Growing up, Italy was not on my bucket list of places to see before I die. I haven’t watched it in many years, but my earliest childhood recollections of a place called Rome was from the 1960’s movie, Spartacus.
When I first learned about the Slow Food Terra Madre Salone del Gusto that was to be held in Turin, Italy, I immediately started planning my trip. My cousins were shocked when I said that I had no plans to visit the other cities in Italy, and invited me to dinner with their friend from Verona (the setting of Romeo and Juliet). She insisted that I could not visit Italy without visiting the major cities at least and I started revising my travel plans.
With her advice in mind, I started planning my itinerary for my trip to Italy in reverse. I plotted the dates of the conference in Turin on my calendar, then worked back three nights in every city between Rome and Turin. The timing appeared fortuitous as the departure coincided with a 3 day holiday in Dubai.
I was not even particularly fond of Italian food, and days before my trip I was still contemplating how on earth I could spend nearly three weeks in a place where they ate copious amounts of pasta, rice and pizza… all foods that I am unable to enjoy very often knowing that it will make me lethargic and aggravate the inflammatory response of my Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I embarked on my longest solo vacation, to Italy, and it turned out to be a voyage of discovery and it was a turning point in more ways than one…
ITALY ITINERARY
- Day 1: Fly from Dubai to Roma Fiumicino Airport
- Day 2: Taste of Testaccio food tour
- Day 3: Exploring Rome – Read about how to make the most of a short stay.
- Day 4: Rome to Florence by high speed train
- Day 5: The Other side of Florence (Oltarno) food tour
- Day 6: Uffizi Gallery and exploring Florence. Read about my quest to survive the beige.
- Day 7: Florence to Venice by high speed train
- Day 8: The Sweet Taste of Venice food tour
- Day 9: Venice travel guide incl. Murano and Burano
- Day 10: Venice to Milan by high speed train
- Day 11: Explore Brera market and find halal food
- Day 12: Visit Sforza castle and explore Navigli district
- Day 13: Milan to Turin by high speed train
- Day 14: Explore Turin and find halal food
- Day 15 – 18: Slow Food Salone del Gusto
- Day 19: High speed train back to Milan and flight to Dubai
After nearly a year of planning and anticipation, I finally arrived in Rome on a beautiful sunny day, and ended up spending two hours waiting in line like cattle to get through immigration.
I realized soon after being told to collect my Omnia and Roma pass from the Vatican office of a travel company, that I had bought the wrong pass! Again! So off I went on a quick tour of the Vatican’s cobble streets and another hour long queue for a pass that I underutilized in the extreme. I was so exhausted by the time I arrived at my apartment near the Spanish steps that I fell asleep after a hot shower, and missed my Friday night Vatican tour.
Don’t forget to check out my Top Travel Tips for any traveller, so that you do not make the same mistakes I made.
It turns out that 3 nights is not nearly enough to enjoy the essence of the most culturally and historically rich and visually appealing cities I have had the privilege to visit. Every city that I explored was unique in it’s own way and stole my heart with it’s quirks.
In addition to falling in love with tall doors, high ceilings and narrow alleys, I rediscovered the joy of eating. Not only eating, but savouring the taste and flavour of sun ripened fruit and vegetables and freshly caught seafood.
Stay tuned for posts of the Food tours in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Until then I leave you with a glimpse into my days in each city.
Rome
In Rome I fell in love with the doors…. yes doors and their jambs! Tall and commanding, they catch your eye as you walk past and pull you closer for a second look or maybe a third.
Florence
In Florence, I was at first aghast at the beigeness of the city, where every building appeared to be a variation of the same earthy yellowy beige color. By the time I left, I had navigated it’s narrow streets on both sides of the Arno and fallen in love with the relaxed pace of life and the passion with which they produced the best of everything.
Venice
In Venice, the moody skies and beautiful islands of Murano and Burano had me wishing I could stay longer to explore and get to know the nooks and crannies of this complicated city; reliant on tourism yet hating what it had done to the soul of La Serenissima.
Milan
In Milan I fell in love with the beauty and elegance of the city and it’s people. In Venice and Florence I had been warned that I would hate Milan because it was fast paced, industrial and full of concrete. And yet, if I could live anywhere else in the world, it would be in Brera neighbourhood of Milan with it’s elegant apartment buildings and chic cafes.
