I arrived in Italy just after Easter and as spring was in full swing. The weather was glorious, the food delicious and it was a jam packed two weeks. My tour of Italy included Venice, Verona, Florence, Pisa, Naples, and ending in Palermo (in Sicily)
Day 1 - Venice
After 2 days already in Venice (refer to my Dubrovnik to Venice blog), I was keen to go off the beaten track and explore the areas that tourists don't usually visit.
My first stop was the Scala Contarini Del Bovolo which is an impressive 15th century staircase, in the heart of Venice. It offers unique views of the city, including San Marco Basilica and St Mark’s Campanile Cathedral Tower. It is a little hidden, off the tourist trail, so will require navigating Venice's side streets, but when you see this sign you are pretty much there:
Once you enter, there is a courtyard which you need to cross in order to access the ticket office. There is a small entrance fee to go up and assigned time slots to limit the flow of people. During the peak season (May-Sept) you will need to book in advance, but when I arrived it wasn’t busy so I got a time slot almost immediately.
Enjoy the views as you slowly climb this beautiful staircase and at the top there is a sort of viewing “parlour” which is pleasant. It doesn’t take too long to go up and down, but it depends how long you want to spend up there. For me I only spent an hour or so before making my way back down.
The next stop was to head to Giudecca, which is a small island on the South Lagoon of Venice. To get there you need to travel via water taxi, it is only about 1km from San Marco but it feels very different.
I was lucky that when I visited it was on the eve of the Venice Arts festival so in the main art district there were interesting art exhibitions to enjoy.
It is also worth crossing the Grand Canal to just to see the views of Venice from the other side and there are also some really nice places to eat on this side of Venice.
I visited Majer which is a traditional Italian restaurant, it is a little expensive but the food is good quality.
I spent most of my time in the Giudecca art district, checking out the art installations. It was fascinating and I imagine there are different exhibitions every year.
After spending a couple or so hours walking around this area, I headed back to Venice. There were a couple of attractions still left on my list. First was the Ponte Dei Sospiri (the bridge of sighs). This bridge is interesting not because of its architecture (although the baroque-style grill/lattice is certainly unique).
It is interesting because of the grim history attached with the bridge. The bridge used to connect the Doge’s Palace to the old Prison and as the story goes, prisoners were taken from sentencing in the Palace across this bridge and they would sigh as they walked across. Why the sighing? The prisoners sighed because the bridge offered them their last view of Venice before execution. Yep, grim all right.
Consider this history the next time you see a couple taking a selfie in front of the bridge!
Finally, it was time for a bit of exploration. Like the great explorer himself, I was going to see if I could discover a hidden treasure - Marco Polo’s House. This proved to be more challenging than one would imagine, as there are several homes in Venice where the famous explorer lived - even if you ruled out the Marco Polo house in Giudecca which is an erroneous Google entry.
However after a bit of research I was able to find the street (Corte del Milion) and a plaque nearby.
If you do a Gondola tour then they might take you past it depending on where your tour starts/ends.
The day ended with Gelato - like all good days in Venice should. I went to a highly recommended place called Gelateria Alaska and it did not disappoint, I tried the Strawberry Gelato which was very satisfying:
Day 2 - Verona
It was time to leave Venice behind me and continue my tour of Italy. The next stop was Verona was quite a contrast to the busy Venice. I travelled via train (Trenitalia) with the journey only taking 2 hours. I was thoroughly impressed with the train service in Italy; it was fast, reliable and professional - which is more than I can say about the trains in England. I arrived early which allowed me time to explore the city. Most people who have heard Verona are probably aware of it because of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet play, which is set in this city. The play begins with the immortal line - "In fair Verona where we lay our scene…" and for fans of the great playwright there is much to see here. The main attraction is of course Juliet House and the famous balcony but other locations include Romeo’s House and the church where Romeo and Juliet were married.
