Tuscan Villa - Val Da Elsa - Tana De Lepri Villa
Tuscany Landscape near Val D'Orca
Hiking around UNESCO Sassi di Matera
Beautiful Island of Capri
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Culture HistoryTravelled to Italy 4 times, you can never get enough of this amazing country.
Tuscan Villa relaxing after visiting hill towns. Life doesn't get better than this esp if you top it off with a nice cheap gelato. Do yourself a favour and base yourself in one town then explore Umbria or Tuscany. Day trips to Val D'Orca /Siena / Montepluciano / Pienza / Florence / SanGigmanano / Monteriggioni. If in Umbria region go visit Assisi and Perugia. If the former 2 places are too busy for you Gubbio is a secret perfect sleepy Umbrian town (a must) complete with a Roman Ampitheatre Love mountains? Go to the Dolomites - forget Switzerland and Austria. It's just or more beautiful and less tourist and cheaper. You also get better food in Italy than other two. Ortisei or Val Gardena make great bases to explore the region including Passo Gardena, Passo Stella, Passo Pordoi Rome, Florence, Naples, Verona, Milan, and Venice are on the regular tourist route but musts. The Vatican is a zoo. Plan well ahead and book online! Cinque Terre is nice but too crowded. If you have a car, good luck parking in the towns. Manorola was pictureque, Vernaza, Riomaggiore and Monterosso were also nice. It's a UNESCO heritage site. Try the seafood cones there !! Visit, Mt Vesuvius and Pompei if you are in the south. Make it a day trip from Naples then have a Napoli Oven Pizza for dinner at a local pizzaria A recent trip to southern Italy during 2021 Covid in offseason made the trip a dream. No tourist in the Amalfi Coast. (Positano, Capri, Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento and Salerno). Even better is the Sassi of Matera. It was out of this world especially staying in a luxury cave hotel (Il Palazzotto Resdience) As driving the Amalfi Coast. No thanks. It's hairpin winding roads are insane and when you have to play chicken with buses...ahhh. They will squeeze within 2 " of your car and the wall. Stick to the bus or taxi. In summer it's a zoo. Offseason not so bad but parking is very expensive. Trains are so cheap in Italy (a 1 hr 300km/hr train cost only 29 Euro from Rome to Naples) but it is nice to have a car to go off the beaten path. Near France: Ventimiglia is a great town 15 min from Menton France. It has a great Friday Flea mkt every week. Great relief from the high prices of the French Riviera. It has a very non touristic old town that's spooky and untouched. |
Lunch in Siena
Whip up a gourmet meal in VILLA (Residence Carin) - so cheap at supermkt
Breakfast usually included in Hotels.. Great terrace view overlooking Vesuvius, Naples
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FoodItalian food is more than just pasta.
In Venice, go look for the Cicchetti open face sandwiches for 1-1.5 Euros at a local Osteria away from the tourist districts - near gondala repair centre (standing only). Amazing with Truffles, caviar, etc.... Wash it down with a 1.2 Euro glass of wine or Spritz and finish with a shot of 1.0 Euro espresso. Now that's Italian ! Food is reasonable and course meal with wine doesn't break the bank in Italy. Anywhere that charges you table cover or bread charge is for tourist, so avoid these places like the plague Give me cheese, wine and good bread and I'm a happy camper. Look for happy hours where you get free apps (whole tableful) with a purchase of a drink (usually after 4pm) Great deal to fill up cheaply. With COVID, these buffet apps are few and far between. Now just peanuts and chips. Napoli is street food capital of Italy. From Friito Pizza, Margarita Pizza, Cuoppoi cones, Arincino, Suppli to pastries galore. Everything seems to be cheaper here in Napoli than the rest of Italy esp food. If you have your own AirBNB or Villa or Chalet, stop off at the local supermarket and go crazy. If you are not a gourmet chef, they have lot of pre-package fresh sauces. Grab some fresh Pichi Pichi pasta and add sauce and voila, a nice meal. Add some proscuitto and yummy fresh bread, cheese, and tomatoes or antipastos and you are in heaven. Oh don't forget to splurge on that 3 - 4 Euro wine (so cheap). This will be at a fraction of the cost of a restaurant. See mountain view from window of Residence Carin in Selve Val Gardenia in photo |
