OP
OP
Did you go to Sirmeone on lake Garda. Nice place for a short visit. We had a permit to drive onto the island as we were staying in a hotel in there.
Whats wrong with Italy?
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Two on Tour
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This is our thread of Italian tour to see what you have been missing in the south of Italy.
Italy from top to toe
Yes and no, as you will find out. Yikes that sounds worrying 🤔
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I didn't I'm afraid we were in the Pacengo area the second time, the first time was in 1982 touring on motorcycles, we decided we didn’t like it so rode over to Spain and had a great time there. The spontaneity of youth
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Only driven once in the middle of Italy, picked up hire car from airport drove arround the Umbria/Marche regions and loved it. Also been to Sicily, The Amalfi Coast etc, I would never want to drive those areas, or any large towns in Italy or Sicily in any car over the size of a Fiat 500.
Its too easy to drive into a town and find yourself in very narrow roads with not many options of reversing or turning arround.
Driving on the autoroutes is fine, even with the tolls, but its when you come off to see a picturesque hilltop village especially in a 7 mtr MH, where the problems can start, you will get stuck. As if the roads were not narrow enough, the locals park anywhere they can, even on bends, making it impossible to get through sometimes.
You have to find an aire or campsite outside the towns then bus, train or cycle in, then the worlds your oyster, the architecture, views over the valleys/sea, and the food is hard to beat,(Best in Europe IMHO) plus the people are mostly friendly, restaurants welcoming and fair priced outside of the tourist traps.
I give my thanks every time a Funster shares their touring holiday with us, I just give a like, or better to most posts, but I don't go off topic if & when I do comment.
Thanks to all the regulars & newbies that post on here, it would be a sadder place if they didnt, especially if you have met them at Rallies etc, and its great to see things from their perspective, even if we don't all travel with dogs, or go in every church in the land Its great to see suggestions made by Funsters that have been to an area, recommending places to stay or things to visit & see.
Keep em Coming Please.
Les & TinaL
Its too easy to drive into a town and find yourself in very narrow roads with not many options of reversing or turning arround.
Driving on the autoroutes is fine, even with the tolls, but its when you come off to see a picturesque hilltop village especially in a 7 mtr MH, where the problems can start, you will get stuck. As if the roads were not narrow enough, the locals park anywhere they can, even on bends, making it impossible to get through sometimes.
You have to find an aire or campsite outside the towns then bus, train or cycle in, then the worlds your oyster, the architecture, views over the valleys/sea, and the food is hard to beat,(Best in Europe IMHO) plus the people are mostly friendly, restaurants welcoming and fair priced outside of the tourist traps.
I give my thanks every time a Funster shares their touring holiday with us, I just give a like, or better to most posts, but I don't go off topic if & when I do comment.
Thanks to all the regulars & newbies that post on here, it would be a sadder place if they didnt, especially if you have met them at Rallies etc, and its great to see things from their perspective, even if we don't all travel with dogs, or go in every church in the land
Its great to see suggestions made by Funsters that have been to an area, recommending places to stay or things to visit & see.Keep em Coming Please.
Les & TinaL
andykim
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Unfortunately I work there and the driving is very defensive. Cars doing 60 in a 30 is the norm. I detest the place!
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I recall going to Rome ( my first time in Italy ) and have never been a fan of pasta dishes .
Sat down for lunch in some backstreet piazza ( not pizza ) restaurant
and was persuaded to order the seafood ravioli.
I now know why I’d never liked pasta dishes ……… it was because I’d never eaten a real one before !
The ravioli was the most fantastic dish I’d ever eaten , it was sublime , the pasta melted in the mouth as I was transported to food heaven !
All in all ( over the whole trip ) the best food I’ve experienced in Europe .
Sat down for lunch in some backstreet piazza ( not pizza ) restaurant
and was persuaded to order the seafood ravioli.I now know why I’d never liked pasta dishes ……… it was because I’d never eaten a real one before !
The ravioli was the most fantastic dish I’d ever eaten , it was sublime , the pasta melted in the mouth as I was transported to food heaven !
All in all ( over the whole trip ) the best food I’ve experienced in Europe .
