Most liked posts in thread: So now what....Italy?

That's useful to know, Ann. I'll be traveling from Fano to Bologna by train on 12th July. I'll bear it in mind.

 

I went skiing in Bellagio in the early 80s when I was in the army...I recall a drunken swim in Lake Como in February (twas a tad chilly).
It was a beautiful place then and I hope it has aged better that I have.

 

We've seen the whole of the first series on iPlayer. It's great. Can't wait for the second series which will likely visit more places that I've never been to. Apart from Milan, I've been to all of the series 1 destinations.

 

Milan, architecturally in the centre , is something off another planet. The shopping mall on the main square is incredible. Worth a visit.

 

Been going to Italy, sometimes two or three times a year, for decades. Got some good Italian friends whose huge renovated Tuscan farmhouse we stay in almost every year, just north of San Gimignano. Also been there to work in recent times, based in Arezzo, 50 miles or so south of Florence. Going back for three months next April, so we'd better have promotion in the bag by then.I won't go into all the delights of Tuscany only to say it's the most beautiful place on God's earth and if you've never been you certainly should. Driving on Italian roads takes some getting used to as road directions are very quirky, but I'm proud to say I was once parped at by other Italian drivers for performing an outrageous u-turn on a dual carriageway in Perugia. So I felt I'd arrived.
Trains are excellent. Usually very reliable and incredibly cheap compared to the UK. And a return costs exactly twice as much as a single. Weird eh? The fast trains are amazing but I wouldn't extend that to all the lines. We once went from Assissi to Rome to meet some friends and chose the cheaper, slower alternative, an ancient diesel unit. Shortly after departure it ground to a halt and the driver came through the door from his cabin, banged with his fist on a large metal box over the door and then we started up again. This happened several times before we reached the eternal city. On the way back we took a super fast electric that started to falter after half an hour or so. After a couple of stops it was announced that we would have to wait for a replacement to reach us. About two minutes later we started again and went like a rocket for the rest of the journey.
Sicily is fantastic in the tourist spots, especially the Noto and Syracusa area (Montalbano country) but off the beaten track it is frequently absolutely filthy with fly-tipping everywhere. So beware if you go.
Absolutely fantastic country in so many ways, as I can see many of you already know.
And if you want a great football book read A Season with Verona by Tim Parks, the best, and funniest, football book I've ever read.

 

After experiencing Manchester airport security three weeks ago I might be joining you in the train camp.

 

Never travelled to Italy but this thread, has certainly got me thinking...

 

Some fabulous walks, if you don't suffer from vertigo do the Walk of the Gods. Some of the coastal resorts are a bit honey pot touristy, but you can always get good food and wine. Some inland villages are quite special. Don't miss Pompeii. Naples is a bit rough and actually pretty filthy, but has a fabulous museum. We got the train from there out to the Roman ruins at Paestum, recommended.

 

Agree totally. Some of my favourite places are in Puglia. The hilltop white town of Ostuni is lovely, so is the small city of Lecce and just over the border in Basilicata is Matera, a fascinating place. Up until the 1950s people lived in caves in real poverty. Now some of the caves are done up as fancy hotels. We stayed in 1 for a couple of nights but too claustrophobic for me.
Have been to Rome 3 times now and I am sure we will go back again at some point.

 

We did an organised tour to Vietnam (Highlights of Vietnam with Exodus) just before lockdown that followed that route quite closely. We did an overnight train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi and visited a national park with spectacular caves. We didn't stay in Da Nang but caught an internal flight to Saigon from there. It seemed like a large sprawling seaside resort with lots if high rise hotels. We did stay in Hoi An, which we really liked.

We got the train down to London and flew from Heathrow. At that time it worked out cheaper than flying from Manchester even with an overnight hotel thrown in.

I'd say your itinerary looks fine, but personally I'd swap Hoi An for Da Nang.

We loved our trip and avoided getting run over by a scooter, a major success. The people and the food are lovely

 

Direct flights from Leeds Bradford to Sicily now:

https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/best-in-leeds/whats-on-news/jet2-launches-direct-flights-leeds-23913696

 

When I saw the title I quickly got very excited that we were having a pre season tour of Italy!

That along with the Sparks trip to Bologna I quickly, and incorrectly, assumed the best.

Bologna away would be awesome.

 

He was a big fan of speedway at odsal and was always positive in his hopes to see speedway back there in future.

 

Ravello down to Minori is even worse. We often walked down to Amalfi although spent more time in Atrani just next door, avoided the cruise ship tossers....mainly obnoxious yanks

 

A fine specimen, decent size for a 9 week old...

 

I agree Tony, it’s only a few hours…Little un keeps nicking the jealously guarded toys…..It’s funny!

 

Perhaps if Blair had invested in infrastructure rather than touchy feely quangos and partying with Oasis we would be. Stands well back.........