Italy 2022
From the 18th until the 26th of August I’ve visited a few cities in Tuscany, Italy. I’d booked myself an organized group trip and visited many cities and villages on my Bucket List.
Camera Gear
I brought my Canon RP with the 24-105 kit lens as well as my 16-35 F4/L lens; which I did end up not using at all. I found the 24-105 on a full frame was wide enough for this type of city trips and is a good option for light traveling. I brought a total of 3 batteries and a dual charger, this turned out to be perfect for this trip as I used the second battery as well for almost each day. Add the Peak Design Slide neck strap, Peak Design Cuff wrist strap and Peak design 6L Everyday Sling and the gear was complete.
Day 1 - Florence
The first (active) day we needed to be ready to go at 7.30am, as we’d go by train to Florence. Our first destination of this trip.
Florence was about an hour away from our hotel. When arrived at the station we all went to get a delicious Italian Espresso and waited for our guide. When our guide arrived she took us on a stroll through the city and showed us the best spots and told us a lot about the history of the city.
The weather reports predicted a lot of rain this day so I also packed a jacket and a cover for my camera bag. After the guided tour we went exploring on our own. After about an hour we entered a restaurant and sat down for some lunch. I had a wonderful pizza and tiramisu while outside the sky was exploding as it rained very hard.
After the rain settled down we went back outside and continued our way through te city. We walked around the Ponte Vecchio and visited the Santa Maria Novelle church. We ended our stroll at the Duomo. What an impressive building and a beautiful city.
Day 2 - San Gimignano & Siena
After a terrible night we left with our bus towards San Gimignano. Tis town is known as Medieval Manhattan - as there are so many towers inside. Also the ‘Best ice maker in the world’ was situated in the city center of San Gimignano so of course we tried some. But first climbing one of the 14 remaining towers to see the magnificent view of the town and the surroundings. It was a tough climb but absolutely worth it!
No rain In sight for the upcoming days and the temperature was around 30C. Hot and sweaty!
Afterwards we went back on the bus and drove to a winery for some wine tasting.
After the wine tasting we continued our trip to Siena. Another medieval city with an amazing history, beautiful streets, squares and buildings. Siena holds the oldest bank in the world (Monte dei Paschi bank, 1472) and is known for the Palio horseraces which are held twice a year. The second Palio of the year was just the other week so the city was still in festive ambiance, which I personally really like. All the locals were celebrating and singing in the bars and restaurants.
Our tour guide showed us the city and told a lot about its history. This really was an amazing city to visit!
Dag 3 - Lucca & Pisa
On the third day we visited Lucca and Pisa. After a good nights rest we left our hotel at 9am to go to Lucca. From our hotel this was a trip of 30 minutes.
After arriving in Lucca we had until 2pm for ourselves to explore the city and started with a walk around the city walls. After about an hour and a half (and many photo’s) we completed our route and went inside the city for a coffee and explored the city center. There was a relaxed vibe in the city center of Lucca, and the temperature was perfect!
Time for the next spot; Pisa!
Another 30 minutes by bus towards Pisa and we had to walk for about 15 minutes towards the iconic Leaning Tower and duomo. I’ve seen so many pictures of this iconic place but I had never visited so this was definitely a bucket list item checked off! We started taking pictures of the tower, square and duomo. Afterwards we wanted some lunch so sat down at one of the restaurants’ terrace.
Day 4 - Cinque Terre
Wow, what a day! Today we visited the Cinque Terre villages. A must see when in Tuscany. Such a beautiful place and really loved taking pictures here. We started with a boat trip starting in La Spezia and went all the way trough Monterosso al Mare. This was a boat trip of about 2 hours. Here we spent about 1,5 hours. I climbed up for a top down view of the village and the narrow streets. Again, the weather was amazing but all the stairs made it hot as well so we went for an ice cream.
After Monterosso al Mare we went back on the boat and ported at Portovenere. The ‘hidden sixth village of Cinque Terre’. This village was quite big and has a medieval fort on the top of the mountain. From this top we had a great view and took many many many pictures. After a nice pasta we explored the city center, and went back to the boat to bring us back to the bus in La Spezia.
Day 5 - Sirmione & Vicenza
Today we packed our suitcases and started our trip towards the next hotel, situated in Vicenza. About a 3 hour drive. But first: a detour via Sirmione in Lake Garda.
Arrived at Sirmione a few of the group (myself included), had booked a boat trip around Sirmione. This was a very relaxed boat trip through a small part of the lake.
Afterwards we went into the city and got an ice cream. Sirmione is a nice town, very busy with tourists and has a nice castle in the center. After we saw everything we went back into the bus to continue our trip to the next hotel in Vicenza.
Vicenza has a very nice city center with plenty of restaurants and beautiful squares. Many buildings are designed by the architect Palladio. And is definitely worth a visit.
Day 6 - Venice
I have been wanting to visit Venice for quite some time now. I am so glad that I did! Another Bucket List item checked off!
We went by train from Vicenza and arrived around 9am. We walked from the train station to the St. Marco Square where we’d meet the tour guide. After the tour we had the complete afternoon to explore the city. This was no way near enough time though. Wat a beautiful city! Also did a gondola boat trip through the Grande Canale and some of the smaller canals. This was an awesome experience.
Day 7 - Verona
Today is the last active day. There was nothing planned so we went with a group to Verona.
Again a beautiful city. It was very hot so we hopped from cafe to cafe. Had a nice lunch and (again) some ice cream, explored the city, visited the Arena - which was currently preparing for an opera concert the next evening. After lunch we visited Juliettes square and took photo’s of the statue and the iconic balcony.
The end!
After Verona I went back home. I had an amazing experience, met wonderful people and had some great dishes. And even though some of my bucket list places are crossed off - I will definitely come back to a few of these places!