So, my wife and I just returned from a 3-week holiday, visiting Italy and Spain. 10-nights in Italy, 9-nights in Spain.
If anyone is interested, here's what we found...
This was our itinerary:
ITALIA
Milan: 1 night
Tuscany (Lugliano, Cinque Tera, Florence): 5 nights
Rome: 4 nights
ESPANA
Seville: 3 nights
Granada: 2 nights
Barcelona: 4 nights
In a nutshell:
Italy:
POSITIVES: the food, the wine and the history. It was almost impossible to find a bad meal, even harder to find bad vino. The casa (house) wine at most places was sensational. The bread was so good, when fresh - it only lasts a day. I'm usually un-adventurous when it comes to food, but over here I tried pretty much everything. My favourite meal was wild boar macaroni (real macaroni, thick strips of pasta). Pasta, break and smallgoods were all amazing... pizza, most of the time, was great also.
The history is just f*cking insane, particularly the architecture.
From the old, medieval cities of Lucca and Florence - to the beautiful, seaside Cinque Tera and of course the grand daddy of them all - Rome. Getting a cab from Roma Triburtina station to our Airbnb accom was nuts... the size of these buildings, crazy. The Pantheon, The Roman Forum, The Colosseum and the most amazing of them all... St. Peter's Bascillica inside the Vatican. Wow. Our guided tour of the Colosseum and the Forum were also highlights.
NEGATIVES: the people, and the tourists - most likely related. I have a passable low-level of Italian that I can speak, and was always polite, opening with the Italian equivalent of "hello, I am sorry but my Italian is very bad". Generally speaking, the Italians were not interested in engaging us, which was disappointing. With the amount of "touristas" around, maybe they felt we were "just another bloody tourista", crushing theur way of life... I get that, but perhaps biting the hand that feeds you is not the best idea... outside of tourism, your country ain't exactly rocking financially. The bigger the city, the more arrogant the people, with Roma taking the cake.
And I hate to say it... but the coffee is over-rated. I'm a short black drinker myself, and I enjoy good coffee. I found it over there, sure, but generally speaking Melbourne's standards are better than that found in Italy. Disappointing.
Florence/Firenze was over-rated. Other than the amazingly beautiful Duomo Cathedral, the rest of it is just awash with grey-haired tourists. If you want to see a beautiful, old medieval city - check out Lucca... 45mins west.
BEER/BIRRA: traditionally speaking you're going to find Peroni or Morretti on tap everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. It's on tap at pretty much every restaurant, no matter the size, which is great (as opposed to bottled beer). Italy does have a burgeoning craft beer scene though, which I was very happy to explore - and they are making some good beers. Tried craft beer in Milan, Lucca (Tuscany) and a few places that specialised in Rome. Two particular places in the Roman neighbourhood of Trastevere were amazing: Bir & Fud and the joint over the road, who's name escapes me. They're probably just 3-5 years behind Australia with the craft beer scene... perfect opportunity for someone to go over there and make a killing with either a bar, craft brew shop or brewery.
Spain:
POSITIVES: The people here actually give a ****, for the most part. Whilst I have next to no Spanish language at my disposal, the locals were much more accommodating than their Italian counterparts. Sevilla/Seville was probably our favourite. Beautifully preserved, cobble-stone, narrow streets in the old part of town. The food was simple, but excellent - for the most part, again, the wine was top-notch and faultless. Generally we also found Spain to be quite a bit cheaper than Italy.
La Sagrada de Familia. F*ck me... wow. The most amazing building we encountered on our trip - make sure you see inside if you get the chance to go. My wife cried, I was speechless for over an hour (and if you know me, that's a big deal).
In Granda, you get free tapas... and beers are generally 1-2EUR for a pot/midi. Not bad, eh? 10-15EUR and you've had 10-15 dishes and 10-15 beers! Great value in the party town that is Granada.
NEGATIVES: service can be slow. One waiter told us that unemployment was at around 25%... here's an idea, hire some more bloody staff! Most places had one waiter manically running around trying to serve everyone - anyway, first world problem, really. Spain also appears to be a lot more "relaxed", and by that comment occupying the "negative" section - this means that things were not that well organised... which made some sight seeing and planning quite difficult.
Coffee is generally ordinary, not really worth talking about it here - breakfast in total was hard work.
BEER/CERVEZA: this almost belongs in the 'negatives' field. You've got either Cruz Campo (generally down south), or Estrella and some other generally bland and boring lagers up north. After 3-weeks of primarily drinking lager, I was a little over it. The Spanish craft beer scene is almost non-existent. It's there, but it's only budding - maybe another 3-5 years behind Italy. Thankfully the wine was good!
