The Best and Worst of Italy

Our month long tour of Italy has come to an end. There are a lot of things we will miss, and others not so much. I've put together a list of what we think is the worst and best we have seen in Italy. I'll start with the worst, and end on a more positive note with the best, because it really was an incredible trip and we are so lucky to have experienced it.


The Worst:

No variety in the food. You can only have pizza, pasta or panini for so many meals.

The Siesta. That grocery store you went to yesterday? It's closed from 12:30 - 16:00 so you'll have to find another one, or more likely, just wait.

The driving. See Justin's post dedicated to this.

The inconsistent service of the trains.

Paying for water at every restaurant.

Magna Grecia campsite in Reggio Calabria. Don't ever go there.

One Of Many Bad Toilets In Italy

The toilets.

The unspoken dress code. Tank tops and shorts above your knees are too revealing. Shoulders and knees should be covered, even when it's blazing hot out.

The breakfast. A croissant doesn't cut it. Give me eggs.

Bari.

The poop. There is poop everywhere, especially in the smaller communities.

The massive amount of seeds in every fruit. I guess this could be a good thing if it means it's not genetically modified? But it's a real pisser to eat.

The begging children.

The lack of salad dressing.

View From Our Naples Hostel

The garbage in Naples.

The bells everywhere all the time. Especially the ones at 7am.

The price of gas. About €1.90 on average per litre.

The buses in Rome.

The black flys. We couldn't kill even one of those little bastards.

Trying to find things like a hardware store or somewhere to print something.

Smoking.

Endless Amazing Dolomite Views

The Best:

The Dolomite mountains.

The huge coastline all around the country is unparalleled with anything I can think of.

The weather. Italians seem to think 25 degrees is quite cold.

Ice cold Limoncello.

The preserved history. It's everywhere.

Official Frasassi Photo

Frasassi caves. (Grotte Di Frasassi).

Almost everyone makes an effort to speak English, or uses hand gestures if they can't.

The fresh seafood. After a year in London this was a major treat.

Live Italian bands. We saw one in the bar at our campsite on Lake Como, and one doing Rolling Stones covers at a club in Rome.

The olive, orange, lemon, lime, and pomegranate trees. Don't ever eat an olive fresh off the tree though. Trust me.

Brilliant Water

The pastel coloured houses.

The brilliant colour of the water.

The towns built on steep cliffs.

A Posing Lizard

The lizards everywhere.

The friendly Italians. I've met so many people who when you need a hand with something will go out of their way to help you, and will give you more than you asked for: the man at the supermarket who gave me grapes to eat while helping me look for pesto, the manager of Volta Di Sacco who picked about 6 pomegranates for me when I was just trying to take a picture.

Fruit gelato.

Hearing Italians actually say "Mamma Mia!"

How varied the scenery is from one region to another.

Cheers Over Verona

Olives. The best when you order a drink in the afternoon and they bring you a bowl to snack on for free.

Lake Como.

The various amazing viewpoints over every city.

The snorkeling. The best underwater world we have seen since Hawaii.

Cheap wine. Anywhere from £1-£5 a bottle.

Homemade Arancini

Local specialties: Arancini in Sicily, panzerotti in Milan, cannolo in Taormina, walnut sauce in the Cinque Terre.

The caves everywhere. The coastline is riddled with them.

Looking Up At Saturnia

Saturnia hot springs.  




Home in ten days. Wow that's insane.
Gen

Tuscany

I imagined Tuscany to be lush hillsides and a food and wine haven, and it certainly was. We spent 5 nights there: 3 in a small town called Grosseto, and 2 in Florence.

In Grosseto we stayed on a working farm called Volta Di Sacco in a very old stone building. Agriturismo is very popular in this area as we found out when we passed about a hundred different farms doing the same thing. The farmhouse was beautiful and interesting, but it was pretty boring. It would have been nice to meet some people there since it was so secluded.

Justin had researched some natural hot springs in this region, which we had to rent a car to reach. He was pretty happy to be behind the wheel again. I, on the other hand, was car sick because the car was too small and jerky. I had to get him to pull over so I could throw up. I haven't been car sick since I was a child... Good times. It was worth it though because Saturnia hot springs are the most beautiful natural springs I have ever seen. The water cascades down a series of waist deep terraces, perfect for lounging in. It's pretty hard to explain how amazing they are, so I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

After Saturnia we ended up at a winery in one of Italy's top regions, Montalcino, and tasted some of the best (and most expensive) wines we have ever come across. We found out a tour was happening just as we were finished drinking so we joined in. The harvest was just happening so we were there at a perfect time. We were able to see the wine in its first fermenting stages in huge metal vats, and were shown into the barrel room where everything sits for years. It was a really interesting lesson.

