For many years now I've been looking to visit Italy, but which area to choose ?
So many key areas to experience, but an all round trip wasn't available .. until now.
As soon as the 'An Italian Adventure - Shakespeare's Verona to Sicily's Shores' tour appeared onsite I was straight in. It fitted my bill perfectly. I just had to wait 18 months to do it 🙂
I have just returned, landing 2 days ago and what a trip it was !
An awful lot packed in, especially with the 'add ons', and very tiring. So rewarding, though.
Day 1 .. Gatwick was our starting point and a lot of us gathered and met up in the Lounge provided. Always a good starter.
At check-in I was met and assisted by our Holiday Director, Gracia (Grace to all of us). She was brilliant throughout our holidays and played a huge part in ensuring things ran well, smoothly and on time ! There were a few hiccups along the way which she handled superbly. Grazie, Gracia ! There were 31 of us, 23 ladies and 8 gents including 3 who had flown in from Canada ! The group gelled extremely well and an awful lot of fun was had by all !
We landed in Verona at 5pm local and the feared new security system actually proved a breeze. A quick drive then followed to our hotel giving us time to freshen up before a welcome drink and 'dinner' (!) We had eaten typical airport lounge food prior to boarding and I, for one, had counted on a proper meal in the evening. It didn't turn out that way. We actually had a 'buffet dinner', which consisted of a mix of pastries, small sandwiches and a rather odd Radish Lasagne .. I kid you not !
We all expected something better and we hoped this wasn't going to be 'the norm' for two weeks. It wasn't 🙂
2) Breakfast was an excellent spread, as it was throughout. We gathered at 9:30 for our walking tour of Verona. A very interesting tour including a visit to see Romeo and Juliet's balcony. I'm no history buff, certainly not Bill Shakespeare, but I was sort of surprised the iconic balcony was actually a sarcophagus built in the 1930s for a Hollywood film ! It kind of destroyed the myth ! With a 2 hour tour, lunch (pizza, what else ?), free time and a 25 mins walk to and from town to the hotel it was around 2:30 before we set off for Treviso, our base for the next two nights. Dinner was a proper dinner this time, but was still below par. A choice of beef or fish for the main. Everyone who ordered beef found a big discrepancy in what arrived at the table. No choice of rare to well done, but that's what we got ! Half of mine was 'cooked', but the other half was red .. I think chef waved a match at it ! And then they were two short on the desserts 😂. So, still room for improvement.
3) Today, Venice. A half hour drive to the Port to catch our exclusive boat for the 20 mins sail to Venice. We met our guides and split into two groups for the walking tour. It was very busy, despite being 'out of season' (if there is such a thing). A lot to see and experience on a warm, sunny day, which proved to be the case for all bar two days. We then had 2.5 hours free time. Some chose the gondola experience and others lunch and a sit down (!) first. We were back on the boat at 3:15 and at the hotel by 5pm. We were all looking forward to dinner as we were visiting a Winery for a meal with wine tasting. It turned out to be one of the best evenings we had. Very good food including the best Lasagne I've ever had (not a radish in sight) paired with excellent wines. We finished with a shot of the local fire water, Grappa. Mixed reviews on that one. I rather enjoyed it !
4) Today we headed for Bologna and the usual format of walking tour, lunch and free time followed. Before we departed a stop was made at the 'best' gelataria for 3 scoops of ice cream. No one complained ! Back on the coach we set off for our next base in Montecatini 2 hours away. A very swish hotel awaited us. 3 nights here looked promising. Over the next 3 nights we meandered down the road for 5 mins to find a choice of very good eateries. The whole area was very pleasant indeed.
5) Today was set to be a busy one. First up was Pisa. Coached to a car park we then transferred to a little train, which took us to the Pisa entrance 5 mins away. Once again huge numbers of people had gathered in hot, sunny conditions. It seemed like most were taking the obligatory photo of them 'holding up' the leaning tower. It was a great and iconic building to see. Quite a few paid the 20 euros to climb to the top. I chose not to and was happy with my decision (not the only executive decision I made). Those of us who had signed up for the Lucca visit prepared ourselves for another two hours on foot. This followed a lunch break. At around 5pm we headed back to the hotel 30 mins away.