Highlights
Siena Central Piazza
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Venice
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Picturesque Manarola - Cinque Terre
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Chillin before 26km Hike - Val Gardena, Dolomites
Lake on top of Mountains - Dolomites 3000 metre
Cave Hotel Room - Il Palazzatto Residency & Winery - Matera - Pure luxury
Positano - Amalfi Coast
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello (Amalfi Coast)
San Gimignano - Manhattan of Italy - Tuscany
Looking out from Abandoned Cave to Sassi di Matera - Southern Italy
SEE MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS BELOW
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PLACES VISITED IN ITALY
(4 visits)
Florence (4*) 3 times
Pisa (3.5*) 2 times
Rome (4*) 3 times
Naples (3.5*) 2 times
Milan (3.0*) 2 times
Val Gardena (Dolomites) (5*)
Ortesei (Dolomites) (5*)
Cinque Terre (Manarola, Monterosso, Riomaggiori, Vernazza, La Speiza) - (4.5*)
Verona (4*)
Venice (4.5*) 3 times
Siena (4*)
Pienza (4.5*)
San Gimignano (5*)
Monteriggioni (5*)
Colle Di Val D'Elsa (4*)
Montepluciano (4*)
Asissi (4.5*)
Perugia (4*)
Val D'Orca (5*)
Gubbio (5*)
Matera (5*)
Sorrento (4 *)
Capri (5*)
Salerno (3.5*)
Ravello (5*)
Amalfi (4.5*)
Positano (4*)
Ventimiglia (3*)
(4 visits)
Florence (4*) 3 times
Pisa (3.5*) 2 times
Rome (4*) 3 times
Naples (3.5*) 2 times
Milan (3.0*) 2 times
Val Gardena (Dolomites) (5*)
Ortesei (Dolomites) (5*)
Cinque Terre (Manarola, Monterosso, Riomaggiori, Vernazza, La Speiza) - (4.5*)
Verona (4*)
Venice (4.5*) 3 times
Siena (4*)
Pienza (4.5*)
San Gimignano (5*)
Monteriggioni (5*)
Colle Di Val D'Elsa (4*)
Montepluciano (4*)
Asissi (4.5*)
Perugia (4*)
Val D'Orca (5*)
Gubbio (5*)
Matera (5*)
Sorrento (4 *)
Capri (5*)
Salerno (3.5*)
Ravello (5*)
Amalfi (4.5*)
Positano (4*)
Ventimiglia (3*)
Hiking the Dolomites
Italy Val Gardena
Per the map above we did amazing hikes READ ABOUT MY HIKES ON TRIP ADVISOR
Staying in Selva Gardena/Wolkenstein and visiting Ortisei/St Ulrich
- Passo Pordoi 2,232m to Rif BOE Hutte 3,152m
- Passo Gardena at 2,137m to Rif Puez 2,475m down the Vallunga Langentai Valley
- Passo Sella 2,187m to Rif Emilo Comici Hutte (with Sassolungo in the background)
- Mt Vesuvius 1,281m
Staying in Selva Gardena/Wolkenstein and visiting Ortisei/St Ulrich
OTHER REVIEWS ON
TRIP ADVISOR
Tratorria Mario - Florence (5*)
Residence Carins - Dolomites (5*)
Monteroso to Vernazza - Cinque Tere (4.5*)
Tonnarello, Trastevere Roma (4.5*)
Pane e Salame, Roma (5*)
Taverna Di Seminario, Roma (4*)
Suppli, Roma (4*)
Pastificio Guerra, Roma (3*)
Old Bridge Gelateria, Roma (4*)
Da Ugo le Pizzelle, Tivoli (5*)
La Cantinaia de popola, Sorrento (4.5*)
La Locanda Del Gusto, Sorrento (4.5 *)
La Rua Pizze, Amalfi (4.5*)
Trattoria dei Cartari, Amalfi (4.5*)
Pizza Express, Amalfi (4*)
Il Palatzotto Residence and winery (cave hotel) Matera (5*)
Parco Della Murgia Materana, Matera (5*)
Pizzeria Van Gogh, Matera (4*)
5 Lire, Matera (5*)
Ciboom, Matera (4*)
Sassi di Matera (5*)
Garve Coffee Bar, Matera (3*)
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Napoli (4*)
Sorbillo Pizzeria, Napoli (5*)
Mazz, Napoli (4.5*)
Antica Pizza Fritta Da Zia Esterina Sorbillo, Napoli (3*)
Il Cuoppo Friggitori Napoletani, Napoli (2.5*)
Friggitoria Sabatino. Salerno (4*)
Pizzaria Criscemunno - Salerno (4.5*)
Capri Pasta, Capri (4.5*)
Geppy's Bistrot, Ventimiglia (4*)
Pizzeria Ristorante Il Vesuvio (4.3*)Friday Market Ventimiglia (3*)