Italy

With mountains reaching for the sky, a dream-like coastline, incredibly beautiful cities and delicious food, Italy remains a top destination pick for us. During our visit here, we were pleasantly surprised at how affordable and reasonable it was while still offering memorable experiences and unforgettable sights. In this section, we hope to help you fall in love with Italy (even for just a little bit!) just as we did.

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Milan

Our stay in Milan was short and sweet; we didn’t do too much exploring. The city served as the start of our Italy exploration and the end of it. I am lucky enough to have a cousin living here and we stayed with him for a number of days. Our stay was primarily to rest, plan and serve as our base to store most of our stuff so we could enjoy exploring Italy without lugging around heavy baggage.

We spent our two days here just enjoying the Dergano neighborhood and seeing what it has to offer. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the mundane time we spent around this area. It felt more normal and lived in. It did not feel as loud and as touristy – to me, it felt like we were just truly one of the locals going about their day grocery shopping, walking through parks and getting a good ol’ classic gelato.

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Milan Recommendations

2 Brothers – An amazing late night spot. Their kebap is the best I have had – i’m not touting myself as an expert but I thoroughly enjoyed what I got from them. Prices are also very reasonable. Service is great. Better yet, it was only a 5 minute walk from our stay.

Gelateria di Dergano – A local recommendation had us making a bee-line towards this gelateria. Their gelatos are very good, flavourful and plenty of flavours to choose from. The service is also impeccable as they accommodated our lack of italian. The owner is friendly, the service is good, the price is great and the gelato speaks for itself.

Boulangerie De La Gare – twice we took the trains from Centralo Milano. Twice I left the station just to make a quick stop before our departure to this quaint, local, artisanal and great bakery. They’ve got all the classics and more. They did not speak great English – however their kindness, service and patience transcends language barriers. A great local bakery spot to stop by especially if you’re taking the next train.

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Bergamo

Our family owns a very peculiar dog. She barks a lot, runs a ton, and has got quite the personality. She moans and groans and is extremely smart and sassy – she’s Italian. Ora luna is an italian bergamasco shepherd dog and she is an absolute diva. Turns out, she is from Bergamo and is the only reason why we headed here for a nice day trip. Since we’ve been travelling for months at this point, we were missing our little diva. We fully expected the whole city to be running wild with bergamascos everywhere.

What we found instead is a very nice, authentic Italian city full of flavour, character, charm and history. We only stuck to the lower city but looking back, I would love to explore citta alta. The lower city did have a lot of beauty in it and I would also recommend checking it out.

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Bergamo Recommendations

Enoteca ristorante Vini E Spiriti – A very nice, local Italian restaurant situated very close to the train station. We had some great beer, wine and Bergamo specialty food here – for the budget-minded travellers, I’d say to skip this spot as it is a bit on the expensive side of things. Since it was our last night in Italy during our visit here, I was able to open up my wallet a little bit. Nonetheless the food is great, the drinks are unmatched and the service is undeniable.

Gelato al Quadrato – our favourite Gelato spot in all of Italy. We just so happened to come by this spot during our visit and the sun was shining, the day was blue and it was the perfect weather for a gelato. Their gelato are to-die-for with a huge variety of unique flavours both with local and international touch. Their price is decent and they are well-located in the city. I cannot recommend this place enough.

Locatelli Brothers Park – This unassuming park can be reached by slightly veering off of the popular spots of the city. With its quiet demeanor, its charm is not in the loud and proud aspect. Instead, its beauty lies in its peaceful ambience with locals enjoying their day. The park itself has many ponds and streams and even has a mini waterfall. Best yet, they’ve got great wildlife calling this place home. We saw birds, turtles, ducks, and black swans.

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Florence

One of Italy’s well-known jewels: Florence. The city shines in just the right ways with its historic center, great public transportation, beautiful buildings and a rich culture. We made our way down here from Milan with little expectations and a whole lot of excitement – our excitement came from the small tid bits and history facts we’ve heard about the city.

