Pisa, italy

  Of all the attractions in Italy, The leaning tower of Pisa can be considered a tourist trap. The number of people around you in peak summer makes it even difficult to get a good view let alone a good picture.

 Pisa is a city in Tuscany in Italy, although it is well known for the leaning tower of Pisa, this city has about 20 other historic churches , and quite a few bridges across river Arno. Pisa is directly connected to many of the main cities in italy by rail and road. There are three railway stations around Pisa, Pisa Centrale, Pisa Aeroporto and Pisa San Rossore.The nearest airport is the Farez Airport, which is an hour's drive from pisa.

The main attraction is Pisa is as mentioned earlier, the leaning tower of Pisa, which is within the Piazza dei Miracoli a walled area in Pisa. The four main components of the Piazza dei Miracoli are the Duomo (cathedral), the Campanile (the cathedral's free standing bell tower), the Baptistry and the Camposanto.The Piazza is mostly grassy with a paved way connecting the four edifices.

  The focus of the Piazza is the Duomo which is a cathedral, entitled to Santa Maria Assunta.

The campanile, or the bell tower is famously known as the leaning tower of pisa or the Torre di pisa. The tower leans about 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres. Most of the crowd who visit Pisa visit only to view this attraction. However the best time to see this is in the off season, or early in the morning to avoid the maddening crowds.

The baptistry is a religious building in the Piazza dei Miracoli. It is the largest baptistry in italy

The Campo Santo, also known as Camposanto Monumentale or Camposanto Vecchio is a historical edifice at the northern edge of the Cathedral Square. .

Once in Pisa take a few hours to walk around the town and visit the bridges and the other historic churches. Take in the beautiful italian buildings and have a meal at one of the laidback outdoor restaurants and enjoy the italian experience.

Secunderabad - My city

 Many of you must have heard of Hyderabad, the IT hub of AP and the home of the Charminar. I wonder how many people have heard of the twin city to Hyderabad.

 Secunderabad, popularly known as the twin city to Hyderabad, was named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. It was founded in 1806 AD as a british cantonment. The city is geographically seperated from Hyderabad by the Hussain sagar and the Tank bund.Together with Hyderabad, this forms the sixth largest metropolis in India. It is also one of the largest cantonments in India and has a major presence of the Army and Airforce.

 Since secunderabad was under the rule of the British, the atmosphere here is slightly different from the nizami culture of Hyderabad. Sangeet cinema is one of the popular thetares where only western movies were played. The Secunderabad club is a very popular club that is established at a country house gifted by Salar Jung 1.

 On moving towards the Army areas, we can see the Tirumalgiri (trimulgherry) fort. Built in the year 1867, this fort is now used as a military hospital. It is surrounded by a a deep channel that stands at an elevation of 3 miles.

Not far from here is the Victorian prison which was used as a confinment center since the victorian era. It still has an eerie look about it.

The Rashtrapathi Nilayam serves as the office of the President of India during his visits to Hyderabad.

For the Religious there are many places to visit. The Ujjaini Mahankali temple where the bonalu festivities happen every year, the Ganesh temple and Hanuman temple are quite famous. The Moula - Ali Dargah is definitely worth a visit. This dargah lies atop a hill and is one of the 11 heritage conservations sites recognised by HUDA. St Johns church is the oldest church in secunderabad, St. Marys church is quite well known too.

 If you are in the city during the national holidays , then watch out for the parade, in Parade grounds. The adjacent Gymkhana grounds also house a fair/ exhibition for a part of the year.

 If you have time on your hands, head out to the nearby shamirpet lake where you can find, the NALSAR and BITS, pilani campuses. The beautiful lake at Shamirpet is a very nice picnic spot. This lake attracts many birds and is a good place for birdwatching. Also nearby is the Jawahar deer park, which is maintained by the Government of India. This park houses many deers and peacocks. On the way back you can visit the beautiful Ratnalayam temple.

Ratnalayam

 

 

 

Also worth a visit is the Ananda Budhda vihar, a budhist monastery near Mahendra hills. This is a beautiful place to meditate, but I visit this place for the serene view.

The shopping enthusaists can visit James steet, General Bazar or Monda market. These places offer wares for every pocket.