The next day in Grossetto we went to a little island called Giglio by ferry. This is the island that the Concordia cruise ship crashed into last year. Pulling into the port you are right next to the ship and it's pretty surreal to see it lying there. The island itself is beautiful, and Justin found us an amazing white sand beach to relax on until we had to go back to the mainland. We also had a really amazing lunch: fresh calamari and pesto gnocchi.

When you arrive in Florence you can immediately tell it is something special. It has quite a small manageable centre and all the streets look quite old with small lanes and high buildings. There is also quite a variety of cultures there and we were able to eat Chinese food(!) one lunch and a kebab for a dinner, so we were quite happy about avoiding pizza and pasta. We also went to a restaurant recommended by a couple people at our hostel in Sorrento. The menu was daily and just explained to you by the server. We decided to be adventurous- I ended up getting rabbit and Justin had veal. Both were really good, but it was a little hard to get your mind past what you were eating.

We were told we had to visit the Ufuzzi Museum, so we waited in the 90 minute queue, but we downloaded our own audio guides onto Justin's iPhone, which was awesome and I highly recommend doing if you are going anywhere to avoid paying for one. The Birth of Venus was a beautiful painting to see and we learned a bit about the renaissance in Florence and Venice.

Our hostel was just ok. I personally have been missing how cheap camping was and being able to cook for ourselves. So many places we have been to lately have no stove and too many rules. And not enough bathrooms.

We arrived in La Spezia yesterday and are here for three nights; Our last threes nights in Italy before going to Barce. I guess we better get a few more pasta meals in as we might not be back to italy for a long time... If ever. But that kind of reflection deserves another post.

Gen

Shiny Happy Italian People

I came to Italy with the most ragamuffin clothes I owned; clothes I now plan to throw away once I get back home because they are so gross. And I expected to be blown away and shamed by the fashionable women wearing their Versace and Dolce and Gabanna and all the other amazing Italian brands we are told to respect... but I haven't been.

Don't get me wrong, I have been trekking around this country for a month now without a stitch of makeup on wearing the same clothes for days and my Adidas runners with everything, so any normal woman looks heaps better than I do. But there is an ugly side to the fashion in Italy that I didn't expect. No, ugly is the wrong word. Gaudy is much more appropriate.

We've been to a lot of cities during our exploration of this country, but we have been to just as many small villages a fair distance from anything metropolitan. It's in these villages I first noticed that every woman was dressed the same, but in different colors or with different accessories. In Sferracavallo I was walking around the market and it hit me that it was the only place to shop in the town. There was no Bata to buy your shoes at, there was no H&M to buy your child labour priced trends from. The market was it. And everything there, I mean everything, had been bedazzled or was already shiny and accessorized.

You can't buy a pair of jeans, boots, or a belt without it glitzing and shining in the Italian sun. Everything is tight. Everything is meant to be sexy, I think. It doesn't necessarily look bad, it just looks cheap to the average North American. Maybe it's the opposite for Italians? Anyways, this market was not for tourists, as many of them aren't. They mainly provide the new clothes, toiletries, and household products that the stores in the community don't have. The market is the trend setter for the people who can't get to the big city.

In the cities there are of course women who look amazing. I find that usually these women are older, at least in their 50's, and they seem to ooze class and money. But the average Italian girl In the cities still clings to her bling. Maybe she grew up in a small town and moved to the city, bringing her market fashion sense with her. Maybe the glimmer of the fake jewels all over lure the Italian men like fish. Whatever it is, it's real, and present everywhere we have been. It is more predominant than the high end brands by miles, and even in Milan there are shops solely selling this style of clothing.

So it turns out I do stand out in Italy because of my poor fashion, as predicted. But instead of it being because I'm not dressed head to toe in designer gear, it's because I'm not nearly shiny enough.

Your fashion victim,
Gen

Napoli Crapoli

Naples reminds me of home. Not in the good nostalgic way; in the worst ways you can think of. Our hostel was right outside of the train station and this is where all the homeless, drug addicts, and prostitutes abound. It really does look like the worst part of east Hastings, but with about fifty times the garbage and graffiti. I wanted to take more pictures, but I didn't feel safe taking my camera out. Especially after opening my wallet when buying a ticket for the train and having the ticket agent chastise me and motion to never show anything valuable around there.

Surprisingly our hostel was quite nice. They had a free pasta dinner the first night we arrived, and the next night an American girl took us out for White Night- a huge street party with hundreds of thousands of people enjoying the festivities. I couldn't quite get an answer about what they were celebrating- it just seemed to be a night where all the shops are open until 3, so all the residents go out. It was nice to see a fun, non frightening side of Naples. It was probably the biggest street party I will ever be to.