An interesting fact I learnt whilst here is that William Shakespeare never visited Verona, he relied on depictions from others (possibly merchant friends). Even the hostel I am staying in has a Shakespeare connection - the resident cat is called Mercuzio (after Mercutio)
I arrived on 25th of April, which also happens to be a national holiday in Italy. The holiday is to celebrate Liberation day, which is when facisim was overthrown in Italy after the second world war. When I was walking around, I spotted a few clues that it was a special day, more Italian flags and it seemed busier, particularly with more families around.
I was lucky enough to catch some of the celebrations in the main square including a live brass band which played the national anthem (I love the Italian national anthem)
I didn't stay long as I felt bad taking up a spot as a foreigner and I was also keen to see more of Verona as I only have 2 days here. I made my way to the medieval castle - Castelvecchio (Old Castle). This castle was built in stages, from the 14th century and is a key landmark in Verona. The entrance fee includes the museum and access to the castle walls, providing good views of the Ponte Di Castelvecchio (Mediaeval Bridge) and River Adige. It's definitely worth a visit if you have got a bit of time in Verona.
As evening approached I realised I had no plan for dinner so inevitably I ended up buying takeaway. I found this neat pizza place not far from the hostel that serves Neapolitan style pizza. It was very convenient and I had fresh pizza boxed up within 10 minutes. The pizza did the job and when I got back it was time to meet my roommates. I found out that most people are only here for a couple of days as well. There was talk about joining a walking tour but I had a notion of going to Lake Garda tomorrow, if the weather behaves that is!
Day 3 - Verona
My last day in Verona didn't quite go to plan, but in the end I had a lot of fun.
The weather was pretty awful today, there were heavy clouds in the morning and it was raining pretty much all day. I had originally planned to get a bus to Lake Garda, but I changed my plan and went on the free walking tour instead. A walking tour in the rain isn't so bad as you still get to see the sights and learn some history when otherwise you might have been forced to take shelter inside. I joined up with my hostel friends and we had a lot of fun throughout the tour. We saw Roman ruins, monuments and also learnt about the history of Castelvecchio which I visited yesterday. As the weather did not improve we ended up ducking out of the rain and going to a restaurant called Il Burchio. It was our only option really and in the end we stayed longer than planned, I think nearly 4 hours. This was a result of excellent food (the pasta and seafood dishes were delightful), coupled with free flowing conversation. It was one of those days where you don’t keep track of time and just enjoy the moment.
Eventually we had to leave as they were closing the restaurant. In the evening (when the weather improved), a few of us went to see the sunset at Castel San Pietro. It is quite a lot of steps to climb but worth it for the view, the sunset over Verona is beautiful and we watched the sky change colour as dusk approached, it was dark by the time we left.
So unsurprisingly I was in the same position as last night, no dinner plans, except with company this time. So I took everyone to the takeaway place for the same pizza again! At least I knew it would be good :)
After this, we went back to the hostel and played cards until late and despite the abysmal weather today, this was actually one of the most enjoyable days I have had on my travels so far.
Day 4 - Florence
It's Day 4 and time to move on already. I was sad to leave Verona, I really enjoyed it there and also the people I met but such is life. Travelling by train again, I was moving another notch south, this time stopping at Florence.
The journey was pretty smooth and I arrived at my hostel early for check-in. I used the extra time I had to plan the next 2 and half days as I have some difficult choices to make.
I was not feeling too well today, perhaps it was the weather yesterday which caught me out, in any case my plan is to do an afternoon walking tour which will allow me an early night. I used Guru Walks as they had an afternoon tour with availability and the tour guide was pretty good. He taught us about the famous Medici clan, their influence and contribution towards shaping the city into the one of most prosperous in Europe. We learnt about the unprecedented investment in the Arts, Science and Theology. We also learnt about the fierce rivalry between the Medicis and other families and how Florence became the instigator of the Renaissance (rebirth) in Italy. We visited old Medici palaces, the roman market square and of course Michealangelo’s David which concluded the tour.
After this I was very tired and in desperate need of rest, so I was happy to sacrifice the evening for hopefully a better tomorrow.
