We have been planning to go to Italy for 2 years now but last year, our flights got cancelled last minute and so, I had to make it happen this year because that's all I could think about. There were many instances that looked like it wasn't going to happen and up until, we landed in Italy, I was anxious that something bad was going to happen! You won't believe the relief I had when the Italian sun hit me and the stress just evaporated!
When you plan, it is important to know the following things:
- Book everything in advance including trains so you can save a bit of money especially when you go to touristy places. Booking in advance also guarantees you fast-track entry.
- If you are planning to visit churches, you have a dress code to adhere to so please be mindful. No sleeveless tops/dresses, or shorts/short skirts. It's ok if you forget, as they'll provide you with a cover up which costs extra. Thankfully, I knew of this and packed clothes appropriately and always carried a scarf should a need arise to visit a big church!
- The way meals are served is very different. They get starters and starters but what I learnt was they get primi piatti (first plate) which is the first main course consisting mainly of carbohydrates and then there's the secondi piatti which is the second main course consisting of meat or fish!
- Its nice to learn a couple of phrases in Italian as it will enhance your experience.
- Children under the age of 14 do not need to pay for national rail services. It is way cheaper than the British transport.
- Children under 10 travel for free on the metro and other mode of city transport system.
-It gets very hot between 12-2pm so always carry a bottle of water, a hat and plenty of suncream! There's water fountains everywhere so you can easily refill your water bottle.
- If you are travelling by public transport, depending on how much you travel, you can either get a single Metro ticket, a week's ticket (be careful - this applies to Monday to Sunday so if you buy a week's ticket on Saturday, it will only be valid under end of Sunday) or you can get a ticket that will get you 10 rides. You can use this metro on buses and trams too!
- There's lost of stairs and pedestrian areas so wear adequate shoes. I always wondered how Italians seem to eat so much and had great bodies and now I understood. I didn't feel guilty stuffing my face with so much pasta and gelato because we easily hit a 10km step everyday.
- For big cities, there's usually a city pass which you can buy if you are planning to visit a lot and only worth if you are staying in a city for a couple of days.
- Nothing runs on time! The national rail services always were delayed!
- There's lots of mosquitos so pack mosquito repellent or long pyjamas.
We stayed in Milan in the outskirts of Duomo. The area was not touristy so we got to live and shop around like a local! It reminded me a lot of being in Paris, outside the city centre. We had the metro and trams on our doorstep which was very convenient because we were always travelling.
We visited 5 cities in 6 days and here's how we done it (bearing in mind my kids are 10 and 14) :
- Bellano, Lake Como - I try to avoid touristy places as much as I can and so I didn't want to visit the regular Lake Como places. I also wanted to see a waterfall and stumbled upon this town called Bellano. It was further up the lake but so well worth it as it was less crowded and a beautiful charming town. The train journey was so scenic. Everything was within walking distance. We first headed to Orrido di Bellano, the waterfall, which is set between gorges and has a small entry fees but it was well worth it as it was beautiful. We then had a nice stroll by the lake and had a nice refreshing swim in the lake. There was a playground by the beach too and plenty of nice places to eat!
- Sirmione and Gardaland, Lake Garda - Another beautiful lake which I found out through reading a book. However, I found it less charming and more touristy than Lake Como. Sirmione is really beautiful. There's a castle and grottos with a beautiful beach, Jamaica Beach to swim in! We then headed to Gardaland which is a theme park and got some really great rides that we all enjoyed which was opened till 11.30pm so plenty of time to try out as many rides as possible. There's a free shuttle bus from Peschiera del Garda station.
- Genoa - what a beautiful, beautiful city! You can easily do a couple of days here. Everything is within walking distance and you always seem to stumble on a palace. We first headed to the Maritime Museum which was such a good museum, very interactive and with so much to do and learn. As part of the Maritime Museum, you can also visit an actual submarine which was moored in the harbour. An actual submarine. It was so cool! My kids loved the submarine as much as I did! Next we walked to Christopher Columbus house as Genoa as this is his birth city. There's a museum to go with it with a small entry price. We then walked through Piazza De Ferrari which is an iconic square surrounded by beautiful architecture and water features. We then walked back to the harbour to visit the biggest aquarium in Europe and it was fantastic where amongst the usual stuff, we saw dolphins, seals, and manatees which we never seen before. Next time, we will stay a couple of days there as there is so much to explore!
- Venice - this was my daughter's favourite city. Thanks to Shakespeare, she already was in love with it and now that she visited it and more in love with! And what's not to love??? Cute bridges, charming stores, little roads everywhere until you get to St Mark's Piazza which was absolutely mind-blowingly stunning! You got St Mark's Basilica with its stunning facade, the numerous museums and library and not to mention the fascinating Doge's Palace. St Mark's Basilica is free to visit but the queue was too long. When you buy Doge's Palace tickets, you get to get the Archeological museum, Museum Correr, and
Marciana National Library on the same day too! There are no words to describe what we've seen as it was just amazing! I spent more time admiring the architecture then seeing what was around me! Truly speechless. We then took a vaporetto to go to Murano as Laksha wanted to see glass blowing and for a very s,all entry fee, we were able to see an actual glass blowing demonstration. We were enthralled by the experience. We then walked around see the many glass shops along the canals. Another city, where you need to stay a couple of days to explore everything it offered!
- Milan - A small city which doesn't have much to offer so can easily do it as a weekend trip, except the Duomo Cathedral. You can go to the terrace which is the highlight! It's just so beautiful! There's a castle, Castello Sforzesco, turned into a museum. It is free to enter and visit the ground but not the museum. Behind the castle, is the Sempione Park. There are lots of museums but my kids didn't want to do any regular museums that they could do back in the UK so we skipped then. We also did a waterpark, Aquapark which was on the outskirts of Milan and gave us so many slides over 3 floors but also other attractions both indoors and outdoors!
Out of everywhere we ate, we only found authentic food in non-touristy areas so bear that in mind. I had a load of dream about amazing food but in the touristy places, the food was average. Always find, family run businesses or restaurants on quiet alleyways/roads.
We didn't want to leave Italy at all! We absolutely fell in love with Italy. Time flew so quickly!
