Italy

I love Italy – the people especially, the language and FOOD! It’s very much like Asia- laidback and unpretentious. If there’s any place in Europe I would stay for good, Italy would be my choice. I first got there in Spring 2000 through RyanAir at UKP29 return air ticket to Genoa. Genoa is a quaint seaside town and I had so much fun in Genoa that I made a pact to see the rest of Italy. I learnt a bit of Italian, and I also learnt how to make pasta (gratzie Paolo!) the Italian way. So this country left a lot of impact on me.

how to get there.

From UK, for cheap airfares click on RyanAir website and you’ll find good value airtickets. It’s just a 3-hour ride, so I just find it pointless to spend so much. But the cheap rates land on unpopular airports so prepare some money for train rides to the bigger cities. If you have more time to travel and would like to see the rest of the Meditteranean, take the Railway Express deals. The trains are slow but the sights along the way are indescribable. But please be careful of thefts and pickpockets! Italian trains are famous for this.

where to stay

there are youth hostels everywhere but please book early. In summer, most often you’ll find it packed. I had to spend my nights in Milan on the streets coz there was a some kind of summit meeting going on. (thank God there were 4 of us so we took turn looking after each other). We spent one horrible night at Stazione Centrale but we spent a lovely evening at the Duomo, a spiky marble cathedral just watching fashionistas walked by. You can go around Milan with the underground MM but be sure you read the signs clearly (this is not a country where many people can speak English!) Along our travels, we often chose the night trains so that we dont have to spend much on accommodation but you won’t get a good night sleep. People are always barging into your cabin. I won’t recommend it unless you’re fit and dont mind the small space and horrible noise of the train in your sleep. Youth hostels would set you back about USD10-20 a night.

what to eat?
Of course the best world’s pizza is found in Italy! For cheap fast choice, if you see Spizzico (it’s like the MacDonalds for pizza) DO go in. The pizzas here is nothing like Dominos, Pizza Huts, Shakeys – nothing! I have tried almost all Italian restaurants in Kuala Lumpur looking for the taste of real Italian pizza but nothing compares to the real deal. My friend says the secret lies in the dough. If the dough is good, you can put any shit on it and it still tastes good (yeah, I’ll take your word for it Roberto!) No, I still dont know how to make good pizza. Mine still come across as pizza buns! But yeah, pizza, and pasta. My amica Nawal knows best about what type of pasta – I just like to eat. Every region has its own sauce. I personally like Arabiata (hot and spicy) and Pesto(basil and olive oil) sauce.
For dessert – Tiramisu, and look for this chocolate- Duplo. I was addicted to Duplo. 4 years later, I found it in Guardian Pharmacy and I almost leapt with joy! You can find good Tiramisu around KL as well – go to Grappa in Bangsar. Sometimes they mixed it with red wine (FYI)
If there’s three places you must visit in Italy – it’s Venice, Rome and Florence. Hmm..Pisa is also good – if you wanna see the towers. There’s nothing much in Milan unless you’re looking for some cheap designer buys and leather goods.

Pisa (and her famous leaning tower!)

Florence (Firenze)

This is home to all those art legends – Dante, Michaelangelo and Machiavelli. The whole landscape of this area is breathtaking – clear blue skies and green hills with small villages scattered. Please spend a bit on accomodation and get a decent pensionne instead of hostels (hostels – L22000 while pensiones – L70000) But, the view is worth it! We walked around Ponte Vecchio (a 14th century bridge) while munching on focacia bread (you must checkout the bakeries- the best paninis in the world!) We ran out of money so it’s such a shame we can’t afford to checkout the museums coz that’s where all those David and Medici arts, but we managed to scour around the free-entry basilicas and capellas (12th-15th century churches). Then we went off to Pisa.

to be continued…