The only 2 things we wanted to do in Naples was go to Pompeii, and eat pizza. We wandered around the city looking for the best pizza around, and we found the restaurant from "Eat, Pray, Love" but the queue was so massive we settled on a random pizzeria that looked reasonably busy. The pizza was good, we had one margarita and a folded one stuffed with ricotta. I think it's the sauce that makes them so epic here- it just tastes like fresh blended tomatoes- because we've had a lot of comparable pizza around the country. But it was something that I won't forget and it made me happy.

Pompeii was obviously very dramatic. It was so massive, we spent about 2 hours there and managed to see quite a bit of it. For some reasons tickets were free, so that was a bonus, but we didn't get audio guides or a tour so we kind of wandered around without really knowing what we were looking at. We heard Herculaneum was better from a few people (thanks for your suggestions by the way) but we only had limited time so we never got to it. I can see how it would be easier to grasp a smaller city though because Pompeii was quite overwhelming.

We are in Sorrento now, and we have 4 nights here so it will be nice to settle down and relax for a bit.

Also wanted to mention that we booked our flight home- we will be in Vancouver October 28th so keep your schedules open for that week because I want to make dates with all of you.

Gen

True Backpackers

Well the car has officially left our lives. It was towed from our campsite in Sferracavallo on Tuesday afternoon after a bit of a struggle with our insurance.
Justin bought European breakdown insurance for our trip - Turns out they signed him up for national insurance (for the UK) only. Justin told them he was misled and the lady listened to the prior phone call and agreed that it was their fault. To make a long, fairly frustrating story short, they figured it all out for us and towed it to a wrecker.

Sferracavallo was a strange dirty little town to be stuck in while we dealt with all of that. There was a festival going on and that certainly livened up the city. If you were out and about during siesta things looked downright depressing. We tried arancini for the first time there (a sicilian specialty- meat sauce stuffed rice balls) and they are just so yummy.

We made our first official train trip with all our belongings on our backs from Sferracavallo to another little Sicilan town called Taromina with the hopes of trekking up Mt. Etna; an active volcano. As soon as we arrived here I think we knew that wasn't going to happen. The town is just so beautiful - 2 crystal clear bays surrounded by houses all built up on the cliffs above it. There is an amazing Greek theatre here and a cable car takes you down to the sea. Our hostle is really great, not only because simply having a bed for the first time in a few weeks is such a treat, but it has a terrace that overlooks the city and water where everyone hangs out and socializes. We went out last night with a group of people and it was really fun.
It's been super hot here in Sicily and we have taken full advantage of it here in Taormina. We went snorkeling for a few hours today and found a huge grotto that I found really scary, and we saw so many amazing fish. My favorite was a long needle nose one that I have never seen before.

We leave tomorrow on a long train ride for Naples. I've been told its absolutely filthy and dangerous, so that should be fun.

Thanks for reading my little update.
Gen

The Unassuming South East Coast

Yesterday we drove from Italy's 'spur' to a little town called Alberbello. The spur was not a planned destination for us, but i found a campsite there that was open (which has been a problem as of late) that looked like it had an amazing beach, so we went. It was a huge resort campsite right on the beach, and it was almost deserted so we had a choice spot. It was so nice to be on the ocean; although it would be nice to be in a bit busier atmosphere to meet people.

The drive south along the coast of the spur was absolutely breathtaking. The two towns close to us were Peschici and Vieste, and they were stunning; white washed, built up all on hills, and overlooking the ocean. The drive to Alberbello from the south of Vieste rivaled any I have ever seen as far as beautiful coastline is concerned. If you are lucky enough to have seen most of Italy I would absolutely recommend visiting this area for something a little quieter and undiscovered by tourists. I should mention that this area has plenty of hotels, campgrounds and services, as Italians vacation there in the summer.

On our drive south near Bari we encountered our first Italian prostitutes. These women are on the most random outskirts roads far away from any city centre just chilling at pull offs or the side of the road. We were very confused by them at first, especially the group of women wearing bikinis waving stop signs, but I looked it up and apparently prostitution is very legal here. Who knew.

The town of Alberbello and area surrounding it have these little homes made of stones called Trulli houses. They look quite quaint and are unique to this area. We camped near here and the campground had a pool and real toilets. It was a treat.

Except for two days in a hostel in Munich, we have camped every single night for almost 3 weeks now (one night sleeping in our car). It's an interesting life and very different from how we camp in Canada. Back home I would scoff at paying for a site or staying somewhere with showers and real toilets and wifi. Now when we get those things I am so happy. I don't think I will look at the people in provincial sites back home the same now; They just have a different agenda than I normally do.
For the past 4 nights our air mattress had had a leak. We found one for sale but it was €50... and as we don't know how much longer we will be camping for we held off on buying it. The longer the Micra lasts and the more we continue to camp the more I regret not buying it. Camping supplies, as most things here in Italy, even food sometimes, are not easy to come by because we don't know where to go or how to ask. The farther south east we go the more we notice a language barrier and a much longer siesta (where everything is closed mid day).