Despite a rewarding trip, finally getting to see 2 countries that we've wanted to experience for some time, it feels good to be home.
If anyone is interested, here's what we found...
This was our itinerary:
ITALIA
Milan: 1 night
Tuscany (Lugliano, Cinque Tera, Florence): 5 nights
Rome: 4 nights
ESPANA
Seville: 3 nights
Granada: 2 nights
Barcelona: 4 nights
In a nutshell:
Italy:
POSITIVES: the food, the wine and the history. It was almost impossible to find a bad meal, even harder to find bad vino. The casa (house) wine at most places was sensational. The bread was so good, when fresh - it only lasts a day. I'm usually un-adventurous when it comes to food, but over here I tried pretty much everything. My favourite meal was wild boar macaroni (real macaroni, thick strips of pasta). Pasta, break and smallgoods were all amazing... pizza, most of the time, was great also.
The history is just f*cking insane, particularly the architecture.
From the old, medieval cities of Lucca and Florence - to the beautiful, seaside Cinque Tera and of course the grand daddy of them all - Rome. Getting a cab from Roma Triburtina station to our Airbnb accom was nuts... the size of these buildings, crazy. The Pantheon, The Roman Forum, The Colosseum and the most amazing of them all... St. Peter's Bascillica inside the Vatican. Wow. Our guided tour of the Colosseum and the Forum were also highlights.
NEGATIVES: the people, and the tourists - most likely related. I have a passable low-level of Italian that I can speak, and was always polite, opening with the Italian equivalent of "hello, I am sorry but my Italian is very bad". Generally speaking, the Italians were not interested in engaging us, which was disappointing. With the amount of "touristas" around, maybe they felt we were "just another bloody tourista", crushing theur way of life... I get that, but perhaps biting the hand that feeds you is not the best idea... outside of tourism, your country ain't exactly rocking financially. The bigger the city, the more arrogant the people, with Roma taking the cake.
And I hate to say it... but the coffee is over-rated. I'm a short black drinker myself, and I enjoy good coffee. I found it over there, sure, but generally speaking Melbourne's standards are better than that found in Italy. Disappointing.
Florence/Firenze was over-rated. Other than the amazingly beautiful Duomo Cathedral, the rest of it is just awash with grey-haired tourists. If you want to see a beautiful, old medieval city - check out Lucca... 45mins west.
BEER/BIRRA: traditionally speaking you're going to find Peroni or Morretti on tap everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. It's on tap at pretty much every restaurant, no matter the size, which is great (as opposed to bottled beer). Italy does have a burgeoning craft beer scene though, which I was very happy to explore - and they are making some good beers. Tried craft beer in Milan, Lucca (Tuscany) and a few places that specialised in Rome. Two particular places in the Roman neighbourhood of Trastevere were amazing: Bir & Fud and the joint over the road, who's name escapes me. They're probably just 3-5 years behind Australia with the craft beer scene... perfect opportunity for someone to go over there and make a killing with either a bar, craft brew shop or brewery.
Spain:
POSITIVES: The people here actually give a ****, for the most part. Whilst I have next to no Spanish language at my disposal, the locals were much more accommodating than their Italian counterparts. Sevilla/Seville was probably our favourite. Beautifully preserved, cobble-stone, narrow streets in the old part of town. The food was simple, but excellent - for the most part, again, the wine was top-notch and faultless. Generally we also found Spain to be quite a bit cheaper than Italy.
La Sagrada de Familia. F*ck me... wow. The most amazing building we encountered on our trip - make sure you see inside if you get the chance to go. My wife cried, I was speechless for over an hour (and if you know me, that's a big deal).
In Granda, you get free tapas... and beers are generally 1-2EUR for a pot/midi. Not bad, eh? 10-15EUR and you've had 10-15 dishes and 10-15 beers! Great value in the party town that is Granada.
NEGATIVES: service can be slow. One waiter told us that unemployment was at around 25%... here's an idea, hire some more bloody staff! Most places had one waiter manically running around trying to serve everyone - anyway, first world problem, really. Spain also appears to be a lot more "relaxed", and by that comment occupying the "negative" section - this means that things were not that well organised... which made some sight seeing and planning quite difficult.
Coffee is generally ordinary, not really worth talking about it here - breakfast in total was hard work.
BEER/CERVEZA: this almost belongs in the 'negatives' field. You've got either Cruz Campo (generally down south), or Estrella and some other generally bland and boring lagers up north. After 3-weeks of primarily drinking lager, I was a little over it. The Spanish craft beer scene is almost non-existent. It's there, but it's only budding - maybe another 3-5 years behind Italy. Thankfully the wine was good!
Despite a rewarding trip, finally getting to see 2 countries that we've wanted to experience for some time, it feels good to be home.
