"Have I Been To Italy?" Italy by coceng

Italy Travel Guide: 83,982 reviews and 173,265 photos

Oh Yes..I Have !

EURO TRIP 2001
EURO TRIP 2002
EURO TRIP 2004
MIDDLE EAST TRIP 2005

EURO TRIP 2003 :
ITALY
SLOVENIA
CROATIA
JUNE 2003...
My 3rd trip to Europe starts in Italy...& also covering Slovenia & Croatia...
Planning for about 1 year...reading guidebooks, searching the Net, trying to get in touch with people...it pays of brilliantly....
What did I know about Italy before reaching there,...before reading guidebooks..before the Net...? Well, I know Rome,..the Romans.....maybe from the movie Roman Holiday !..although it's more of an American love story;... I always said to myself that I would be at 'the steps' on that movie if I ever be in Rome.....Well, I was at 'the steps' allright...but there were too many people sitting on the steps that I forgot to look where exactly Audrey Hepburn was standing....
I heard about the Romans....like when we ask something in English that are not that keen to reply back!..but when we ask something in Italian, they would reply back in English! Just like the French, people say....
Well, I don't speak Italian, maybe some words...& I have never been to France....(not yet). I could believe that though....& I experienced it! At the bus stops, at the cafes, at the airport, in the toilets,......maybe some of them don't really want to talk or never understand English! On TV, all English programs are dubbed in Italian.....but it's good to watch anyway...
I arrived in Rome right in the middle of the hottest month in Europe...like for the last 200 years !...All the photos that I took are brightly clear...even at the end of my journey after 1 month & 30 rolls of film later,....my camera was still working because I didn't even use the flash !...The hot weather was really crazy & I had a bleeding nose on my 2 nd day for this trip !....It was nothing bad....
What did I eat in Italy? My favourite dish...Spaghetti Bolognese!...but I only had it once in Venice! Most of the times, I had sandwiches....don't ask me what's in between the slice of breads....whatever I could eat!..hate it when I had to chew the tomatoes! I hate tomatoes, you see....nevertheless, I had the chance to sample some foods....which were odd to me....like this thing I had at a friend's place...it looks like spaghetti but it's not....it tasted a bit sour;....then, the last proper meal in Rome, a day before I flew back....slices of salty fish, eaten with breads.....& this thing with everything fried, with a fish in it....I don't know how to describe things, eating is never my main concerned, not when I am travelling....
Where did I go in Italy?....planning to go to so many places..but I travel alone..& love it to boot!...so I took my own slow pace & arrived myself at some of the best places that I ever visited in my whole life!....
Didn't like Rome but I should say I didn't have the chance to really discover Rome;.....Venice I like, watching the world goes by in Venice made me feel good about life....but I don't want to live there;....Milan was just for a few hours....not eager on shopping;...but I had the chance to meet a nice VT friend, Maxi....
Cinque Terre I like, amazing crooks & corners abundant here;.....Lucca I like.....Lake Como is nice...really nice!....Trieste is nothing to brag about....some buildings are nice though....
2 places that I didn't see any so-called 'tourists' were....Bomarzo & Bagnoregio....both north of Viterbo...
I love Bomarzo....yep! ..no, not because of the park....but that tiny town on the hill....&...
...my best place in Italy is Bagnoregio !......that hilly town perched on top of a dying hill....I want to live there...forever!!!!...
Okay.....have a guess where that photo above was taken?...Nice innit?...

Civita de Bagnoregio

MY TRIP ITINERARIES...

9th JUNE 2003 (Monday) : Fly from KUALA LUMPUR. A smooth flight with Malaysian Airline...

10th June (Tuesday) : Arrived in ROME; Spent 2 days there with the hottest month since the last 200 years ! Rome is surrounded by The Roman Ruins...
Had the time to visit THE VATICAN CITY, which is a country in itself !

12th June (Thursday) : In the morning, took a train out from Rome, then a bus to VITERBO; From there took another bus to BOMARZO; The so-called 'Monster Park'. Little that I knew that the bus was scarce & waited for hours to back-tracked to Viterbo...Had to pay extra to the driver. From Viterbo, another bus to one of my dream destinations : CIVITA DE BAGNOREGIO ! Just amazing being there, so beautiful in the ruralness of Italy ! Slept there in a 'doll house'...which belong to Madam Puccini.

13th June (Friday) : Early morning bus to ORVIETO; Sadly couldn't put my luggage anywhere hence couldn't go up this old town...Disappointedly, bought the train ticket to FLORENCE; Spent a few hours there. Then, to Lucca train Station, where I was picked up by Geraldine who took me to MONSAGRATI. Staying with Vladimir for a few days...

14th June (Saturday) : Explored LUCCA, then a regional train to PISA. Felt so good ! Even managed to go up The Tower of Pisa ! WOW ! In the evening back to Lucca & Monsagrati.

15th June (Sunday) : Train to the 'celebrated CINQUE TERRE ! Only stopping by in CORNIGLIA; Spent the whole day there ! Mingled with nature...ahem ! Back to Monsagrati, with a nice dinner with Vladimir & friends...Lots of arguments at the table !

16th June (Monday) : My rest day. Just lounging around in Vladimir's villa in MONSAGRATI. Swimming in the pool, ahh ! Nice ! Watching lots of banned films...