I think we have a pretty big adventure ahead of us in the next couple days.

Gen

Haida Whales and Wine Rats

It's so strange to be traveling after being away from Canada for a year. I find myself looking for things that remind me of home, rather than the opposite as most travelers do. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the differences, but when I see something that makes me think of Canada I give an extra pause to enjoy it.

In the heart of Verona Justin and I came across a store called 'Canadiens' - A high end winter clothing company from Italy. Everything was super nice and had our maple leaf all over it. There was even Haida art in the store. It made me happy.



Overall Verona was really beautiful. Quite touristy. Lots of high end shops and restaurants. Lots of people making out for a really long time everywhere. Our campsite was in the botanical gardens of Castle San Pietro overlooking the city. It was amazing and unforgettable for the view and the site... but the toilets and showers were holes in the ground and there were lizards and 'wine rats' (as dubbed by a camper sitting next to us on  the terrace) which scurried over ledges and in the olive vines above us. This adds to the 'unforgettable' part I guess.

The Gourmet Camper

On our last night there I went all out at the Supermercato and made a creamy pesto gnocchi and bruschetta at our campsite. With 2 beers and wine it worked out to be about a €20 meal which was quite a lot by our standards, but much less than dinner out would have been.

We are in Venice now (Punta Sabbioni actually - a ferry boat ride to Venice) and leaving tomorrow. We will head down the east coast without really a plan from here until Sicily. 




A couple random things I wanted to document so I don't forget them:

Almost all of our campsites have offered fresh bread for an extra nominal charge in the morning. It seemed strange at first but it actually quite nice now. In Brugge there was a bread vending machine that was filled every morning. In Innsbruck the receptionist at the campsite game me flash cards of every different type of bread they offered. Most sites just have a store or restaurant you can go buy it from.

So far we haven't paid for laundry; we've been doing it by hand. Most campsites have a laundry sink that we have been taking advantage of if we know the weather will be warm enough to dry it. The first time I washed everything I was next to a German lady doing  the same and I watched what she was doing and learned a lot about handwashing. Seems like a simple task but there is a method to it.

On our last night at Lake Como the lady at the bar gave us free Limoncello shots. It was icy cold and soooo tasty, and really sweet of her. Well, she didn't speak English at all so I gathered they were free...   

Anyways that's my muddled blog post today. Hope you are all well and I'm really looking forward to seeing you soon.

Genevieve

Lago di Como

We're on our fourth night at our campground on Lake Como. It's in a little town called Abbadia Lariana on the east side of the lake, not far from the town of Lecco. We really wanted to spend some time in the area so figured we would get comfortable here for 4 nights. Couldn't be happier we did.

The campground is right on the lake, and Lake Como is absolutely beautiful. We are just on the southern edge of the Alps so it's still mountainous an incredibly scenic. We did a drive around half the lake the other day that went through a bunch of cool villages perched on the hills around the lake. Lots of sketchy narrow roads and crazy drivers again. Should note the Micra rolled over 100,000 miles on that drive. While most of them weren't us I still feel better that the car can die more fulfilled having used every digit on the odometer.

Yesterday we did a day trip to Milan, which is about an hour by train and only €10 return. First glimpse at a very convenient and efficient train system here. It was great to see the Duomo and wander the fashion district, but it wasn't my favourite city. An aggressive gypsy lady was our first encounter, "helping" us buy our metro tickets by frantically pressing buttons we didn't want and then trying to take our change. The African men in the centre trying to sell shitty string bracelets were also way more aggressive than anywhere else we've been. Not that it means much but did leave an impression. I think Milan is a city you'd need to spend at least a few days in to enjoy the nightlife and maybe have some money for shopping because for a rushed day it's not heavy on sightseeing. On our way back our transfer train in Lecco was delayed an hour and a half due to an accident and we had some trouble finding out what was going on and how to get back as it was all in Italian. Luckily someone else stranded spoke a bit of English and translated the broken information he got, but it was a helpless feeling before that.

Our campground has a bar right on the water that has hosted an event every night. It's definitely the most happening spot in the area and it's been an amazing time being around so many locals in a small town party spot. A pizza for €5 and a litre of wine for €8 doesn't hurt. We met a really nice German couple who are in the area for rock climbing and got to drink and chat with them the last three nights which was really fun.

We're off to Verona tomorrow for 2 nights. I'm actually a little disappointed because its been so nice to settle in somewhere so beautiful and so much fun. If anyone ever has a chance to visit Lake Como do it, it's absolutely awesome.

-Justin