So now what....Italy?

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.

 

We went to Verona in 2019. A beautiful city. We did our obligatory train trip to go to Lake Garda and Sirmione, taking the ferry too.
So much to do and see in Verona.

 

We once had a few days at Lake Garda as part of a longer trip. Made the mistake of staying at Sirmione. Big mistake. It looks lovely on the publicity pics, but it was absolutely heaving and the old medieval streets were just rammed with ice cream parlours. Probably the worst place I've stayed at in Italy.

 

To be honest the boat and train trip were the best bit of that day. Wouldn't want to stay there. If you've not been to Bologna before you will love it. Hoping to revisit Sicily for OH's 70th later in the year. We went there on our honeymoon and want to visit the bits we didn't see then. OH is learning Italian at night class, so we have to go so he can try out his conversation skills

 

The amphitheater was being renovated when we visited but managed to get through the narrow passage to “ Romeo and Juliet’s balcony “

The murals on the building walls in the marketplace are awesome. SiL took us to a restaurant out in the wilds, looked like an old farm cafeteria or similar. The food was outstandingly good and cheap too. Italy has got the lot!

 

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

 

Yes, I'm really looking forward to Bologna. The last time I was there was in August 1980. I was travelling through with a drama group from Essex, to stay in Forli. We arrived at the station and had a conversation about going to the bar/cafe but decided not to, as there were people outside waiting to take us to Forli. Ten minutes after we left the station in a minibus a bomb in the bar/cafe blew up, killing 85 people. We'd have been right in the centre of the explosion and undoubtedly killed.

Sicily is awesome. We did a fortnight tour of the island in 2018. Fantastic.
We started in the centre of Palermo and worked our way around anti clockwise. We stopped at Erice, Agrigento, Noto, Syracusa, Taormina, Cefalu and then back to Palermo before flying home.
It was all excellent. We particularly liked Noto, Syracuse and, especially, Cefalu, which is a lovely little seaside place a short train ride away from Palermo. Well worth the visit.

 

It is stunning isn’t it.

 

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.

 

I spent three weeks travelling round France, had an amazing time but gave Paris a wide berth. Car loaded up with wine

 

And can we all just agree watching Leeds collapse quicker than the England batting line up and marching on to the championship is a joy to watch.

 

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

 

Apparently we are going to have a warm summer so might go to coast. I love sea but very rarely sample the sea in this country too cold even on a blistering day. Just don’t fancy flying, I love cruising but with COVID still lurking, might not bother going abroad.

 

Only just seen this thread so will have a read through.

However, heading to Milan in July with a tour of San Siro on the cards and a trip to Turin. All pointers welcome...

 

Don’t think you can go wrong anywhere in northern Italy. Only been once but it was fleeting, reading through this thread I think I’ll have to book next year.

 

Shelf well worth a visit?
Really?