Tim's excellent adventure to Italy 10/24/2007 1:47:53 PM Link | | Add comment My trip to Italy was excellent! The weather was perfect in the mid 70s and sunny every day. All of the flight and hotel arrangements that you made were on time and as anticipated. It is an experience that my brother, niece (Elizabeth), and I will never forget.
Bergamo is a quaint city with lots of hills, narrow streets, and a lot of history. I like to go for long walks and this city was perfect. My brother was good tour guide! I especially enjoyed the Citta Alta (high city) which is very high above the rest of the city. We also went to a professional Series A soccer game and the team from Bergamo (Atalanta) won a close contest.
Venice was like no other place that I had ever been to before. I enjoyed the fact that there were no cars and it was relaxing to see the boats and hear the waves. We also visited churches and the palace. They are very impressive. We rode on the water taxi through the canals and also went to Murano to see the glass makers and to do some shopping. I bought some nice glass jewelry for my Mom and a girlfriend. I also bought a nice vase and some candle holders that will be shipped to me this week. I am looking forward to receiving them soon.
The trip to Florence was quite exciting. We took a train there on Thursday and had a nice lunch in an outdoor courtyard. We also went to the museum to see the statue of David. It was quite impressive to see in person! The trip back to Milan from Florence was quite an adventure. There was a train strike that Friday and no bus available to take us back on time for our return flight the next morning. So we hired a private tour van for the three of us. The cost was more than we anticipated, but considering the circumstances it was well worth it. Our driver Angelo Rocca also gave us a lot of information about the areas that we traveled through along the way. The hills and mountains in that area are beautiful. He also gave us a lot of information about the economy of Italy and the cost of living there!
Milan is a very large city and we spent most of our time there visiting the Duomo and shopping areas. We had a great time and my niece especially liked the shopping! I spoiled her a bit and bought her a nice pair of shoes and several socks. Milan is a very modern city and I would like to explore it a bit more some time on the future.
Here is a trip for people visiting Milan. There is a shuttle bus every half hour between the Malpensa airport and the downtown train station. The shuttle takes about 45 minutes and is only about $5 each way. It is probably better to get a hotel in downtown and take the shuttle to the airport than to get a hotel near the airport. The hotel in Milan (UNA Century) is very modern and conveniently located only a few minutes from the train station. I would recommend it to anybody visiting Milan.
I enjoyed the food in Italy and tasted a variety of dishes. The pizzas are individual orders that are served on big 12 inch plate. The crust is thinner and the toppings are not as heavy as we have here. Of course the pastas were delicious. (Did I mention that I am a pasta lover?!) Also there are several gelato (Italian ice cream) shops for a nice delicious cool treat.
The hotels in Venice and Florence are in older buildings with narrow staircase. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. However, I would not recommend them for people with disabilities. In fact, I would say that the parts of Italy that we visited are not very accessible for people in wheel chairs or have difficulty walking a lot. The streets are very narrow with old stones, bricks, a lot of stairs, etc. Very charming, but could be difficult for those with physical limitations.
I would like to thank you for all of your assistance Cindy. This was a wonderful trip and I am thankful for the arrangements that you made for us. I will definitely consult you when considering future travel plans! I will also recommend you to my traveling friends.
Thanks again,
Tim
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