Italia 2009 - Una Vacanza Perfetto

Dianna and Paul celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary by spending 2 fun-filled weeks in Italy.  Thanks to helpful tips from Mike B. and all the help arranging the trip from DBP, the trip was perfect.  At the airport, they picked up a very cool Fiat.  It was tiny on the outside, yet able to fit all their luggage.  As usual, they over-packed, but the Fiat handled all their luggage with no problem.  Italian drivers are very brave and highly skilled.  They have no problem coming close to other vehicles and people at high speeds.  Driving the manual transmission Fiat was as much fun as a video game car race.  Fast acceleration, quick stops, windy roads and aggressive driving make for a white-knuckle driving experience.  Driving in Italy is nothing less than thrilling.  Once, when passing some vehicles, Dianna and Paul were doing 140 KmPH (about 90 MPH) when a blue Maserati came up behind them within a couple of feet.  As soon as Paul was able to safely move back to the right hand lane, the Maserati sped off at an unknown, outrageous speed.  On another occasion, a silver Audi passed the couple at an estimated 180 MPH.

They chose to drive so they could be on their schedule, not the train’s schedule.  Since they avoided the major cities, that was a very good choice.  Their Garmin Nuvi helped them avoid the autostrada (high speed highway, literal translation: auto street) and they saw beautiful Umbrian and Tuscan countryside.  Being adventurers, they had no pre-determined lodging arrangements.  They came to Italy armed only with the concept of regions they wished to visit.

Lake Trasimeno was their first destination and they discovered Casteglione de Lago (Castle on the Lake) and took a room in the main square.  On the second day, Paul rode a bicycle to Cortona (a beautiful city on a hill) and Dianna followed in the lime green Fiat to ensure his safety.  The last 2-3 miles of the ride involved extremely steep roads.  Paul had to stop 4 times in the last mile alone, but was amazed to have made it.  In Cortona, Dianna and Paul sampled delicious Italian prosciutto, two kinds of salami and multiple cheeses.  They visited two Cortona-based wine shops for wine tasting local wines.  As they were headed back to their hotel, they stumbled upon a free concert in the town square – a 100-piece military band -  and enjoyed the music of Giuseppe Verdi, the William Tell Overture and familiar sounding orchestral music normally played in movies to bring them to life.  Recommendations – hotel Miralago and Mona Lisa Ristorante.

Next day, Dianna followed Paul to Montepulciano.  On the ride there, Paul experienced the best downhill ride of his life.  It offered 2-1/4 miles of steep, winding road, enabling peddling while in 27th gear.  Unfortunately, due to the law of the conservation of upness, such a downhill was followed by a mean, steady, punishing uphill climb into Montepulciano.  Again, Paul was surprised to have made it.  In Montepulciano, Paul loaded the bike into the lime green Fiat and Dianna and Paul did some sightseeing and took a wine tour to two vineyards, Poliziano and Icario.

Travel Advice

For anyone planning bike riding in Italy, I offer the following comments.  I don’t ride on the road in the US, because I don’t like cars near me.  In Italy, the cars get much closer to you than any driver in the States ever does.  Yet I was very comfortable.  In Italy, no driver tries to pass you on a blind curve.  They are very aware of bicyclists and never seem to be caught in a situation where they are passing a cyclist while running into trouble with oncoming traffic. That seems to happen to me a lot in the US, but thankfully, it never happened in Italy.  A must for an enjoyable ride is to get into shape prior to getting to Italy.  That means real bike AOS miles, not stair-master or jogging shape.  Your butt and legs will need to get accustomed to riding or they will complain.  A GPS is a must.  While it is easy to follow the sun to know the direction you are headed and many of your destinations will be elevated cities and easily visible, it is still important to have a GPS calculate for you a bike route (rather than a car route) that avoids busy roadways.  A sag wagon is a really good idea.  Try to have one, even if it means alternating who drives and who rides.  Lastly, don’t take many clothes.  Wash clothes when you are in Italy.  Lugging heavy bags up and down hundreds of steps is not fun.  Also, make sure whenever you leave the US that you get your passport stamped in the arriving country.  We were slightly detained in Zurich, returning from Rome to the US, because we had no proof of how long we were in Italy, since Italian customs and immigration did not stamp our passports.

The following morning, they headed out to explore Perugia and Assisi.  In Assisi, they climbed towers in a medieval castle and visited Santa Chiara and Saint Francis Cathedrals.  The views were beautiful and they had the most extraordinary dinner in Perugia at Antica Trattoria San Lorenzo. http://www.anticatrattoriasanlorenzo.com/ristorante.htm

In Florence, the couple celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary overlooking Florence in Torre di Bellosguardo, a palace, in the best suite in the house.  Only the photos can tell the story of the views from high on the mountain looking down on Florence.  P+D took the hop-on, hop-off Florence bus tour and learned much about the Renaissance.

From Florence, they drove to Venice and stayed in the nearby town of Mestre, where they had dinner at a top quality restaurant called dall’Amelia.  They spent the entire day boating around Venice and watched a brilliant sunset from the boat.

The couple trekked to the other side of Italy from the Adriatic to the Tyrannean Sea to reach Cinque Terre.  There you will find due fratelli (Gianlucca and Massimo) – Siciliano twins – who call themselves pirates who are extremely entertaining and are incredible cooks.  Dianna and Paul ate in their restaurant (Il Parata) 4 times.  They make the best canoli and sweet ricotta cream deserts Paul has ever had (and he has had a few in his life.)  Their risotto con porcini funghi is so creamy and delicious.  They have stacks of post cards from around the world where people thank them for such a good time and great food.  The brothers told Paul the reason they understand his Italian when he spoke to them is because they studied Japanese for 5 years. :>)

The couple was incredibly fortunate that the twins found them a suite high atop the hill overlooking a castle and the sea with views from many windows.  Indescribable.  The weather was perfect.  Paul swam in the Mediterranean Sea and it was so salty – so much more than an ocean.  The couple hiked along the coastal mountains from Vernazza to Monterosso overlooking the sea and ancient cities. 

Dianna and Paul stayed on the sea in Casteldimare, near Sorrento.  They took a boat ride and tour of Capri and Annacapri, with some of the most impressive views of the trip.  Next day, they drove windy roads into Positano where they saw the bluest, greenest, multi-colored waters crashing into impressive coastal mountains.  It was hard to believe that they could find as beautiful a place as Cinque Terre, but they found it in Capri and Positano. 

They concluded their trip with a tour of Roma.  The Vatican is awe-inspiring.  They climbed to the cupola and found it hard to believe how the structure was built.  It defies belief.  The ancient ruins give you a sense that human history is so very short.  The Coliseum  is breath-taking while it invokes sympathy for the savagery of the period.

Happy 19th wedding anniversary to the couple!