September 2018
Milano
We arrived into Milano by train just after 7 and went straight to the hostel Bruce and I had booked on the north east side of the city. Our first day we did an interesting walking tour, covering the University, Cuomo, Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, La Scala piazza and the financial district. Milan has always been a major city in Northern Italy with a rich history but what I found most interesting was the parts of the tour covering Italian unification - the need for cultural acceptance of the idea of Italy, the monuments to it, and the search for a unified single standard Italian language influenced by Manzoni.
The Duomo is the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world, taking over 600 years to fully complete. Inside and out it is truly gargantuan, but my favourite part was the statue of St Bartholomew holding his own skin - gruesome! And next to the cathedral was the opulent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Bruce was on a bit of a museum buzz so led us enthusiastically into the Pinacoteca (after an unsuccessful wandering about the art school corridors). We didn't realise we were meant to buy a ticket and just walked in, but unfortunately Rhianna was noticed and told to leave by the staff.
First up was Pizza Spontini which seemed to be a popular and iconic pizza place doing deep dish pizza. However while it was ok, I don't think deep dish is my style. My salami and tomato pizza also was covered with a huge amount of cheese, unlike other Italian pizza.
We also had pizza at Gino Sorbillo, at the Milano branch of the Neapolitan icon which we tried in August last year. This was a delectable pizza, almost matching Da Michele! Mine was a margherita with pecorino on top while Bruce had a gorgonzola number.
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| At Gino Sorbillo |
We also dined at the restaurant next door to the Airbnb we hired when Phil and Rhianna joined us. Volemose Bene is a Roman eatery where we had pasta - after a few attempts to order I finally found one that was still available at that late hour (11pm).
Driving
I'd done some research while we were in Nice, and to drive in Italy found that you need either an international drivers licence (not feasible in the time) or a sworn translation of your licence. Our first morning in Milan was spent hastily arranging a sworn translation of my licence as Bruce had lost his. Thankfully the translation was ready the Monday afternoon and we booked a car for the Wednesday. We travelled out to the airport on Wednesday to pick up the car. However once we got there we found a further complication - a credit card (which I didn't have) in my name was needed for the booking, otherwise a debit card could be used in my name for a manual transmission (I hadn't driven a manual for years, and felt that driving on the right hand side and dealing with signs in a different language might all be too much). Cue frantic checking with other rental car desks to see if this was a legal requirement or simply Hertz policy. We found out it was legal requirement but thankfully Bruce came up with a slightly tricky idea - Rhianna had a credit card and an NZ licence so we booked in her name, but since she has no International drivers licence or translation I would do all the driving as an "additional driver". We booked through Avis and finally, after about 3 hours and lots of stress and hassle, we were on the road.
Driving in Italy is a bit of an experience. The drivers are slightly more mad than in France, and seem fond of dangerous overtaking.
I managed to get into the swing of travelling with someone other than Rach, first with just Bruce and then with Phil and Rhianna. I realised I'm generally a bit of an early riser, so needed to adjust to starting a bit later. And travelling on a budget in a group has some challenges. The Splitwise app became handy to split costs among us.
Lake Como
From the airport we drove to Lake Como, and there were some pretty hairy moments as we went along the narrow lakeside road. First stop was a swim near the town of Bellagio at San Giovanni beach. It was strange to swim in non-buoyant fresh water again but very cool. We were treated to stunning lakeside views as we swam, similar but steeper terrain than Lake Geneva.
Dinner was at a restaurant in Bellagio, delicious truffle tagliatelle for me - sliced truffle, tiny diced garlic and oil covering the pasta - and afterwards some more great lakeside views.
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| Bellagio |
Main base
Then we were off to our accommodation near Mantova. I think we underestimated the driving distances in Northern Italy as it was a 3 hour drive and we got in a bit late. Our Airbnb was a four bedroom in a villa in the quiet countryside - apart from the chicken that once roarked outside our window at 10pm and scared Phil awake.
Modena
A lovely but quiet medieval town centre with red brick buildings, footpaths under large porches and cobbled streets. We obviously had to have some delicious Balsamico de Modena vinegar while we were there, as we ate lunch at a restaurant. My foccaccia was delicious.
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| Modena |
Bologna
This was like a bigger, busier and better version of Modena in many ways. The piazza in front of the cathedral is stunning - one of my favourite sights in Europe. The unfinished upper facade of the cathedral is imposing, and the fountain statue of Neptune surrounded by nymphs squirting water from their nipples really adds to it. Nearby were some lively covered alleyways.
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| Bologna Cathedral |
The Two Towers were also very cool and it almost beggars belief that during the 1200s there were at least 100 towers in the city, like medieval skyscrapers.
The only slight disappointment was the food, specifically the ragu which I had been so looking forward to. We ate at Osteria dell'Orso which is apparently one of the most reputable eateries in the city. However the ragu didn't live up to expectations - it lacked the smooth, almost creamy rich flavour of the sauce that I've made at home by following the Accademia Italiana della Cucina recipe. For a visit to a city most renowned for its food it was disappointing - but maybe I needed to give the city a bit more of a chance.
Lake Garda
We based ourselves in the town of Sirmione for an afternoon, situated at the end of a peninsula on the lake, its entrance guarded by a castle with a moat connected to the lake and a drawbridge. We swam off a wharf on a shelf of rock jutting into the lake which was very cool.
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| Sirmione |
Lunch was a pizza at the restaurant nearby. As we walked back over the castle drawbridge Bruce took it upon himself to jump into the water for kicks, drawing the attention of many shocked onlookers and, soon after, the police. He was sternly warned for a few minutes as the three of us waited nearby trying to not so obviously associate ourselves with him.
Wine tasting in Valpolicella
I drove us into the rolling hills of Valpolicella to do a wine tasting at La Bignele winery. We had five wines, including Valpolicella classico, Ripasso (my favourite), amarone and recioto. The latter was probably the most interesting - a sweet wine that lacked the stickiness of a dessert wine and was as light as a light white or red.
Mantova
Like Modena but more interesting and lively, but not as big as Bologna. The square was again very beautiful and we dined there at a restaurant where I had the standout pasta of this part of the trip - tortellini stuffed with pumpkin and cooked in butter. Exquisite and thankfully only a small helping given how rich and filling it was!
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| Mantova |
Dolomites hike
I drove us to Feltre where we got a recommendation for a day hike. We started from Passo Croce d'aune and walked for almost three hours upwards toward the rifugio ('mountain hut' or 'cabin') at an elevation of 1993 metres. This was not a cabin or hut we'd be used to on a New Zealand hike though - it was basically a hilltop pub/cafe! We had some pretty stunning views on the upper parts of the walk which were as good as the Accursed Mountains in Albania. We ate our packed lunch bread, cheese, salami, twix, baked ricotta with lemon and melon. A quick beer inside the rifugio then it was time to descend.
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| At the rifugio |
Our final night in Italy was in a very swish 3 bedroom apartment in the town of Brugnera a couple hours away. For dinner we had an exceptionally good caprese pizza (cherry toms, buffalo mozzarella and light basil flavour) and meaty and oniony one.
The next day we drove to Trieste, where Phil and Rhianna were catching a train and our paths would diverge. An hour or two walking around showed the city to be almost eerily quiet. I thought it might have been grand and bustling once, but now seemed to have almost fallen into decay. I once read a description of it as a 'sad city' which seemed apt - though it was a Sunday which may have explained the quiet.
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| Trieste |
We bid Phil and Rhianna goodbye, and Bruce and I continued on to nearby Istria.
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