First time we went to Rome went to a restaurant and sat outside, Mrs CC panicked and ordered something off the menu only to find it was a whole lobsterI recall going to Rome ( my first time in Italy ) and have never been a fan of pasta dishes .
Sat down for lunch in some backstreet piazza ( not pizza ) restaurant
I now know why I’d never liked pasta dishes ……… it was because I’d never eaten a real one before !
The ravioli was the most fantastic dish I’d ever eaten , it was sublime , the pasta melted in the mouth as I was transported to food heaven !
All in all ( over the whole trip ) the best food I’ve experienced in Europe .
she hates lobster so was looking at it then the waiter came over and started smashing it up for her
Only time I have seen her get angry, she told him to do one
OP
OP
Love driving in Rome, exciting.
We went to that big church next door, now that place was busy raking in €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€s by the millions.
We went to that big church next door, now that place was busy raking in €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€s by the millions.
bilM
Free Member
Am just back from Italy just over 4 weeks and won't be going back anymtime soon. The North is fine and I liked the Dolomites however when you start to get down South its a hole different ball game its pretty much a shit hole. People are very unfriendly the car and lory nob heads takes bad driving to a hole new level and most of the scenery is dead and dying olive trees. This is some pictures of a lunch stop this is one of the cleaner ones.
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OP
OP
Looks more like India.
We've toured the length of Italy once and overall absolutely loved it. But the driving experience did threaten to ruin it for me, especially when
normally I love driving the Motorhome for the very reason you are immediately in relaxed driving mode, enjoying the drive, no rush etc.
We will definitely go back but will get an automatic system for the Motorway network so we can avoid as many local roads as possible.
normally I love driving the Motorhome for the very reason you are immediately in relaxed driving mode, enjoying the drive, no rush etc.
We will definitely go back but will get an automatic system for the Motorway network so we can avoid as many local roads as possible.
cliffanger
LIFE MEMBER
We usually do travel threads, with lots of detail. No one is forced to read it, just as I don’t read threads that go into every detail of a lithium battery
Lots of people like the style of our threads, and while I enjoy writing them, I’ll continue to do it.
We liked Italy, disliked the campsites, loved most of the people, I can take or leave the food, but for us Greece wins by a mile.
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We are just (3 hours ago) back from a trip to Greece via Italy, both ways.
We visited Polish friends and the country roads were diabolical - some major roads not much better - MH booked in to garage to be screwed back together.
Difficult to park a 7m MH near a piazza for a coffee/wine and people watching.
Food good.
Some nice views in Umbria and Tuscany.
Italy 5. France 8/9
We visited Polish friends and the country roads were diabolical - some major roads not much better - MH booked in to garage to be screwed back together.
Difficult to park a 7m MH near a piazza for a coffee/wine and people watching.
Food good.
Some nice views in Umbria and Tuscany.
Italy 5. France 8/9
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Of course we never see overflowing waste in bins in the UK............
Looks like almost any big lay-by in the UK
Puddleduck
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Here is the report of our Italian adventure!
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My daughter is there in Uni so I've been there quite often over the last few years. I just adopt my driving style to suit the local conditions. In Birmingham I drive it like I stole it. It does help that I have a big old 4x4 but I've not had any problems. Mind I've towed a caravan along the Champs Elysées and around the Arc de Triomphe just for the experience
Love Italy, best time to go is May/june. Been many times to Garda, Isola and Maggiorie. Drove down to Sorrento to see Pompeii and Herculaneum. Last trip we drove all down the East coast to the Gargana Peninsula then across to the Greek temples at Paestum. Then back up to Pisa. Never found the driving worse than driving in many of the big cities in the UK (Bradford, Leeds, Manchester etc) or the M25!
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We have just left Italy. You can watch our vids on Wend yer way. It also includes Sardinia and Sicily. Not going to go back in a hurry though. Lovely country and some lovely people, but driving standards are appealing, bridges are being rebuilt or strengthened all over the place and as for litter in southern Italy and Sicily, well it's cleaner to drive and park up on a British tip. Oh and been hit 2 in Italy, fire engine ( did not stop) and a stone thrown from a window trying to scam us ( backed of when we recorded them) and seen several crashes. Apart from that and very narrow RDS in places it is lovely. Will I go again yes but only to the dolomites and Venice. Then no more.
