Medieval Hamlets and Hill Towns in .NET framework

Maker Data Matrix 2d barcode in .NET framework Medieval Hamlets and Hill Towns

If you want to turn back the clock and see villages and small towns where the leisurely pace of life has helped keep the winding stone streets in a veritable time capsule, Europe is the place to go And many of these, dare we call them quaint, old villages are just a short bus or train ride outside major cities San Gimignano, in Tuscany, bristles with 14 medieval stone towers just a hop, skip, and a jump from Florence (see 20) Chartres, with its glorious Gothic cathedral, is just an hour from Paris on the train (see 13) Salisbury and its massive Gothic cathedral is a similar easy day trip from London (see 10) Toledo once the capital of Castille, is today a bright, oversize village full of El Greco paintings that s an easy day s jaunt out from Madrid (see 22)

The hamlets high in the Lauterbrunnen Valley of the Swiss Alps are centuries away in attitude from the grand business-capital cities of Switzerland, and even from the busy and modernized resort town of Interlaken at the valley s mouth (see 17) And the tidy Tyrolean town of Innsbruck nestles its medieval alleyways and baroque facades amid the Austrian Alps, halfway between Vienna and Munich, making for a perfect stop between the two cities (see 16)

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Doing as the locals do Going to a soccer match Tuning into local TV Leaving this book behind (we mean it!)

ometimes it pays to be less touristy when you travel to foreign countries We take our inspiration from Michael Palin in his BBC series Around the World in 80 Days; when he arrived in Venice, he decided to cruise the canals in a Venetian garbage scow To enjoy the real Europe, do something other than what all the other travel books recommend You ll be rewarded with a unique experience that travelers who stick solely to the major sights never have Here are our suggestions for finding the road less traveled

Find out how the locals live by exploring their neighborhoods Be the first on your block to discover the upscale but thoroughly untouristy 17th arrondissement in Paris Regale your friends back home with tales from London s Clerkenwell, where you can still have beer with breakfast and see the spot where Braveheart was executed outside Smithfield meat market; or London s East End, where amid the immigrant families working to achieve the good life, you can still find pockets of proud workingclass Londoners speaking genuine Cockney Or wander Rome s Parioli district, where you can admire the funky architecture and join the wellheeled matrons strolling down to the cafe in their de rigueur fur coats Drink coffee (or something stronger) with the regulars in the corner bar Sit on the edge of one of those seemingly endless daily games of cards, backgammon, or bocce ball, watching carefully to get an idea of how the game is played One of the grizzled old men may eventually gesture you

over, and everyone will get a kick out of trying to pantomime to the foreigner the rules of the game as you proceed to lose spectacularly Find that local version of Wal-Mart or Target and just wander the aisles, checking out the daily essentials of the French or the Austrians, for example; as a souvenir, pick up a brand of toothpaste you ve never heard of If you re a music fan, wander into a European music store, most of which have listening stations Pick up a CD by what seems to be the hottest native pop group