'Let's get a move on it,' yells the coach driver. "Get out of the way and let the paying customers on." Other passengers rush by until Shawn, my newly wed husband scurries frantically across the road while freeing the straps of a scantily loaded camping bag off my back. The bus conductor holds out his hand and demands thirty five rupees for an hours drive aboard his vehicle en route Murree via Islamabad. His Weather worn face and piercing glare makes me wonder since when transport had become so inexpensive. As if reading my thoughts, he immediately demands another thirty five rupees to accommodate both me and my better half in his wooden slated, barred windowed, decorative coach.

As our means of transportation soared rapidly away from the hustled norm of Pakistan's capital to high mountainous peaks of Murree, We leisurely engross in the surrounding lush forestry portraying huge pine trees. The scenery reflected every travelers delight and inviting valley's swarmed with natural springs at an altitude of 2,240 Meters (7,400 feet) nurtured a sense of adventure and free will opposing my mayhem packed customary urban life.

Upon arrival in the rural city, we were caught up with hawkers competing between themselves and targeting us as potential customers seeking lodging. Tanned, toiling and weather beaten citizenry earned their means of living as shepherds, horse and cattle breeders and within busy market places sold jewelery, medicines, clothes, artifacts, air fares and decorations. Many also ran general stores, banks, churches and schools besides offering tourists rides to attractive sight-seeing places.

Best visited in April- May and September- October, Murree displayed the best of nature with white clouds graciously engulfing mountain crests and towering over green valleys below.

We booked a two-bedroom at the economical President Hills hotel, checked for hot water supply and operational heaters and after unpacking, headed towards a restaurant below to relish on famous local fast food burgers, Shammi kebabs and omelets.

After a hearty brunch, we inquired for camera batteries from a local shopkeeper and were suggested Mall Road as a famous market place above Murree hill tops, between Kashmir and Pindi Point. We decided to hike uphill and paused at a miniature roadside eatery sheltered beside a steel sheeted hut to buy 2 plates full of a locally preferred Chana Chaat. Just as we had begun to enjoy the spicy aromatic savory, a tremendous thunderous blast above our heads made our spines quiver. Our shocked facade brought a smile to the roadside hawker as he coyly informed us that a huge horse chestnut had fallen from a surrounding tree on the steel sheeted hut below which we stood.

At Mall Road, we were greeted by a variety of shops, book stores, souvenir kiosks, internet cafes, pharmacies, banks, post offices and cinemas. Renowned Pakistani restaurants crowded either sides of a lengthy narrow street and the enclosure evoked the British Raj, with its Christian churches, cemetery, spacious bungalows, clubs, cricket grounds and colonial-style hotels. The heart of the bazaar continued further along Kashmir Road and Massey Gate. Numerous routes departed outwards and either followed the contours of the ridge or descended to the principal road. After some necessary purchases, we headed back to our abode to doze away our aching weary limbs.

Awakening to a chirpy cold morning, we freshened up and hastily threw on our garbs to visit Pindi point, a famous tourist spot for riding chair-lifts passing down 1.5 km into the wadis. Upon arrival, our minicab driver bellowed to the chair-lift operator who was none the less pleased to welcome us. Chair lifts from Pindi Point travel from Bansara Gali (below Murree) to Pindi Point or to the top of Patriata Hill (on the road to Karor). Both rides cost approximately rupees fifty and take half an hour with a change from open chair-lift to the enclosed bubble in the middle. Once air bourne, strong fragrance from huge blue pine trees inflated the ambience and breath-taking views with crossroads and vast landscapes enthralled our observance. At our descent we were greeted with shopping kiosks and a children's play area apart from another astounding view of the lush Patriata Hills.

My interest in the eminent Convent of Jesus and Mary failed to seize. We planned to visit it as our last quest but primarily revisited Mall Road to purchase customary souvenirs for our loved ones. After purchases, we once again embarked uphill to discover the extraordinary beauty of the Convent of Jesus and Mary. We swiftly snapped some spell-bounding pictures of the convent and rushed back to the hotel to pack our bags.

Murree is a writer's muse, a city packed with undiscovered and wild adventures. Our journey had been eventful and our overall budget, amazingly inexpensive.

Recalling our hiking in the wilderness when we had painstakingly etched our names on a downwards sloping chestnut tree trunk, we hastly promised to return in winter and unravel our name imprints from the same truck. Our next visit however amidst the winter's snow, would portray a different picturesque of Murree altogether. An adventure not to missed.

Top 10 Sights

The Duomo

Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo or Cathedral, is the very heart of Florence, dominating the city with its massive dome. The dome, designed by Brunelleschi was the largest of its time, completed in 1436 without the use of scaffolding. The Duomo is clad in Multi-coloured marble and is visible all over the city - towering over the neighbouring buildings, or glimpsed looming at the end of a narrow medieval street. If you have the energy, climb the 463 steps to the top and enjoy magnificent views.