17th June (Tuesday) : Bidding farewell with Vladimir; Thanks my friend - a kiss on the cheek...Train to MILAN ! Hhmm...great ! Meeting with VT-er, MAXI. Slept at the Youth Hostel.

18th June (Wednesday) : Morning train to LAKE COMO from Milan - a few hours there; Then, back to Milan to catch my train to VERONA. Romeo & Juliet's balcony; The Ampitheater...This place is so beautiful ! On the same evening, train to Trieste. Arrived there at 3 am, slept on a bench in the park ! Only to be woken up by sprinkling water which I thought was rain but it was the water sprinkler in the garden ! What a laugh...

Venice

19th June (Thursday) : Explored TRIESTE on my own. At about 11 am, my Slovenian friend, Ivan came to pick me to transport me to Slovenia ! (First destination : KOPER).

19th June to 23rd June, I was in & around Slovenia
23rd June to 3rd July, I was in & around Croatia
3rd JULY 2004 (Thursday) : Early morning ride on Prince of Venice catamaran to VENICE ! Too many people ! If there wouldn't be that many people, Venice would be so nice for me ! I could die there, maybe. Had a bit of a 'guided tour' around Venice; Slept in a truly nice hotel just minutes away from San Marco Square ! Amazing !
I was really enchanted by it all...Entering Venice from ROVINJ in CROATIA.

4th July (Friday) : Again explored VENICE in the morning; Regional train to PADOVA, where I saw some students (girls & boys) stripped to their undies...In the evening, night train to Rome. People simply sat wherever they wanted, quite an annoying experience ! Could NOT sleep at all...

5th July (Saturday) : Arrived at 7 am in ROME & my room was not ready. I was really tired & jaded...I blew my top hence caused a bit of a scene at the hotel counter. Slept for one whole day ! In the evening, a friend from Napoli came to visit me in Rome ! We went out on my last night in Rome & he shared my room at the hotel.

6th July (Sunday) : Taking the morning flight & flew home to KUALA LUMPUR !

SUMMARY...

The start of my 3rd trip to Europe. 2 more countries : Slovenia & Croatia.
Flew by MAS, Malaysian Airline. 2 days in Rome. A visit to Vatican City.
By bus to Viterbo, to go to Bomarzo & Civita de Bagnoregio. Stayed the night in Bagnoregio, excellent lavish room !
Continued to Florence. Discovered that I didn't have to reserve my ticket at all to enter The Uffizi. Swell time here.
On the same day, took the regional train to Lucca 'cos a friend Vladimir stayed in Monsagrati. A small town in between Lucca & Viareggio.
Stayed 4 days in Monsagrati.
From Friday to Monday : Saturday, Had an excursion to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Sunday, went to Corgnelia (part of Cinque Terre archeopelago). Had a swell time there.
Monday my off day, just chilled out at Vlad's place.
Tuesday morning, took the train to Milan. Stayed at Youth Hostel. Met up with Maxi1971.
The following day to Lake Como, beautiful !
On the same day to Verona; night train & bus to Trieste.
Entered Croatia from Trieste with Ivan...This was on Thursday 19th June 2003.
On Thursday 3rd July 2003, took the Prince of Venice Ferryboat to Venice ! It's amazing to see Venice approaching from the sea.
The ferry boat departed from Porec/Rovinj in Croatia.
Stayed one night in Venice. Night train the following night back to Rome. Stayed one last night & flew home on Sunday 6th July 2003.

Pros and Cons

Pros:A Lifetime Worth Of Amazing Places To See !
Cons:Don't Live There, You Won't Be Accepted Right Away ( The Language etc. )...; Go There As A Tourist !
In a nutshell:Have To Start In Rome & Continue South OR North-bound...

Last visit to Italy: Jun 2003
Intro Updated Jun 30, 2005
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Comments (8)

skywalkerbeth Jul 17, 2007 at 6:39 AM Report Abuse

interesting page!
hindu1936 Jan 5, 2006 at 3:06 AM Report Abuse

Because I've never used public transport in Italy for main travel, relying on bicycle, i have avoided some of the problems. Always carry a BIG bunch of food in your daypack. drinds too. drinks should be non-acid and you might try a camel-pac
dragontml Dec 21, 2003 at 6:39 PM Report Abuse

Arnaud, what a great intro page u have here. good read with some lovely pictures. what an adventure u had. tq.
gosiaPL Dec 19, 2003 at 3:27 PM Report Abuse

Beautiful trip! I guess anywhere you go in Italy you're not gonna be disappointed :-)
micas_pt Dec 19, 2003 at 10:18 AM Report Abuse

Great adventures all over Italy!!
olja1234 Nov 20, 2003 at 9:40 AM Report Abuse

Great introduction of some of the stunning places of Italy
ncfg Nov 13, 2003 at 11:01 AM Report Abuse

Great journey you had in Italy. Nice page.
Geisha_Girl Oct 23, 2003 at 1:03 PM Report Abuse

Yes, I saw BULLS in Spain! Albeit they were RED and were in "Las Corridas" of Chueca & Sitges! The "Matadors" were in uniform (by Dolce & Gabbana) and were led on by 2 turntables and a microphone! Trust me, you'd LOVE the *bullfights* of Spain! OLE!!!!