Last month, in mid-March, my eldest daughter and I went on a nine day Italian adventure. Italy is somewhere we had both always wanted to go so last year I decided to save up the pennies and plan a trip.
Time and budget taken into account, we wanted to attempt to visit three key destinations: Taormina in Sicily, Rome and Venice. A true top to toe experience (or in our case toe to top!). We would cover pretty much all main modes of transport - plane, train, bus and boat!
Having watched various travel vlogs my heart was set on Sicily being a stop on our journey and it didn't disappoint! Taormina is a small hilltop town on the south coast of Sicily with a mix of designer shops (not for us!), lots of ceramic artists, pasticceria, gardens, an old Greek theatre and a view of Mount Etna in the distance. We stayed in a little apartment for three nights which had a lovely view towards the sea from the balcony.
A bumpy and restless night on an overnight train took us to Rome where we visited the Coliseum and Roman Forum. It was great to see this Wonder of the World but we both preferred walking around the Roman Forum, as you could wander where you pleased and get away from the crowds. We were very fortunate with lovely sunny weather on both our days in Rome. We had an early start the next day (to beat the queues) and arrived at 7.30am to Vatican City where we went up on the roof of St Peter's Basilica. My daughter took the extra climb of 320 steps to the top of the Dome. I didn't fancy it at the time and kind of regret it now! We could have easily had another day or two to explore more of Rome but as the most expensive place to stay we had to make do with two nights. After the Vatican we strolled the city, ate tiramisu, saw the Pantheon and Trevi fountain and ate pizza and pasta!
Another, this time lovely and comfortable, train ride and we arrived at Venice. A greyer and wetter arrival but beautiful none the less. We stayed on the island of Lido, a short vaporetto ride from the main islands. No crowds of tourists here - a welcome calm having walked though the busy crowds around St Mark's Square. Google maps came in very handy amongst the maze of streets and bridges, my daughter despaired as I had to take another photo around every new corner! A rainy trip to Murano to window shop, a visit to the viral bookshop Aqua Alta, more pasta and a visit to the Doge's palace bought an end to our Italian adventure.
It was an amazing trip and has us excited for future travelling. I am very much in the mindset of life is short and to take every opportunity you can. If it is possible, don't say 'One day I will ...' do it now!
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