We were simply blown away by the city. Literally and figuratively as our first day was in the middle of one of the worst flooding events the region has faced in decades. Our place of stay was also right next to the river ready to overflow into our beds. This weather event provided a very interesting atmosphere around the city and the crowds. Our first day was spent under umbrellas as we discovered the rainy city’s streets and wet narrow alleyways. The rest of the days had better weather and we thoroughly explored

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Florence Recommendations

editor’s note: it is a bit hard to make Florence recommendations as the whole city is beautiful and magnificent in every corner. It also does not help that a lot of the quaint shops, fly-in-the wall restaurants and hidden and tucked away spots that we visited are very hard and impossible to find on Google Maps.

Vinaino Fiorenza – right next to Piazza della Signoria (a very crowded,beautiful, popular and iconic square) sits an equally busy focacciaria. Stop by for a quick bite and taste authentic Italian focaccia. The prices are a bit steep (understandably so as it is close proximity to the center) but quality is great. The flavours are genuine, unique, authentic and works wonders to the mouth, the gut and the soul. If you’re visiting Florence, in this square, and are looking for something quick, delicious and relatively affordable to eat – do yourself a favor and order something here.

il Mercato Centrale Firenze – The Central Market of Florence is a great spot to explore different food options from all over the place. There are many flavors to explore and things to see. Here we got a really great wine from a local, specialty wine spot. Service was great and the vibe here is very friendly. There are also many things to see such as spice shops, butcher shops, Italian wares, wines, and much more.

LiVio Pizzeria – Looking for a great spot for affordable yet delicious pizza? Here’s a spot that is not a scam, offers delicious authentic Italian pizza with great friendly service. We stopped by here without a reservation and we were seated by the very friendly server despite it being pretty busy. They were very accommodating yet the pizza that we were served were reasonably priced and tasted delicious.

Piazza di Santa Maria Novella – This plaza right next to the major train station hub of the city is a great chill place to visit. It has less iconic things to see but its beauty lies in its subtlety. It is still popular for visitors and for local traffic. There isn’t anything extremely special about this place but that’s exactly what makes it special. It is a place that did not feel very touristy and felt like a genuine Florentian place to spend a quiet afternoon in.

Piazza della Signoria – Another iconic plaza with so many things to see and nearby attractions. This place is one of the central spots for the city so be prepared for the crowds and the noise and the chaos. Amidst all of the mess is an undoubtedly beautiful square with statues imbued with the human soul only possible from the mastery of the arts.

Palazzo Vecchio – A great free spot to quickly visit right next to a very popular square. This castle offers a quick and free insight to some of the beauty to behold inside the museums. We thoroughly enjoyed coming here to hide away from the noise outside and enjoy a brief peace surrounded by beautiful murals and statues.

Signum Florence – A rare find in a such a touristy place: an actually good gift shop offering authentic, well-made and local gifts. The price reflects the quality as it is definitely a bit more expensive than the cheap, mass-produced, and imported products. You get what you pay for and what they sell here is worth the price.

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Verona

The city that inspired Shakespeare to write about Romeo and Juliet – I can see where he was coming from. The city itself oozes with a subtle feeling of romance everywhere. I’m not sure exactly how it exudes such a vibe; maybe its the historic landmarks found everywhere, maybe its the cobblestone streets in the city center, perhaps the lovely locals living and loving life here. Whatever it is, we truly loved our time here and would come back in a heartbeat.

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Verona Recommendations

Giardini Raggio di Sole was our first impression of the city. As we got off the train station and headed towards the city center with our bags in tow, we decided to take a little break here to just stop for a bit and “smell the flowers” – basically, we took a moment to slow down and appreciate life a little. Though the park is small at the city outskirt, it holds a special place in our heart. Its a simple park but there is beauty in simplicity – it is also a very quiet and peaceful place to be. An extra bonus for the park is the ancient roman walls littered just out of sight by the entrance.

Caffè Alexander is a small cafe a bit outside of the town center ran by very nice owners who accommodated us despite having language barriers. They provided great coffee, tea and snacks. It also felt like a local spot with many customers being local residents. We hung out here for an hour and it felt like we could have spent longer!

Italianflat is a company we dealt with during our stay in the city. The check-in procedure is a bit weird as they require you to come into their office to check in and then proceed to your stay. The highlights are the actual stay itself – we stayed at a spot in the heart of the city with many of our needs well taken care of. Our room was extremely pleasant and it felt like we paid for a 5 star experience. Their prices are also very reasonable. Our trains got cancelled due to a strike and we decided last minute to stay here another night and they were very easy-going and took care of us.