Day 5 - Florence
I am feeling a bit better today. I got up later than usual and the extra rest seemed to help.
The plan for today is to spend the majority of the day in the famous Uffizi Art Gallery and Museum. If there is one museum you must visit when in Florence, it is this one.
Tickets must be bought in advance and anticipating a later start, I had procured a ticket for a late morning slot. This was very useful as it allowed me time to get a decent breakfast before visiting. After a little bit of searching I found the “breakfast street” - that is the place where you can get a cooked breakfast rather than those inadequate pastries. The place I chose was also vegetarian friendly so it was perfect. Once fueled up I made my way to the museum via the Ponte Vecchio bridge.
I knew that the museum was very large but even when I arrived I was still surprised by the size and scale. The museum tour is set up such that you can walk from one end to the other, viewing paintings from different eras, from the 14th century to contemporary artwork. This chronological ordering is useful, but it also forced me to decide which area to focus on. There was no way I could see it all.
I wanted to focus on the Renaissance period first, after all I am in Florence so I started with those rooms but devoted a little bit of time to early/pre renaissance artists, the likes of Botticelli and such. I am not an art connoisseur so my knowledge on paintings and famous artists is limited at best, but I was aware of the Renaissance masters that are Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rafeallo:
I used the audio guide to help provide context as I ventured into the different rooms and observed the masterpieces. In the end I spent over 4 hours in the gallery before I decided it was time to move on, I could have easily spent a lot longer too. It really is an impressive building with magnificent displays. After the Art Gallery, I thought it would be a good idea to follow-up on some tips I got yesterday from the walking tour, so I went to the Bibliotech della Obleta which is a public library with good views of the Duomo.
The library has an interesting history, in the 13th century it was a convent before being converted into a public library. It is still possible to see the relics from this past in stone sculptures in the courtyard. I ended the day by viewing a sunset in Florence, making my way to Piazza Michelangelo. It was really beautiful, it is hard to describe the feeling as you watch the sun disappear behind the horizon with a skyline that includes Florence's Medici palaces and the iconic Duomo.
After the sunset, I visited a restaurant which specialises in Risotto, in fact they go further than this - everything on the menu is rice-based including the appetizers which were rice bread parcels.
You can read more about it in my food blog. Needless to say it was a very satisfying meal and a great way to conclude a productive day.
Day 6 - Pisa
Today I decided to do a day trip to Pisa. I had seen most of what I wanted to in Florence and with the public transport favourable in Italy, it would be a shame not to visit Pisa even if it's just for the day.
I caught a local train which takes just over an hour and I used this time to look into what else can be seen in Pisa. It turns out this town has more to offer than just the famous leaning Tower. When I arrived, I started my walk towards the other side of town where all the main attractions are - the tower, the Renaissance Palace, Pisa Cathedral and Bapistry. It takes roughly 25 minutes to get there and you will cross a bridge on the way, which gives you an opportunity to enjoy the views of the River Arno.
When I arrived at the tower it was not too busy, but it got a lot busier during the day with tourists posing for selfies and trying to do that thing where you pretend to hold up the tower. A fun thing you can do, if you are so inclined, is to mildly annoy tourists by creeping up on them and trying to hi-five the hands they have left hanging in the air
After this fun, I went to buy a ticket for Pisa Cathedral and the Tower of Pisa. It is free to view the tower but if you want to climb it you have to pay. The combo ticket cost €20, although the cathedral access is free really. The ticket permits 30 minutes in total (including climbing up and down the stairs) which is plenty of time. After a little wait I was able to enter and I was greeted with this strange sight when I looked up:
I found it a bit uncomfortable climbing the stairs, you can really feel the tilt as you ascend and there are a lot of steps.
It is not for the claustrophobic or faint hearted that's for sure but worth persevering to the top. The tilted view is a pretty unusual experience, the staff working there try to hurry you on around to the next level up but don’t feel the pressure as there is plenty of time.
