Culture, Cuisine and Chasing the Lights

[amaroo]

Montalcino - view from the fortress.

 

[amaroo]

There is a terrific bar, restaurant and wine tasting in the fortress - highly recommended.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attr...ortezza_di_Montalcino-Montalcino_Tuscany.html

 

[love_the_life]

Those dishes probably tasted wonderful but they (apart from the salad) look a little slimy to me. Apologies if it is the photos that make them look this way.

 

[njba]

Have you had a chance to eat that Roman classic: bucatini all'amatriciana? The queen of pastas!

 

[amaroo]

Those dishes probably tasted wonderful but they (apart from the salad) look a little slimy to me. Apologies if it is the photos that make them look this way.

Isn't oil a bit like butter - it makes it better

 

[amaroo]

Have you had a chance to eat that Roman classic: bucatini all'amatriciana? The queen of pastas!

Family favourite of ours. The kids knocked one off day one.

 

[love_the_life]

Isn't oil a bit like butter - it makes it better

Yeah, I like good olive oil and I know when it's poured onto food it can make the dish look over oily. As I said, the dishes probably tasted great.

 

[amaroo]

SWMBO had a spa appointment back at the Villa so it was time to hightail back to Florence.

After some R&R it was time to see out 2015... Florence was building for a big night.

We wanted an early night so decided to have our little party at Trattoria Pandemonio https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Rest...a_Brogi-Florence_Tuscany.html#travelerReviews

The place was packed and we had to clear out by 9.30pm - perfect.









Another 1+ kg beauty.

 

[amaroo]

The meal was super delicious, and the service friendly and efficient... would happily eat here again.

 

[amaroo]

Our three nights in Florence had come and gone... Bergamo is next on the list.

The kids were pretty keen to see the leaning tower - so we decided to take the long cut to Bergamo and drop in on Lucca and Pisa.

Having been to Pisa 20+ years ago, we were keen on a drive-by rather than a stay.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca

 

[TheRealTMA]

Our three nights in Florence had come and gone... Bergamo is next on the list.

The kids were pretty keen to see the leaning tower - so we decided to take the long cut to Bergamo and drop in on Lucca and Pisa.

View attachment 62825

Hope you hired bikes and rode around the wall! Some v.nice restaurants in Lucca.

When the kind da grow up and next time you go to Italy, send me your itinerary and I'll send you the restaurants and wineries to visit.

 

[amaroo]

When the kind da grow up and next time you go to Italy,

Hope I never "kind da grow up"

send me your itinerary and I'll send you the restaurants and wineries to visit.

Cheers, need all the help I can get!

 

[TheRealTMA]

Hope I never "kind da grow up"



Cheers, need all the help I can get!

ah iPad autocorrect. 'Kids grow up'. Or kinda as you prefer.

 

[amaroo]

After the quickest of sight seeing activities in Pisa, we were on our way



My best effort on the Autostrade... took this baby doing ~ 160k's



Didn't last long...



Lost him in this...



On approach into Bergamo..

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Looks like a sensational trip Amaroo. How did you plan your itinerary? Did you have a look at a coach tour itinerary as inspiration or did you have a bucket list from your previous visit?

Was having a rental car a PITA at any time with parking fees at hotels etc?

 

[amaroo]

Looks like a sensational trip Amaroo. How did you plan your itinerary? Did you have a look at a coach tour itinerary as inspiration or did you have a bucket list from your previous visit?

Was having a rental car a PITA at any time with parking fees at hotels etc?

Cheers OBB

The trip started with a request from our son to visit Italy. First step was securing return award seats for 4... so that meant booking 350+ days out - once the seats were booked we started filling in the blanks. Originally we were keen on visiting Italy, Berlin and UK however, things changed and we decided on visiting somewhere new and Norway sat top of the list. Paris made the list purely based on securing CX first class seats back to Hong Kong

Once we had the rough outline sorted - I then had to plan around dates/events (Xmas/NYE), this is why we did Rome>Perugia>Venice>Florence>Bergamo. It's not the most sensible routing however, we wanted to avoid Xmas in Rome and NYE in Venice. We've seen most of the sights as a couple however, it was really nice to experience them with the kids. We got to see some new stuff in Italy - Pompeii, Milan, Bergamo so it was a good mix of old and new.

Norway was special - very happy we made the decision to go.

The car was fun and IMO a must for touring Italy. We clocked up just over 1,800k's and enjoyed every one of them... even driving through the centre of Rome. Parking wasn't a hassle as all the hotels bar Venice offered parking, which I pre-booked for €84 / 4 days.

One thing to be aware of is the ZTL restrictions https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones they were pretty much everywhere. The hotels we stayed issued permits for our car however, for the day trips we had to be careful to park outside the zone and walk.

Speeding is another trap for young players! It's very easy to go with the flow and end up doing way more than the limit:shock: the speed limit on the Autostrade is 130k. Not many drive within the limit however, there are cameras everywhere... I'm certainly expecting some rather nasty mail in a few months

Tolls are expensive - we probably racked up a couple of hundred €

IMO, driving is the only way to see Italy.

 

[get me outta here]

I like it that your food photos were getting taken closer and closer to the food.

 

[JohnM]

IMO, driving is the only way to see Italy.

Most places, IMO .

 

[amaroo]

Relais San Lorenzo Relais San Lorenzo - Bergamo Alta

This place is special! Modern gem in the best location in Bergamo - loved it!

Booked - Suite and Twin Deluxe (Valley View)







Now that's a shower head!

 

[amaroo]

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