AMAO sapori oltre il pane – imagine a local baker passionate about all things with bread. Now imagine a family of passionate bakers who love what they do starting a bakery. This is exactly that. I visited here during one of my early walks through the city – I was keen to surprise Ana with a nice fancy bread as she was still sleeping soundly in our stay. I searched through the google maps for a bakery. I was spoiled for choice but this one was the only one with 5 full stars ( at the time ). The rating piqued my interest and it was conveniently located as I was in the area anyways. I dropped in as they were just opening up. They had great English and were very good at communicating with me with suggesting what kind of bread I should get. As a complete bread novice, they were very patient with my ignorance and I left with a really nice looking bread.

Shortly after, we broke the bread and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. The bread itself was the highlight – it was tasty, crunchy, soft, delicious and all good things all at the same time. It was so good that we even dropped by before heading to the train station to grab a couple more loafs. It was so good that we carried it all the way to Marseilles, France and enjoyed it there as well.

The bread itself was amazing but I think that the family that runs this place is even more so – they seem like they love what they do, love all things bread and it truly shows. Come visit here for some good bread.

Q.B. Gelato – one of our top Gelato choices in our travels. Only second to this spot in Bergamo. Still, it goes without saying that this spot quickly rose to our list. They offered genuine gelato with great and quick service. The language barrier was a bit tough to overcome but they were nice and patient with us. The flavours are solid. We bought one each and we even came back to buy another to share.

Wallet Pizza – Affordable. Tasty. Quick. Pizza. Need I say more?

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Venice Recommendations

_{Venice is full of amazing and unique places to see, visit and experience. We certainly do not have the most extensive list as we only stayed three nights. Our list includes places that we visited that stands out a lot. To be 100% fair, Venice’s beauty lies in its canals and alleyways, hidden streets and uniqueness which can be found pretty much everywhere in the city.}

Liassidi Bar – we found it very hard to find a nice cafe spot in the city – somewhere quiet, and where we can sit down away from the noise of it all. We also wanted somewhere with a great view of the canals and still be surrounded by the unique beauty of Venice. We saw many busy cafes with overprices tourist menus, we saw quieter ones hidden away with no view, and we literally went through most of the city and we could not find a cafe that checked off our boxes. On our last day, as the rain drops fell from a threatening gloomy sky, we were exhausted from exploring the city all day. We searched and searched for some rest but none could found in Venice’s mazes. Thunder was in the air now and our minds raced in a panic stupor. Everyone was racing to find shelter – they all seemed to know exactly where to go. Everyone but us.

Where do we go to hide from all this noise and buzz and panic and most important of all – this rain?

We found Liassidi Bar in one of the city’s countless alleyways – they all start to blur once you’re in the city. We actually backtracked here – we had missed it as we were running away from the rain. The staff are lovely, the coffee is good but best of all is where the cafe is at. It is a part of a hotel and the table we sat down at overlooked an alleyway. Actually, it was a drop-off spot for boats and passengers. It was absolutely lovely to watch it all pass us by. It was amazing to be in a quiet space and sit down and have some rest.

I would come back here again if I had the chance; if you do, dear reader, so should you.

Area verde Baia del Re – Being surrounded by the ocean, it is a given that Venice would be a prime spot for sunrises and sun sets. Surprisingly, it was a bit hard to find an optimal spot to watch the sunset. Most of the west side is taken over by the train station and docks. We found Area verde Baia del Re after a long first full day exploring. This is the perfect spot to watch the sun hide away for the day in the horizon. There is also a great public park all around the water front and the atmosphere is definitely very open and chill. It is not busy at all and we found it to be a pleasant place to be. It felt like a local’s spot – there wasn’t any crowds, tourist shops, busy restaurants and loud attraction. Just the ocean and the beautiful sun setting.

Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art – This part of the city was our go-to spot to immerse ourselves in the city’s waterways. We did not visit the gallery. Our visits were actually outside of the gallery, in the nearby areas. Particularly right next to the ferry station. Here we found it to be very quiet and very easy to appreciate Venice’s beauty. We sat on the cobble steps by the waters watching the boats go by and enjoying meals. Definitely a special place in my heart.

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