Gez and I landed in sunny Sicily at the start of the Easter half-term break (April-ish) via our friends at el cheapo airline, ready to start our two weeks of travelling in Italy. Our itinerary was to work our way via ferry from Sicily to Naples, a brief visit to Pompeii and then north to the 'big three'; Rome, Florence and Venice, flying out from Venice back to grey London.
Sicily was shabby chic in its truest form-without the pretence; peeling paint framed by flowering pots on balconies, clothes hung out along tall buildings down narrow streets, faded bricks, faded vespas... Most things seemed in a state of disrepair yet looked the better for it; nothing was modern, new or shiny, except for the odd car bumper- and yet the city still shone in the sun. We came across some night markets at dusk down a narrow alley in Palermo, where the day's selling of fruits, vegetables and fish were winding up, and the piles of artichokes and swordfish (massive creatures suspended from shop stalls) were still visible. There wasn't any artifice, it seemed this was how it had always been in Sicily.
From all of Italy, the natives in Sicily were most welcoming. We had dinner in a local restaurant one night (delicious food- quasi Italian/North African) and the table next to us introduced themselves and shared their wine with us as well. They were two local surgeons, very proud of their city Palermo, and of Sicily, and told us about some local sights. We saw some of these local sights; Moorish-designed palaces and churches (lots of churches). We also took a day trip to the hills behind Palermo to see a Byzantine mosaic in a nearby village.
That night we took the ferry to Naples, which turned out to be the best way to get to the mainland. Though a bit pricier than a 15 hour bus ride, we got a lovely cosy cabin complete with bunk beds and corner shower, for our journey. We awoke to the sound of the Italian captain of the ship announcing something and arrived in Naples very early in the morning.
Coming from quaint Sicily, Naples was like an older brother after a big night out; seedy and messy. The streets were full of rubbish and African street hawkers selling dubious knock-offs. It seemed like the city was recovering from an all night party, but it was the same the next morning when we left. The best thing about Naples was the pizza- home of the napolitan. We had a pizza cooked two steps from us by bored, red-faced looking pizza-men near a huge wood-fired oven. it cost about 6 Aussie dollars for a huge pizza and beer- it was delicious.
From Naples, we visited Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius and Herculaneum. We visited Mount Vesuvius via a rickety, hair-raising bus journey up the almost 90 degree mountain face. Our bus driver was a young Italian bloke in Dolce & Gabbana jeans, who didn't slow down on hairpin bends but instead sped up and beeped his horn for safety. The top was amazing though- covered in wisps of clouds with views across Naples and the bay. Pompeii and Herculaneum were fascinating, especially the roman graffitti which Gez translated as something about 'coriolanus smells'.......
Next we caught the train to Rome and spent three days there traversing the local tourist sites- Colosseum (posing for photos with opportunistic locals dressed as gladiators), Vatican city (sistine chapel still amazing), Roman forum, etc... There were alot of Americans in Rome and scores of bored spanish teenagers on school trips, who also seemed to follow us to Florence where they converged on the line for the Uffizi, pushing and shoving and texting. Florence was delightful though, despite being inundated with Americans- again.
The next part of our trip was probably the highlight- we took a train from Florence to the CInque Terre (Five Towns), a scenic coastal road linking five old villages on the coast of Italy. The villages were painted in pinks, yellows and oranges, leaning over the water from where they were built onto sheer cliff faces. We did two thirds of the five hour walk between the five towns before giving in and getting the train to the last town. The scenery was gorgeous, green cliffs meeting a sparkling sea, colourful villages teetering on the hills, vineyards, winding streets- and stacks of school groups on trips...! One of the perils of getting school holidays off is the kids are all there having holidays with you. It was all I could do to stop giving some a detention.
Our last stop was in Venice, where we finally arrived after a strange, unnecessary train journey via Bologna, due to a communication problem when buying our tickets and from our inability to decipher 24hour time......Long story. This being our only major hiccup on the trip (apart from going to the wrong airport in Venice), we congratulated ourselves on arriving in Venice in 7 hours instead of 4- quite a good result for us. The trains in Italy, incidentally, are cheap, efficient and some even come with Harry-Potter style carriages, where you can have a curtained compartment to yourself.
Venice was stunning- ditto the hordes of tourists again, but the sun sparkling on the canals and singing gondola man (he was actually a very good baritone...!) made the tourists less onorous. Though it is sinking and hugely overpriced, Venice really is a beautiful city. Our last meal in Italy was in Venice and despite some doggy focaccia along the way, this meal maintained the high standard we had had all trip- lovely italian-style fried fish/sardines.
We ran from the gondola to the airport (went to the wrong airport first, who knew Venice had two airports), just making it to our plane and arriving back in London that afternoon, still warm from the sun in Venice.
What a trip!
Bellissimo.