These are some of the views you can expect to enjoy:
The next stop was Pisa Cathedral (next door), which is impressive in its own right. The exterior is snow-white marble and the architecture is very striking. It obviously gets overshadowed by the tower but the inside is a treat - it hosts large renaissance frescoes and a beautiful altar. It doesn’t take long to explore but it depends how much you are into churches.
After this I found a lunch spot with a view:
There was not much more to do here other than go for a wander, so I looked into a route that allowed me to see the Renaissance Palace which was the residence of the Dukes of Tuscany, including Cosimo I De Medici, the 2nd Duke of Florence. I also stumbled across the statue of Galileo who lived in Pisa during when the tower was built. Interestingly he is famous for dropping 2 cannon balls off the top of the Tower of Pisa to demonstrate the theory of Freefall.
Pisa done, Day 6 done and the journey continues tomorrow.
Day 7 - Naples
It was time to move on again and journey further south. I boarded a train from Florence to Naples which took 3 hours. I found the speed quite impressive as the distance is around 300 miles.
I arrived early at the hostel again and the staff were very friendly, allowing me to check-in earlier than normal, they also provided me with a map which they annotated with the key attractions.
The hostel has a very relaxed vibe and in the common room there is this pretty cool world map which travellers have added to:
After settling in, I wanted to explore the nearest attraction to the hostel which is the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish Quarter).
It took 12 minutes to get into the heart of the Spanish Quarter and as soon as I entered I knew I was in a different part of Naples. It is a very distinctive area, the streets are narrow, and everything is tightly coupled - the houses, balconies, alleyways and stairs. Originally the neighbourhood was built as a garrison for the Spanish soldiers during the occupation and rule of Naples, but the quarter is now known for being a bustling shopping district with markets, shops and many pizzerias. I was aimlessly wandering around so I missed all the hidden murals and street art in the side alleyways.
I finished my walk by late evening and decided to have my first taste of Neapolitan pizza. The Pizzeria near the hostel offered takeaway and I decided to try it out (the first of many!)
I ordered Quattro Formaggio (4 cheese) which is a very classic Italian pizza and it was so cheap - only 5 Euros!
It was extremely filling and there was only one thing I was going to do after devouring it - Sleep!
Day 8 - Naples
Today was pretty full on. I was booked on a tour of Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius which meant an early start.
I had a speedy breakfast at the hostel before making my way to the pick-up point in the centre of Naples. There were 5 other people in the group from different hotels so it was a “semi-private” tour.
The price was pretty reasonable for the tour, especially as the admission for Pompeii and Vesuvius was free (due to labour day which is a national holiday) so the cost in total was 60 euros for private transport, lunch and a guide for Pompeii.
Pompeii was really interesting, I had already visited the “Pompeii of Greece” - Akrotiri in Santorini but Pompeii was on another scale altogether. It is obviously more famous and the tragedy is more recent, only 2 millennia ago.
The ancient city is very large, and without a guide it would have been difficult to navigate. This is what I learnt about the eventful day in which Mt Vesuvius erupted:
In 79 AD, at 11am (according to Roman writer Pliny), Mt Vesuvius erupted. This resulted in a large column of volcanic ash and debris shooting up into the sky (about 20 miles) raining down on the unfortunate roman residents of Pompeii with this eruption continuing for 2 days. As there was no lava, the destruction was limited to the roofs and the 2nd stories of houses which collapsed due to the volcanic ash. However fortunately for historians this perfectly preserved the ruins including, human bones, animal carcasses, roman columns, frescos and even the food people were eating. The impact of the volcanic eruption was such that it even created a new land frontier as Pompeii was originally a port city on the Gulf of Naples.
Our guide was really good and she spent time painting a picture of what it would be like to live in this 1st century roman settlement. We spent around 2 hours walking around the ancient city of Pompeii and the museum before heading to Mount Vesuvius.
Mt Vesuvius is still active (one of two volcanoes in Italy, the other one is Etna) and is around 1200m altitude. The tour included a walk around the crater, fortunately you don’t need to hike 1200m - although I would have been happy to. There is a car park around 1000m up and then you climb the last 200m on foot.