6) If we thought Day 5 was a toughie, this was to be 'the big one' ! First up was a visit to the beautiful Florence. A fabulous City to visit. We got there by train ! Not ideal in the rush hour meaning a few of us had to stand for a while. Lunch was taken after the morning tour and we then gathered for a visit to the Uffizi Museum. It was a fascinating 2 hours covering the highlights, but only touched the surface of an amazing place. Once done we headed back to the station for the train home.
Timings were tight as once back at the hotel we had about an hour to grab a quick bite before heading out again for a night at the opera ! We had a 20 mins walk to the local theatre where we were to be entertained by a trio of singers reprising the famous 3 Tenors concert of the 90s. It was sensational ! A true highlight of the entire trip.
7) Montecatini was a lovely spot, but now we were on our way to Rome. En route we had another 'add on' a visit to the spectacular City of Orvieto. We needed to take the funicular train to the City as it's perched up on a rocky hill and very steep. An enjoyable excursion before returning to ground level and onwards to the Capital. It was to be another 2 hours journey before we arrived. My first reaction was one of shock. Every building, column, wall and post was covered in incredibly unsightly graffiti. Every square inch was defaced. Utterly appalling ! At 7:15 we gathered for the short walk to a local restaurant for an excellent meal. On our return a few of us met up at the rooftop bar for 'a swift half' while watching the footy on the big screen. This was a ritual repeated for the next two nights.
8) Today (Sunday) was to be our walking tour of Rome. What hadn't been anticipated was that it was Rome Marathon day !
The City was heaving and as to be expected the Marathon route took in the famous landmarks 🤣 It was a great tour in hot conditions. Rome is hilly, which added to the fatigue that was setting in as lunchtime approached. We were released to roam (Rome?) free and had 4 hours to kill ! Lunch and a later drinks break helped break up the time, but we were all pretty exhausted by the time we headed back to the hotel. Dinner out locally and a rooftop drink finished the day off nicely.
9) A nice leisurely morning today prior to our visit to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel in the afternoon. This proved to be another highlight of the entire trip. Extremely busy and tricky to negotiate at times, but the art on display was truly awesome. Walls, ceilings and sculptures were breathtaking. And then we reached the Sistine Chapel ! Special ...
10) The weather was changing. A drive of a couple of hours took us to Montecassino, a palace high up in the mountains and the site of the biggest battle of WW2. For over 6 months it was defended by the Germans until the monastery on top was bombed and destroyed. It's been rebuilt since. Some spectacular views from on high, but the rain had now set in and it was getting quite miserable. After our brief stop we were on our way to Pompeii with fingers crossed on the weather front. When we arrived at a very busy parking area the rain came again. We had lunch before our guided tour at 2:30. And then the rain got harder ! It eased after about 20 mins and we then enjoyed a fascinating walk around the ruins with a first class guide.
This was a special visit. Vesuvius was only partially visible due to the low cloud. It was only a 30 mins drive to our next hotel. This was to be on the coast of the Sorrento Peninsula in the Bay of Naples. Our base for the next 3 nights.
11) Today's add-on was a trip to the island of Capri. We left at 7:20 and were driven to the port. We then transferred to our boat which took us to Sorrento. Here we hopped on the ferry which took us to Capri. Although threatening at times the rain mainly stayed away. On arrival we were driven to the top of the island on very tight and twisty roads and enjoyed a look at Capri life and spectacular views. A bit of free time allowed for lunch and some shopping before we headed back down to the main area of town. Another short tour was taken and then more free time, which most of us felt was a bit long. Our return journey took the same route in reverse and we reached the hotel around 6:20. Post dinner a few of us headed down the road for a beer at the local Sports bar to watch the football.
