Italy has been my dream for as long as I remember. I felt like my life would not be complete until I experienced even a fraction of what this beautiful country had to offer. I finally filled this void last February as my dad treated my sister and I to a weekend in Milan. The length of a weekend is insufficient in any case, and so I had to return in July for a couple of weeks with my mum and sister.
I’m not a huge fan of throwbacks but with the European summer approaching, here’s another reason to book those flights and to where else but l’Italia, amore mio.
Milano instills a sense of familiarity on you regardless of whether you have been there or not. The Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle are magnificent, but try and get lost in the little streets…
Firenze‘s sea of terracotta rooftops is a marvel to behold, but be warned of the multitude of tourists that lie beneath it. It’s hard to see why they wouldn’t be there though.
We stayed 10 minutes outside of Firenze in Impruneta, and it was the perfect introduction to Toscana. Like all our airbnb’s, it took two hours, four arguments, and $20 worth of roaming charges to find the place.
Siena is severely underrated. Unfortunately, it was only a pit stop on our journey through Tuscany to one of my favourite places thus far, Cortona.
My vision of Italy was captured in Cortona. This place was where one of my favourite films was set, and the reality exceeded expectations.
Here is a little teaser of the magic of the Piazza.
Everyone in the Piazza could not wipe the smiles off their faces. It could have been the vino, but most likely the fact that they were Under the Tuscan Sun.
Roma was completely spontaneous. It was my sister’s descriptive recount of her visit to the Vatican that sold it to my mum and I. Nothing quite prepares you for the grandeur of the Vatican… but it’s definitely something that needs to be experienced in person.
The lady who owned our airbnb (just outside of Roma) entertained us for dinner with her friends and family. Among them there was a musician, a filmmaker, a cameraman, a poet, an actress, and David – the all-rounder. Conversation was more interesting than taking photos that night.
After Rome, was Camogli… and we had never been more prepared to dive into the Mediterranean and overload on Focaccia al formaggio and Italian seafood for a good week. By the sea is the place to be in the European summer.
Grazie Italia, but this is just the beginning.
Marcelle Bucher 