The crater is very impressive and if you look closely as you walk around, you will spot the smoke and vapours emerging from the depths of the crater, proving that it is still very much active.
However, apart from the view of the crater and the views of Naples, there is no reason to spend too long there. We spent about 1.5 hours on the crater, walking slowly and completing the full round trip before it was time to go back.
Day 9 - Naples
This morning I attended a class on Pizza-making in a restaurant, not just any class but the famous traditional Naples Pizza. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed myself.
It wasn’t just about making pizza, we also learnt about the history of Pizza during the course, for example learning that Margherita was the first Pizza and it was invented here in Naples. It was created by a chef to honour Queen Margherita of Spain who visited Naples in 1889 and the colours represent the Italian national flag - Tomato base (Red), Mozzarella (White) and Basil (Green).
We made the Pizza from scratch, including preparing the dough, the toppings and even utilising a clay-oven to bake our Pizzas.
Even though we "only" made a Margherita Pizza, which in theory is simple, it involved a number of steps and special techniques at various stages.
My pizza came out well and tasted pretty good. It was quite an accomplishment to make something like this from scratch. I had to eat the whole thing by myself so that was lunch and dinner for me!
Later in the afternoon, I went to the Spanish Quarter to find the hidden street art and murals. First up was the large Diego Maradona mural (he is like a god here) and then I allowed myself to get lost in the side streets and I found also sorts of different works:
I even saw someone in the act of creating a new piece:
Unfortunately the weather then took a turn for the worse so I had to curtail my walk (and my plan for the sunset).
Day 10 - Naples
It was my last day in Naples and I decided to explore the east coast, more specifically the Amalfi and Sorrento. I opted for Sorrento in the end because it was logistically easier for travel and also based on a recommendation from other people in the hostel who said there was more to do there. The journey took about 1 hour 20 minutes via the commuter train from the Naples Centrale train station. The journey was ok, but it was a very slow train which got quite busy with tourists and commuters alike.
Once in Sorrento, I found that getting to the beach is far from straightforward. There are a lot of steps to ascend/descend to get to different parts of the coastline. However the views are very impressive from the top, so it's worth seeing those first before rushing down to the beach.
Especially the coastline and the bay of Naples - I managed to get some really good pictures. I ventured to the furthest end of the coast to a beach called Spiaggio di Sorrento.
It seemed to be the largest and not too busy, it was definitely more of a beach than the others which seem to be more akin to a pier with sun loungers laid out. I had an enjoyable few hours relaxing on the beach and later visited a traditional seafood restaurant for lunch which was really good.
It was a nice way to spend my last day here, especially with the weather being so pleasant. Later when I was back in Naples, I made my way to Castel Sant'Elmo for the sunset. It is the best place to see a sunset over the bay of Naples and even though it wasn't the best day for it, I took in the views for the last time. I stayed until it was dusk, watching the city lights appear.
Farewell Naples!
Day 11 - Palermo
This morning I flew from Naples to Palermo. It was only the 4th time I've flown on this trip, it has been my intention to make use of alternatives where possible such as train, ferry and car which so far has been successful. I even considered a combination of bus, train and ferry to get across to Sicily but in the end it just was not feasible. The flight was the shortest so far, it was so rapid that as soon as we took off we seemed to be getting ready for landing and I was in Palermo before lunchtime.
I checked in to my hostel, and I was immediately impressed with the look and feel - check out this guitar wall:
The hostel vibe is summed up by its name - A Casa Di Amici which simply means “House of Friends”. It was super chill with a great atmosphere and I liked the musical instruments - you cannot walk far before seeing a set of drums lying about. Once settled in I went straight out to the Palermo historic centre, finding the Ballaro market (one of the 4 famous markets) so I could get some street food for lunch.
