On Italy

Recently spent ~3 weeks traveling Italy, south to north. Otg notes below. 

Sorrento

Stunning scenery and relaxed atmosphere across entire Gulf of Salerno. Sorrento center was lively, but staying outside the town offered a serene balance. 

Despite visiting mid-Sep, main towns all very touristic. Sorrento’s tourist demographic leans towards less cultured/middle-class, dominated by Americans and Brits. Annoying at times. Capri: charming town, breathtaking views, delightful sea. Ravello: upper-class town, absolute gem, favourite spot.

Lots of transport options between towns, but it’s all chaotic and unorganized. Turkey/Istanbul/Bodrum does this much better. Winding roads amidst the hills means getting anywhere takes a couple hours, returning home late is not feasible. Car hire is inconvenient due to parking.

Took train to spend a day in Naples. 35 min radius from station was a mind-numbing shithole. Incredibly dirty and poor. Probably the most neglected place I’ve been since Cambodia in 2017… areas of Armenia were poor but incomparable to how dirty Naples was. Neapolitan pizza, best I’ve ever had.  

Pretty crazy how a history of unstable foreign rule coupled with organized crime and political corruption/extractive institutions can leave Italy’s south relatively much poorer than the north. Still has nothing on the North/South Korea divide though!

Rome

Wow. This place made me feel like a character in ancient Rome. There’s a breathtaking monument everywhere you turn! 

Streets very noisy, busy, dirty, and full of traffic. Far too many tourists. Quite hilly.

Larger city than I expected, with a lot of commercial activity. Not my style. 

Florence

Homebase for Tuscany. Infinite steak, incredible wine. Warning: meat overdose is possible here. Cantucci e vin santo, best dessert ever, had with every meal. Did not stop us from also having gelato every day. Outrageous gluttony, totally worth it.

Visited Siena, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino. Enchanting, historic towns with medieval/gothic vibes and beautiful, picturesque landscapes. Rolling hills, cypress trees, vineyards. 

Visited several wineries. Very interesting histories. Helped me understand wine better, feel like there should be a guidebook in every restaurant menu! Antinori Chianti, super impressive 5* luxury vineyard (I feel most people would trade places with the grapes!), 10th oldest family business in the world!

Florence less touristic than Rome/Amalfi. Very walkable. Cute European town. Cool how it truly feels like the Tuscan capital and “Cradle of the Renaissance.” Uffizi and the Cathedral are insane, reminds me of Assassin's Creed! Boboli Gardens are beautiful.

Milan

Had a quick day stop. Didn’t need more. Felt similar to most major European cities. International, commercial, busy. 

Duomo was crazy, also some cool old Renaissance churches dotted around the central city. Galleria was beautiful, first time we’d seen the 19th-century iron-and-glass architecture characteristic

Cool to see the historic features of Milan Uni with Leo. Interesting influence and impact from WW2 and communism. Campus buildings themselves were quite mesmerizing. Can imagine inspired study sessions. 

Verona

Can see why it’s known as the city of love, associated with Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Most liveable place we visited. Not too big or small. Nostalgic European village vibes. Very cozy, walkable, relatively more modern. Less tourism. Noticed more harsh accents. Kind people, but less openly friendly/more cold/more Germanic. 

Stayed in two locations, the second was a beautiful Airbnb located near the river just outside the main central city. Excellent location, older/more traditional, more upmarket. 

Tried horse meat. Not worth the hype, similar to lamb. Had more seafood/fish during our stay, had missed it! 

Lake Garda was beautiful, but huge. Half a day gave us only a tiny glimpse. Getting there by bus was a shit show, as was the way back to Milan for our final departure. 

Final

Overall, very good trip. Naturally, had ups and downs. Lots of memories and photos, will cherish long term. After ~3 weeks, and having visited Venice twice last year, I’m only left curious to explore Sicily.

Southern Spain, due to expat community, stage of economic and infrastructure progress, ubiquity of language, and relative pricing/affordability would be my preferred choice to live at both this stage of my life & also over the next 10-15 years/raising young family. Italy more opulent, refined, high culture. Better for short breaks, lavish experiences.