To Italy on Thursday
It seems a long time since we booked the flights, back in April - - and at that time it seemed that it was a long way in the future.
But now the time's getting very near.
On Thursday we're flying to Rome - - that's Silverback, Stephen and me - and we have three days in Rome and will then hire a car to tour round the North of Italy.
I won't be driving, the Italians will be pleased to know. They drive on the wrong side of the road there, and I'd be fine with that right until we got to a roundabout. At which point I just wouldn't have a clue. It tangles my head just thinking about it.
So after Thursday I may not be able to blog for a while - - which will be strange. But then everything will be strange. In a good way, I hope!
The last time I was in Italy I was just eight. Blonde curly hair. Everyone made a huge fuss of me. It probably won't be like that this time.
But there are a many things I remember - - sand too hot to walk on: the view of Florence from the hills above it: climbing up the Leaning Tower of Pisa: everyone trying to give me Tutti Frutti ice-cream, thinking I must like it, when I preferred vanilla: my parents trying to make me speak a bit of Italian to everyone I met, and how embarrassed I was by this: Michelangelo's David: fireflies in the dusk: floating in the warm Mediterranean sea: palm trees.
I'm looking forward to going back.
If you know Italy, and there's a place you think we shouldn't miss, please let us know. We can't guarantee to go there of course, but it would be great to be told about it.
But now the time's getting very near.
On Thursday we're flying to Rome - - that's Silverback, Stephen and me - and we have three days in Rome and will then hire a car to tour round the North of Italy.
I won't be driving, the Italians will be pleased to know. They drive on the wrong side of the road there, and I'd be fine with that right until we got to a roundabout. At which point I just wouldn't have a clue. It tangles my head just thinking about it.
So after Thursday I may not be able to blog for a while - - which will be strange. But then everything will be strange. In a good way, I hope!
The last time I was in Italy I was just eight. Blonde curly hair. Everyone made a huge fuss of me. It probably won't be like that this time.
But there are a many things I remember - - sand too hot to walk on: the view of Florence from the hills above it: climbing up the Leaning Tower of Pisa: everyone trying to give me Tutti Frutti ice-cream, thinking I must like it, when I preferred vanilla: my parents trying to make me speak a bit of Italian to everyone I met, and how embarrassed I was by this: Michelangelo's David: fireflies in the dusk: floating in the warm Mediterranean sea: palm trees.
I'm looking forward to going back.
If you know Italy, and there's a place you think we shouldn't miss, please let us know. We can't guarantee to go there of course, but it would be great to be told about it.
posted by Daphne at 9:13 pm
4 Comments:
In Florence, make sure you see David at the Academia!
Do try the Vivoli gelateria in Florence too, which is world famous. Is quite unpretentious but vvv.good. Go for unusual flavours too.
Make sure you see the Colosseum in Rome, is breathtaking. The Forum is great (the really old part).
Italy is fantastic, you'll have an amazing time! Enjoy!
in Rome, the church in the square next to the statue of the elephant with an obelisk on its back
Don't overlook Marcello Mastroianni....
Between Pisa and Florence, just north of Empoli is the little Tuscan village of Vinci. Does that name ring a bell? Ever heard of a painter, inventor, philosopher known as Leonardo da Vinci? Well this is where he came from and you can visit his simple home - a mile north of Vinci. In the village itself there is a museum dedicated to Leonardo.
Another idea... there's this little seaside town called Venice. It's permanently flooded and I believe it can whiff a bit in the summertime but it is an incredible, unique place. Everybody should visit it at least once in their lives... unless of course you happen to be a peasant from The Third World with more fundamental concerns.
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