entire tour, the traveller should expect to get information about the traditions of Madrid food and wine and some advice on the local specialties. Going for such a food tour in Madrid is a nice way to discover the local insights and to sample some traditional food and drink in good company.

Usually, the tour will cover an authentic Asturian bar, which serves specialties of blue cheese, chorizo and cider. Then the next stop will probably be in a typical sherry bar, where one can try the typical “fino” and “manzanilla” sherries of different tastes and hues, which are served in glasses or in bottles filled from the kegs. These drinks come with complimentary bread sticks and olives. The third stop would be an intimate local bar with football shirts and bulls‘ heads on the walls. This bar will offer a great selection of tapas and pinchos. And the fourth and final stop would be a popular restaurant that serves tostadas, salads, meats, cheeses and also tapas of excellent quality.

If you decide to visit one more city in Spain you can look for accommodation in Barcelona apartments.

The marvellous city of Krakow, once a royal capital of Poland, is among the most favourite destinations for a snow white holiday around Christmas time. Because of its mild climate, the beautiful architecture and all the traditions that are kept, Krakow is a good choice to see the Christmas tree glitter and of course, to buy presents for everyone. The city is famous for its Christmas market, which is organised every year on the enormous Rynek Glowny square in the very centre of Krakow, just in the Old Town historic district near apartments in Krakow. The Christmas market starts at the end of November and lasts through the entire month of December to close at the beginning of January, leaving a lot of time for everyone to buy something small like some hand-made jewellery or some woollen clothes and surprise the people at home. An interesting choice for a gift would be the goose or duck eggs that are painted with various Christmas scenes, however these could be quite delicate and rather difficult to bring back home without running the risk of breaking them.

Christmas Market

The Rynek Glowny square, where the famous Krakow Christmas market is held, has been an important trade market for many long years and a centre of various joyful holiday festivities. With its lights and beautiful Christmas decorations the square becomes even nicer, if that is possible at all. At the Krakow Christmas market you can choose from a great variety of Christmas decorations placed on wooden stands, as well as sweets of various kinds and many other nice things for  those who have a sweet tooth. Take for example the traditional Oplatek wafers, which are very thin and crisp leafs of bread which come with an impression of a Nativity scene. These wafers are handed as a present from each member of the family to the other along with wishes at the dinner on Christmas Eve in most Warsaw apartments. In addition to the spots where one can buy sweets and oplatek wafers, there are also many open-air places to enjoy a lovely meal and a glass of mulled wine.

Besides the decorations, the presents and the places where one can have a bite, Krakow Christmas market is also famous for its additional attractions, which include various shows and folk dances as well as concerts where one can listen to carols.

Interesting to mention are the Krakow Christmas cribs, which are colourful portable theatres for the traditional puppet plays. Building such cribs is quite a hobby in Krakow. Such live shows are staged during the Christmas holiday season and are a popular family activity. Besides seeing the special Krakow Christmas cribs, while at the Krakow Christmas market, one will also hear hundreds of carols, most of which are very old. These great traditional songs are very rhythmic and they add to the charm and the atmosphere at the Rynek Glowny square and make the Christmas holidays unforgettable, as they should be.