12) It was another early start at 7:30 for our visit to the Amalfi Coast. This got us caught up in the rush hour on the only road along the coastline. Terrific views throughout. Eventually we reached Amalfi and were free to investigate by ourselves. A coffee to start and then a wander along the waterfront and pretty side streets. At 1pm we gathered for our boat trip giving us a good view of the coastline from the sea. 20 mins later we reached Positano where we got back on the bus and headed for Ravello up in the clouds. Very testing roads in testing conditions as rain and low cloud arrived. Our visit proved futile as the expected glorious views were completely obliterated by the thick low cloud. Win some, lose some ... Calling time early we headed for home via the mountains and Naples arriving back at 5pm. Tomorrow will be a long day of travel as we head for Sicily.
13) We set off at 7:45 and reached our hotel in Sicily at 5:30 .. 9.75 hours in the saddle ! It was a good drive with very scenic views and in sunny, dry conditions. Lunch was taken in a lovely little town called Pizzo. A meal had been organised and afterwards a few of us took the option of a Tuc Tuc back up the hill to our coach. From here it was 1.5 hours to the ferry which would take us on a 2 miles, 20 mins trip across to Sicily. Once out of a busy port area we made good progress to our final hotel an hour away. We arrived to find a large, very nice looking hotel. 3 nights to enjoy. Room standards seemed to vary quite a bit. I was in the dungeon area 🤣. To be fair it was quite adequate, if a little on the small side (especially the shower).
Dinner was very good. Good choices and quality food. Definitely the best hotel food we enjoyed tour long.
14) We left the hotel at 9am heading for Taormina about half an hour away. We took the coastal road travelling through 2 lovely little towns with picturesque settings and views all round. Once at Taormina we caught the local bus, which took us up to the town centre 8 mins away. We were free to roam as we saw fit in this charming little town. Lots of narrow streets, interesting shops and fantastic views all the way across to Mount Etna. We stopped for a coffee before deciding to head off to the Greco-Roman Theatre, which was built in 2 bc. Impressive ruins and well worth the effort. There was still time to fit in a quick lunch before we all gathered for the return journey arriving back at the hotel around 2:30. The afternoon was free to do as we pleased. It was a quiet one for me.
15) The grand finale to the tour was to be a trip up Mount Etna. It was an hour drive to the parking area which we found heaving. At the cable car station there were huge numbers of people queuing. It turned out the cable cars and jeeps weren't running due to very high winds. This meant the only way up was on an infrequent bus service ! We joined the queue ...
After a while the cable cars were back in use and, although it was around 1.5 hours of queuing, we finally got up to the viewing area. We then found there was a bus service taking you up to the crater rim, so we started queuing again 🤣
When we got off the bus at the top it was only then that we got to appreciate how tough conditions were. The guide said it would take 25-30 mins to reach the rim. I wasn't confident ! We set off and were immediately hit by ferocious winds and blasts of grit. Add in very soft underfoot conditions and high altitude and my doubts were increasing fast. After 60 yards I was struggling to stand up and struggling to breathe whilst getting pebbledashed !! Executive decision made .. head back. That was a task in itself. I remained in the bus area where there was no protection and it was a case of stick it out. I didn't have a hood. Bad call. When I did get back down my hair was full of grit. As were my pockets and shoes ! The group meanwhile soldiered on and their perseverance paid off. Good on 'em. By the time they got back we were a bit behind schedule so we headed down fairly smartly. Once back at the hotel we had about an hour before a fairwell drink in the bar followed by a Sicilian meal at a nearby restaurant. A five course affair. It was good, but too much for most of us.
There was no late last night shenanigans as we had to pack and were due to leave at 7am the following morning.
16) Everything went smoothly and to plan on our final day.
It had been a fantastic, if exhausting, 2 weeks travelling from North to South Italy with a fabulous and fun group of people. An absolute pleasure and without doubt an adventure !
Roger
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