Hello!

It has been some time since I last blogged. That’s because we were in Italy for 17 days. And we love it there! It was an enjoyable holiday.

Yes, I love traveling. And Europe is one of my favorite places. BUT Italy has never been the place I wanted to go. I have heard many bad reviews about it. CROWDED. DIRTY. SMELLY. DANGEROUS. HOT during SUMMER. BEWARE of THIEVES.

Scary. Indeed.

However, hubby is crazy over history. And the Colosseum is one place that he wanted to visit, extremely much. So, hmm, lets give Italy a chance.

And when I did my research on Italy, they have so much to offer. Usually, I would hop from country to country. But I can’t skip Venice nor Florence. And how can someone visit Italy and skip Rome? And then I decided, lets just settle for Italy ONLY.

With enough research and proper planning, we skipped the heat and crowd of summer by going slightly earlier in June. 🙂

Thieves? Pick pocket? Well, yes, Italy is well-known for that. We even youtube to find out more about how the thieves work. The tip is: Just be paranoid! 😛 Do NOT be an easy target. Nothing in your pockets, at all times. And choose the right bag to use. Forget about the outer compartment. And thank God, we are FINE! Nothing stolen. 😀 😀 😀 *Phew*

Pickpockets aside,

Italy is wonderful!

I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. And in this blog, I will share about our itinerary. We wanted to start off in the CITY and end in the mountains. So this is what we did. We started in Rome and traveled north to Milan stopping by different places of interest. When I plan, I think of variety. We wouldn’t want to visit churches and art galleries for 17 days, right? So there will be history, art, churches, romance, seaside, mountains and so on in a whole trip. It makes it more interesting and colourful.

There is more to Italy and it will take about a month to cover all. More to see if we go south of Rome. But due to time constraint, I just go up north. The itinerary, here you go.

First stop:

1. Rome

We love Rome. It is rich in history and Rome itself is an outdoor museum. Historical buildings, sculptures, water fountains, broken down walls: What a City! Our highlight is definitely the Colosseum. Hubby and I watched the movie, Gladiator countless of times and looking at the Colosseum, life, in front of us was so Surreal.

 

2. Vatican City

Vatican City is  probably the smallest country in the world. If you think it is in Rome, no, it isn’t. It is a country on its own. And you can’t go to Rome and not drop by Vatican City. It is amazing! You must visit the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Church. It is mind-blowing really. And once you visit it, you will know what I mean. Be prepared. It is so big and there is so much to offer, it can be very overwhelming. It will need at least half a day or a few hours if you rush by.

 

3. Florence

Florence, you are so pretty. The churches, the buildings, the squares. And it is not like Rome. They don’t do what the Romans do. Warmer people. Cleaner and lighted up streets at night. And there is something about their romantic Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s famous bridge). And you will marvel at the churches of Florence. Just look at it!

4. Tuscany Tour

With only one day, we booked a half day tour around Tuscany. And these little towns that we visit are much more medieval compared to Florence. And we get to see the rolling hills of Tuscany which is beautiful. Lastly, wine tasting in a Chianti Farm.

5. Pisa

We only stopped by Pisa for about an hour. LOL. With my tight itinerary, I would rather spend my day somewhere else. I’m sorry Pisa. I’m here for your leaning tower, only.

 

6. Cinque Terre

Colourful houses by the seaside. 5 fishing villages. The beach, the sea, cliffs, waves and the mountains, all in one. This is Cinque Terre.

6. Portovenere

We had 3 days in Cinque Terre and we took the 3rd day to take a ferry to Portovenere. It is somehow similar, yet different. Worth a visit if you have extra time.

7. Venice

After enjoying the seaside, it is time to go to Romantic Venice! I was so looking forward to it BUT it really isn’t that romantic. 😛 After enjoying the clear blue sea in Cinque Terre, Venice’s water is somewhat murky and muddy. Well, it is still Venice after all. Unique. Buildings on water. Barely (or none) a patch of grass. No vehicles. Only boats. Although the water is murky and possibly smelly, it is still lovely to be by the water as we stroll along the streets of Venice, crossing over bridges and alleys and any route we can find.

And after 2 days in Venice, we visited the towns nearby, Murano and Burano.

 

8. Val Gardena, Dolomites

Masjetic mountains. How can I say no. We truly LOVE IT, LOVE IT & LOVE IT here. It is nice to end our trip in the Dolomites.

 

9. Milan

As usual, many said that there is nothing much in Milan. Which is true after visiting Rome and Florence. Milan is not our favourite but the Duomo is still beautiful and a nice place to hang around and chill.

So that’s our Italian Itinerary. I will take time to blog about each place. Gimme time. It’s time that I neeeed. And then I will move on to our previous trips in Munich, Amsterdam, Switzerland and so on. Yes, all I need is time. 😀

That’s all for now and hopefully more to come.

Cheers,

Mary