I love all things Italian, the language, the food, the culture, the art, the people and the passion with which they approach life. Italy isn’t perfect but where is? So with this in mind I decided to do something that I’d always wanted to do, take a driving holiday around Italy.
I booked my flights, car and accommodation on the internet and bought myself a learn Italian CD for me to listen too in my car at home for the four weeks before I went. Although I knew the very basics of the Italian language I didn’t want to find myself high and dry in Italy if a disaster befell me. I soon realised that I’d need a book or two to help me with my learning.
I landed in Milan Malpensa, a lovely airport if not a little large and confusing. Trying to find the car hire depot was interesting.
With all the paperwork for the car completed it was time to confront the Milanese traffic systems which is basically nose to bumper traffic. The horror stories of Italian driving had been ringing in my ears for the past few weeks so I sent off not knowing to expect. As it turned out there was nothing at all to worry about, other than the traffic, which was no better or worse than the traffic in any major European city the driving was fine.
I headed out of Milan towards Genoa and down to a little town just outside La Spezia which was going to be my base for the next two nights. The road down to La Spezia was amazing, a twisting, turning dual carriage way that was a joy to drive on. I was exhausted by the time I reached the hotel; I’d been in my own little world of motorway Grand Prix for five hours and was shattered. The motorway system in Italy is very simple to navigate. It is mostly made up of toll motorways which are very reasonably priced, well maintained and well sign-posted.
After two nights exploring the local area on foot and relaxing it was time to move on to a rented farmhouse just outside Sienna. Back onto the motorways for the day but this time they were a little less like race tracks hence I travelled at a more sedentary pace. After an hour’s break for lunch I headed onwards to my destination, arriving at the farmhouse just before 4.30pm. The accommodation was wonderful, complete with driveway lined with Cypress trees; it really was a picture postcard Tuscan farmhouse.
The accommodation was well maintained and in a beautifully tranquil area approximately 12km from Sienna and about 4km from the nearest village.
After relaxing by the pool during the day I’d venture into Sienna at night for a stroll, a couple of beers and an ice cream or two. Sienna is beautiful, with its outer walls keeping the world at bay its beautiful old building seemingly untouched by the modern world. And then there is the famous Campo in the centre of Sienna, the annual venue for the Palio, a medieval horse race held each July.
I really didn’t know what to expect from Sienna, in reflection I was more than impressed with its beauty and friendly atmosphere.
I spent the rest of the week driving around Tuscany, searching out local vine yards to buy up some wine and try out as many of the local Agri-turismo’s that I could find. An Agri-turismo is a place where you can eat and drink, generally for a set price a number of local dishes, maybe as many as twelve – thirteen courses served in smaller portions. These give you a really good feeling for the local cuisine. Generally all the foods are made from locally grown produce.
I also managed to take in a day trip to Florence by train to visit an old friend, taken on a day when the Italian railway union decided to go on strike in the afternoon. All part of the fun in Italy.
Florence is a beautiful city but I think it is best appreciated when the temperature isn’t in the upper 30 degrees centigrade and you can’t move for snap happy tourists.
The week over it was time to move onto Lake Garda for the remainder of the holiday. This entailed a 3 ½ hour drive North passing Bologna and Modena.
Lake Garda was spectacular, also spectacularly busy, but the town that we stayed in, Bardolino, was wonderful. The days were spent relaxing by the pool and the evenings were spent strolling along the banks of the Lake. I returned to Bardolino last November, they are currently developing the shore line to make the evening walk more pleasant, even without the improvements it was fantastic.
The only other place I visited on the trip was a day trip to Verona, the home of the Roman arena, which was just getting ready to stage an open air opera, Juliet’s balcony (Romeo and Juliet), some fantastic shops and some beautiful architecture.
Before I knew it it was time to head back to Malpensa with the car to catch a plane home. The Italian language I’d learn’t had come in handy occasionally but it was more for my satisfaction of having had a go at the language, you could easily get by with a lot less knowledge of the language.
The driving was wonderful, I’d recommend it wholeheartedly. You really get some much more out of your holiday when you control each day and how that day is spent.
And finally, Italy.
I’ve never been disappointed where ever I’ve been in Italy and this trip was no exception. Milan, La Spezia, Florence, Sienna, Lake Garda, Bardolino and Verona, as well as all the Tuscan scenery and the views whilst travelling around, all of the memories will stay with me for many a long year.
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