Baptistry Doors

There are 3 sets of beautiful and artistically important baptistery doors, the most significant being the east doors commissioned by Ghiberti in 1401, and depicting scenes from the New Testament. Seven leading artists of the time entered a competition to create the doors, and some of these examples are regarded as the first products of the Renaissance. Michelangelo named these doors "The Gate of Paradise". However, the ones in place are copies; the originals can be seen in Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (just behind the Duomo).

Ponte Vecchio

This famous bridge, literally the "Old Bridge", was built in 1345, and is the oldest in Florence. It has always accommodated workshops of one kind or another, though by 1600, the butchers, tanners and blacksmiths, who polluted the river with their offal and waste and caused a choking stench over the city, were evicted. The shops were renovated and rebuilt, and leased to the inoffensive jewellery trade. To this day, the bridge is lined with pretty shops selling modern, classic and antique jewellery to suit every budget. The bridge escaped the bombs of WW2, some say as a direct result of an order from Hitler, while others say the bomber pilot approached the bridge at sunset and could not bear to destroy such an ancient and beautiful structure. So he dropped his bombs elsewhere, out of harms way.

Galleria dell'Accademia

This is the Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1563, and the first European school to teach the techniques of drawing, painting and sculpture. Many of Michaelangelo's important works can be found in the Accademia, including a statue of St Matthew and the "Four Prisoners", dramatically depicting muscular figures struggling to escape from blocks

of stone. The most dominant work is the "David", Michaelangelo's magnificent, massive, nude classical statue of David, the biblical hero who killed Goliath. David, sculpted in marble in 1504, has recently been beautifully restored.

Palazzo Pitti

Started in 1457 for the banker Luca Pitti, this enormous building was intended to show the powerful Medici banking family that it had a worthy rival. Ironically, ongoing building costs bankrupted the Pitti heirs and the palace was bought by the Medicis who made it their main residence. The rooms are lavishly decorated and, today, exhibit many treasures from the Medici collections. The Renaissance style Boboli Gardens, are laid out behind the palace.

Uffizi Gallery

Originally a suite of offices for Duke Cosimo1, this is probably the oldest art gallery in the world. From about 1580, Cosimo's heirs began to use the building to exhibit art treasures belonging to the Medici family. Today, the gallery is laid out in such a way to guide the visitor through the development of Florentine art from the Gothic period to the High Renaissance, and beyond. A number of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures are also displayed.

Church of Sante Croce

Legend tells us that St Francis founded this church himself. The current building, started around 1294 to replace an older construction, is the biggest Franciscan church in the world. The beautiful, austere Gothic structure contains the tombs of several famous Florentines, including Michaelangelo and Galileo. There are also sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils.

Piazza della Signoria

This unique, spacious square is enhanced by the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall (1322), and the Loggia dei Lanzi (1382), a graceful, airy loggia, housing famous statues by Cellini and Giambologna and ancient Roman statues of priestesses. Further sculptures in this unique square include an heraldic lion by Donatello, the spectacular Neptune Fountain by Ammannanti, Giambologna's statue of Cosimo 1 on horseback and a copy of Michaelangelo's David, all dating from the 1500's..

Piazza Michelangelo

The piazza is situated on a hill slightly south east of the city centre. It dates from 1860 and is home to copies of Michaelangelo's famous statues. There are far reaching views over the rooftops, spires, towers and domes of Florence, the largest being the rich, red dome of the Duomo itself. Beyond, lie the misty purple hills of Fiesole.

San Lorenzo Market

This outdoor market has an excellent selection of good quality and reasonably priced goods, such as leather gloves, jackets, belts and bags of all descriptions; scarves, pashminas and ties; painted trays; costume jewellery and Florentine souvenirs of every type.

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Bargello

Superb collection of beautiful Renaissance sculpture, including works by Michaelangelo, Donatello, Giambologna, Cellini and others.

Medici Tombs

 Adorned with some of Michaelangelo's finest works.

Casa Buonarotti

Michaelangelo's house for a short time, housing some of his personal belongings and works.

Palazzo Davanzati

Typical home of a wealthy Florentine family of the 1500's.

Church of Santo Spirito

 Augustinian church dating from 1250, with beautiful colonnaded aisles.

Church of San Lorenzo

 Parish church of the Medici family.

Church of Santa Maria Novella

 Gothic church housing important artworks.

Convent of San Marco

Beautiful, simple setting for a superb collection of devotional frescoes by Fra Angelico.

Brancacci Chapel

Frescoes depicting the life of St Peter, commissioned around 1424.

Mercato Centrale

Big, covered food market tucked away in the depths of the San Lorenzo market.