Eternal City

The final destination on our tour of Italy was the capital. We stayed in a studio apartment with a vast roof terrace in the neighbourhood of Monti, an area off the tourist trail but only a 5 minute walk from the Colosseum. Two days wasn't enough time to explore the city but we had an incredible taster... from the Trevi fountain, to a tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica, a morning visit to the Colosseum itself, walking through the incredible ancient ruins of the Roman Forum (a favourite of Dan's) and absorbing the architectural triumph of the Pantheon. In the evenings we had dinner in Monti and also made our way across the Tiber to Trastevere. A gorgeous bohemian part of the city with narrow streets bustling in the evening with restaurants, cafes and bars, we sat and enjoyed a drink whilst watching a cardinal and a rabbi walk by!

Hill Towns

Our next stop, now in our trusty Fiat 500, was high in the hills of Tuscany in the town of Montepulciano. This place played host to two more of our culinary highlights. Osteria Acquacheta harks back to the Italian dinners of old when everyone sat together to eat and big long wooden tables, and we munched our way through 1.2kg of T-bone Tuscan steak. Best ever perhaps? We also tried our hand at cooking our own Italian dishes when we had a cookery class with Giorgio, whose flat we were renting in the town. We made potato gnocchi and tiramisu and then sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labour. During the day we visited Siena and San Gimignano.

On from here we stayed for two nights at Forestaría, a gorgeous farm house in the hills above Lucca converted and run by Eleanora and Marco. Our full day was spent exploring Lucca, possibly the least touristy city on out entire trip, where we climbed to the top of the tower with trees on top and cycled round the city walls (twice!) One of my happiest memories of Italy...

Up on High

We arrived in to Florence's Art Deco station and walked just 5 minutes til we arrived at our next abode, Anna's place, a typical Florentine apartment. Our initial evening wander around the outskirts of the city wasn't fruitful but we headed back into the centre collecting ingredients for a homemade carbonara dinner from various delicatessens on the way home.

Our time in Florence was one of climbing - the top of the bell tower (well, I got most of the way up, Dan carried on), up the steep slopes of the Boboli Gardens, and to the top of the Duomo's cupola (again, I didn't go all the way, but to stand outside you have got to be crazy!!) Even though my legs were shaking and my palms were clammy, the views from the top were fantastic whether seeing Florence and its surroundings or getting up close to the dome's painted ceiling. Our evening was spent at the not-a-restaurant Teatro del Sale. The premise is that it's infact a theatre with a pre-performance buffet from the kitchen of Fabio Picchi, which we sat next to and watched the action inside... chickens being spit roasted, bread being baked, potatoes being roasted. After we drew up our chairs to the stage and the evening was finished off with a quirky, one woman show in Italian by Maria Cassi - an off-the-wall way to end our brief time in Florence...

Floating City

So as not to miss our train we arrived at Como station an hour and a half early but, as we discovered, Italian trains can be as punctual as the British variety and consequently we had about 4 minutes to make our connecting train in Milan (picture me running like a headless chicken, Dan following on with our suitcases!) Nevertheless - we made it to Venice!

Here we stayed at Lola's place, a lovely family apartment just a 10 minute stroll from St Mark's Square. As soon as we arrived, we were mesmerised by the water, the canals, the vaporettos, the bridges giving glimpses of views, snapping away on our camera. Venice is truly a feast for the eyes, so different as the light changes throughout the day, and we spent most of our time wandering, aiming to just get lost. On our first evening we explored the streets of the Dorsoduro area and spotted a charming place to return to for dinner the following night, Al Vecio Marangon. The food was typically Venetian and delicious. Our full day in Venice started early; we were in Piazza San Marco as the sun was creeping up from behind the buildings - the light was incredible. Later we headed up to the Rialto Market, stumbled upon a canal side protest march after lunch and stumbled upon my favourite square, Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio. In the dappled sunlight children were playing football in amongst vegetables growing in boxes. After an exploration of the quiet Arsenale area, including a walk over the sea, the following morning, we were now heading to Florence...

By the Lake

The idea for our trip around Italy blossomed back in January when my cousin Ed and his now-wife Lisa announced that they would be getting married on the shores of Lake Como. As we arrived at the lake as dusk was falling, the towns were being lit up and I remembered the utter beauty of our surroundings. For our time in Como we were staying at Kate's place in Tremezzo a lovely family home in the town on the western side. On our first day we popped across the lake and explored Bellagio, literally wandering off the tourist trail and discovering quiet untouched lanes and boats mooring on the other side. Back on the other side, we adventured through the gorgeous villages above Tremezzo.

Saturday was the big day and what a day it was. The venue for Ed and Lisa's wedding was incredible, an old monastery with gardens and lawn - where the ceremony took place - over looking the the lake. WOW! It was a beautiful occasion that we'll never forget, cousin Kate and her band Sheerocks performing and dancing later down in the Rave Cave! Luckily the weather was beautiful as the following day, the heavens opened with torrential rain all day, so we recovered indoors ready for the next leg of our journey...

Italian Adventure

From the idyllic lake villages of Como to the bustling ancient streets of Rome, Dan and I have been adventuring through the towns and cities of northern and central Italy. We started off staying in Tremezzo on the western shores of Lake Como for the wedding of my cousin Ed to Lisa - what a lovely occasion and what a setting! From here we jumped on the train to head towards to the canals and bridges of beautiful Venice. The weathered buildings really do look like they're part of a flooded city rather than a planned network of waterways - we loved every moment. Next we were on our way to Florence, teaming with tourists gazing up at the marvellous cupola of the Duomo and being gazed upon by towering statues. Picking up our bright little Fiat 500 we sped off into the hill towns of Tuscany and found ourselves up in Montepulciano. With twisting narrow vicolos we felt like locals living behind one of those great wooden doors. From here we explored Siena, Montalcino and San Gimignano, an authentic medieval town. Our penultimate stop was a farm in the little village of Valgiano overlooking Lucca down in the valley. In the city we hired bicycles and had fun riding around the city walls. Finally we were on the train again, heading further south to the city of Rome. We explored the cobbled streets and imagined what life would have been here as Romans thousands of years ago.

Over a thousand photos later we're back home remembering the places we stayed in, all found via Airbnb, and all the people we met. The best thing was that we were always so centrally located; we went everywhere by foot. We ate in such a variety of places from eccentric performances theatres to local trattorias, from osterias where was sat a big tables with fellow restaurant goers and sometimes just grabbing a sandwich and sitting on some fountain steps nearby. All in all it was a great adventure and soon you'll be seeing more pictures in this here space. For the time being my Instagram page has a selection of snaps...

Italia

The last few weeks have been busy busy busy but nevertheless two thirds of my final year are complete. Something to look forward to is the sunshine of Italy in September and I've spent many an hour on Airbnb checking out possible places to stay. We've already booked up Lake Como for my cousin's wedding, but we still have Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Rome to decide upon. These treasures are in the running in Florence! (and here are a few of my Wishlists for future trips!)

1/2. Garden Loft Apartment Downtown Florence
3/4. Apartment in Historic Building
5/6. Pignone Flat