Of course UK is not the cleanest but Italy in the south and Sicily is pretty disgusting, even the Sicilian and Italians agree when I asked about it, they just said we are lazy and a lot don't care. I think the crime and corruption over the yrs has taken its toll on the attitudes of many in the south. It includes many half finished buildings, abandoned buildings, earthquakes won't help either etc. Some even 2000 yrs old never been finished so it's not a new issue.
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Or many parts of the UK.
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and a fair few roads leading from some Greek beaches too.
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Took my OH to visit the port of Messina in Sicily that I had visited a few years earlier remebering how interesting and beautiful the town was, especially the white marble esplanade, with well kept trees & floral boarders in full colour.
We took the bus from Taormina down to the port for the day, on arrival walked past the harbour/station onto the the esplanade, well I could have cried out loud. What was once a beautiful Mediterranean port, had been severally neglected, weeds & graffiti everywhere, trees unpruned and dying, litter strewn everywhere, and the marble benches had been either smashed or stolen.
Traffic was horrendous, noisy and smelly, cars parked everywhere obscuring view to take your life in your hands and try to cross the street. The pavements had not been swept, covered in dust & dirt, large refuse bins overflowing, surrounded by black bin liners, shop fronts & windows filthy also.
I did have to ask ask why the place had been left to wrack & ruin, and was told due to austerity the local councils didnt have the money for regular upkeep, even refuse collections were hit & miss, let alone street cleaning.
So Sad, no wonder the cruise ships don't stop there anymore, or maybe it was that that caused its demise, who knows?
LES
We took the bus from Taormina down to the port for the day, on arrival walked past the harbour/station onto the the esplanade, well I could have cried out loud. What was once a beautiful Mediterranean port, had been severally neglected, weeds & graffiti everywhere, trees unpruned and dying, litter strewn everywhere, and the marble benches had been either smashed or stolen.
Traffic was horrendous, noisy and smelly, cars parked everywhere obscuring view to take your life in your hands and try to cross the street. The pavements had not been swept, covered in dust & dirt, large refuse bins overflowing, surrounded by black bin liners, shop fronts & windows filthy also.
I did have to ask ask why the place had been left to wrack & ruin, and was told due to austerity the local councils didnt have the money for regular upkeep, even refuse collections were hit & miss, let alone street cleaning.
So Sad, no wonder the cruise ships don't stop there anymore, or maybe it was that that caused its demise, who knows?
LES
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That reminds me of a trip to Greece many moons ago, being told traffic lights were optional!
I love Italy and prefer it to Spain. I suspect that a lot of travellers don't want to wander too far from certain customs and practices that are inherent in the British psyche. Therefore many like hundreds of bars selling English breakfasts, English pints and English fish and chips. Spain is good at providing this at very cheap prices.
May be that's why we have never taken the van to Spain. Though thinking of going to northern, central and the mountains of Spain next yr.
I think there's something in that. Not that everyone likes the same thing - you show that they don't - but that culture can play a significant role. As shown by the parts of Spain that provide what you mention. Not good or bad, just how it is.
It's mirrored in other discussions too. For instance the PVC U-shaped lounge v rear bed and garage discussion. Continental builders almost all do the one type; British converters almost all do the other type.
As a former employee of the Fiat Auto Spa I find that I love Italy. The sun going down behind the factory at Mirafiori. The zooming through the streets of Turin whilst the company driver bends to pick up his lighter from the passenger footwell..... The lack of anyone stopping at crossings and red lights....
The empty roads away from the cities. The hustle and bustle of the long tourist lines in Florence.... and Venice....
The Amalfi Coast Drive, has to be done but midweek when the locals aren't out. Fewer coaches reversing up the road to get through the road tunnels.... Limoncello...... Mwaah.
What's not to love?
The empty roads away from the cities. The hustle and bustle of the long tourist lines in Florence.... and Venice....
The Amalfi Coast Drive, has to be done but midweek when the locals aren't out. Fewer coaches reversing up the road to get through the road tunnels.... Limoncello...... Mwaah.
What's not to love?
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