Turin
My least favourite city was Turin. It was noisy and for the first time I smelled petrol fumes when I walked in the streets. It has a beautiful wide boulevards and parks, is the center of the Slow Food movement, and they make the most delicious chocolate drinks called Bicerin… but that is not enough for me to want to go back there.
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Your post just made me wanna go back to Italy!! lovely post
Thank you Suchi! I hope to go back for another visit too.
I completely get you! Spain was not on my bucket list, and I just spent 10 amazing weeks there. Sometimes the right trip just finds us! This post is filled with awesome info, thanks for sharing.
Spain definitely was on my bucket list and I have visited with my mum twice. I absolutely loved it and would love to see more of the country, especially smaller towns.
To be honest, Italy was one of my travel bucket list. I was in Rome last year and I fell in love with it. I also went to Vatican City.
I feel like I could spend a year in Rome and not see every wonderful thing there is to see. Sadly I only spent 3 nights there and that was woefully inadequate.
Italy was my first trip ever and we go there regularly. I’ve been all over and I love it!
It’s been nearly two years but I hope to go back late this year. It is one of my favorite countries to visit.
Italy looks amazing, and I have always wanted to go. I am not really a “foodie” as such, but being able to visit and see how the locals do things, is something that interests me. Who not love a great Pasta dish!
Italy is definitely the place to see how locals do it. One of the food tours I went on included a visit to shop that specialized in making cantuccini… or as the rest of the world calls it, biscotti. We got to see the retired owner make a batch from scratch and since I have loved it since childhood, that was one of the highlights for me.
You just made me want to go to Italy. It is for sure on my husband’s bucket list. But I’ve never given it much thought. I think it is great that you saw so much in so little time.
I think of it as a sampler platter… a taste of everything so that I can pick the place I really love… except in this case I loved nearly every place so I have an excuse to go back often 🙂
Razena, this post reminds me of my trip to Rome. I didn’t plan on staying there but due to a long layover on my way to Turkey, I extended my stay. I was extremely unimpressed with the food in the touristy places. I had to go into the back alleys of the city to find good seafood restaurants to eat at. Going back, I wish I could have extended my stay longer to visit other areas of Italy. I found great gems in Rome, but they definitely weren’t in the main tourist areas. I hope to one day go to Florence, Venice and definitely the Southern parts of Italy.
I must confess that Rome was a bit too touristy for my liking even at the end of Summer. When I heard the itinerary of some of the participants on the food tour I took, it was absolutely manic… back to back tours to see as much as possible in the shortest time possible, before they moved on to the next city. I wish I had more time to explore the area of Trastevere which also is more local than the areas around the museums and monuments. Testaccio was a lovely area, completely local with very few tourists hanging about and the bonus, authentic Italian food.
I’m so jealous! I was studying abroad in Paris last semester & I so, SO wanted to visit Italy ( but didn’t have the time ). Thanks for sharing, love!
xx, Kayla // thesummerlover.com
Hopefully you will have some luck and get a cheap fare to go back for a visit… If I had to choose one place to go to it would be Venice. Venice is breathtakingly beautiful when the tourists don’t block the view, and it’s the best place to eat cake for breakfast 🙂
Hi Razena! Come to think of it, Italy is not REALLY on our bucket list either but wow I didn’t realize just how many cities you can visit. And the food! Of course we’re going for the food 🙂 Now I want to go to Italy too haha!
Hi Jolina… The food in touristy places is mostly overpriced and yuck… but on the food tours I went to the residential neighbourhoods with locals who took pride in everything they grew or made from scratch. When you come back from Italy you will see food and fresh produce with new eyes. My food tour posts are coming soon.
Sounds like a great trip
It turned out so much better than I could have hoped for and I regret not going there sooner.
I just know I would eat my way through Italy. What an awesome trip!
Also, I have never been on a high speed train and I really want to!
Despite my misgivings I enjoyed the fresh produce and seafood and really had a wonderful time doing so. Those high speed trains come with standard, premium, business and executive class. In business they served refreshments on each journey 🙂