It was a nice day and I took my time to enjoy the sights. I decided that I would make dinner tonight instead of going out, partly to save money and partly just for a change. So this gave me a chance to use the hostel facilities and relax there this evening. Of course, I cooked Pasta (when in Rome… I mean Palermo)
During dinner I met a student who was here to learn Italian and she invited me out to a language exchange group in town. I had no other plans so went along for the ride. The meeting was held in Wanderlust which I thought was apt, until I found out it was called that because it is an international travel themed bar. There was a quiz, followed by Karaoke which got a bit out of hand (as is usually the case) and I really enjoyed it there. Normally I am a bit hesitant about these types of awkward get togethers but it was a lot of fun!
We ended the night by doing a walking tour through the streets, passing through the busy Vucchiera area where there were people dancing and drinking in the street late into the night.
It was a bizarre night really, to go from a pub quiz to seeing people partying in the streets like crazy , on Wednesday, at 3am… Well it only happens here.
The one advantage of being out this late was that Palermo’s iconic monuments and buildings were now very empty - there was finally a chance to get some pictures. So we did just that in front of the Teatro di Massimo.
Day 12 - Palermo
After quite a late night, I really struggled to get up on time. I managed to shower, get dressed, and make a hasty breakfast before rushing to the meeting point for my walking tour.
It was a surprise when I saw someone else from the hostel waiting at the tour, so we got chatting just before the tour started.
The tour guide was knowledgeable, but she engaged in folly in the busier areas of Palermo. I found it inexcusable that she insisted on trying to compete with the noise of various distractions - a vintage car show and street performers instead of just taking the tour group to a quiet corner to explain things.
However I did learn some interesting facts and I made a note of places to visit on Friday. After the tour we went to Capo market and tried some vegetarian street food which was nice.
I had no concrete plans for the day but I thought if the weather was nice it would be worth a trip to Mondello beach. On our walk back to the centre we stumbled across a sightseeing tour which goes to Monreale, which is where the famous Cathedral is. We were informed the tour leaves at 14:00 so we had to decide fairly soon if we were going to go. Our guide for the walking tour had eulogised about the cathedral so we figured it was worth a trip. This put paid to my plan to go to Mondello beach but I was happy to just go with the flow on this occasion.
The bus journey took about 30 minutes and that left us about 1.5hrs to explore the cathedral, museum, terrace and gardens. It was pretty interesting, especially the murals inside the cathedral (which must have been costly) and the museum was impressive with many exhibits and a nice view from the terrace.
I got back to the hostel and was feeling a bit tired. Whilst drinking tea I met this guy at the hostel who was only in Palermo for the day. He wanted to go to Mondello, perhaps for the sunset. This was quite serendipitous and I summoned up my remaining energy to join him.
We had fun and games trying to work out how to get there via bus but we got there in the end. It wasn’t a great sunset but I was glad that I got to see the beach . We both got Gelatos and chilled until it was dark before heading back.
Day 13 - Palermo
It is my last day in Palermo (and Italy) and I used it to indulge myself in my favourite pastime - Hiking. Today’s challenge was Mount Pellegrino which is only 606 metres above sea level.
I got up relatively early in order to start the hike. The rain was expected later so I was keen to get up (and possibly down) the mountain before the deluge began.
As it happened I was caught in the rain at the summit when I reached the Saint Rosaline sanctuary, however at this point I was in the cave so protected.
It only got really heavy just as I was about 20 minutes from the bottom. This was uncomfortable, but I survived. I’ve written a separate blog covering the full exploits which you can read here.
Despite the rain it was enjoyable and I was glad to get some hiking in before I leave Sicily as the country has a lot to offer in terms of nature. I did not manage to visit Mount Etna on this trip which is on my bucket list, but the next time I am here I will stay in Catania and attempt the hike.
In the evening I went to Palermo pub crawl to experience a Friday night in Palermo. After Wednesday I was curious to see what Friday would be like and Palermo did no disappoint.
The weather was awful but a lot of people were out and we made the most of the situation. I quite enjoyed the evening, I met some interesting people and it was good to experience a proper night out here, even if it meant sacrificing a lot of sleep!
I've really enjoyed Italy, two weeks of great food, amazin weather and met so many cool people but the out must continue... on to North Africa for new adventures!
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