We landed in Rome on the 2nd of September at 8am to be greeted with a walk across the tarmac in 34°C heat. How odd, I thought, to be outside walking into a terminal at Rome's Terni Airport, but the excitement of being there soon pushed these thoughts from my mind. Planning for our Italian holiday started a few years ago, but it really started last November. Joy, being of Italian descent, made Italy a place we were always going to visit. With flights booked, we decided to hire a car and see Italy this way. The thought of dragging luggage around train stations or bus terminals wasn’t for us.
Car rental sorted, with all the associated insurances, we set about planning a schedule of places to stay and tourist spots to visit. Joy took over here, armed with a list of places, spots, and dates. She, with the help of her trusty iPad, hit Bookings.com with a vengeance. Requirements were secure parking for the car, walking distance to places we wanted to see, and laundry facilities about every third stop. Mostly, we stayed in apartments, with the only hotels being in Rome and Bologna.
I then started learning Italian as much as I could and got reasonably proficient at what I thought would be useful. Embarrassingly, at times, the conversation would advance to a point where I’d have to explain I only knew a little very well. Really, you don’t need it; there was only a couple of times in the middle of Tuscany when we found people couldn’t understand English. We used taxis whenever it was too far to walk, and with enough Italian, we were able to converse and learn a lot about local things en route. The America's Cup was in progress, and most people knew of New Zealand because of this.
Bologna: Autogrill reststop & diner, DUCATI HQ & museum, happy John!
Visiting Ducati Headquarters
Visiting Ducati headquarters was just awesome! I think my smile says it all. For any Ducati fan, it’s an absolute must-do. Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your visit:
Factory Tour: Book your Ducati factory tour online in advance through the Ducati website. Tours run on Mondays and Fridays during specific time slots. Make sure your DOC membership (don't forget those accompanying you) is up to date to get a discount!
Ducati Museum: An excellent display showcasing the brand’s incredible history, achievements, and legendary bikes.
Ducati Factory Outlet Store: Just a 5-minute walk from HQ, the factory outlet store is worth a visit for some Ducati-themed shopping. Your DOC membership will come in handy here too.
Explore Bologna: While you’re there, take time to explore the beautiful city of Bologna. From its rich history and culture, to the friendly locals, it’s also packed with great places to eat authentic Italian cuisine.
If you're a Ducatista, Ducati headquarters is a MUST do!
Dining
We loved the Italian way of service in restaurants—not cheap for sure, but they look after you, and it could mostly be called fine dining. Spirits are served in large glasses with large cubes of ice, leaving plenty of room for the bourbon or gin, in our case, filled to the top, with the bottle of coke or tonic water placed separately to the side!
Deep Fried Flower of Zucchini!
Chicken, Fries each, G&T, Prosecco NZD$251
Milan: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Duomo di Milano
The meal that sticks in my mind the most was at Ristorante Delfino in Portofino. Two chicken breasts with a side of fries each, a G&T, and a glass of Prosecco—NZ$251. It was good entertainment watching restaurant pimps in Rome argue with each other over who was in each other’s patch. Very much how you’d imagine Jersey in the States.
Driving
Driving in Italy, although a little unnerving at first, is reasonably easy. Addresses on Booking.com made for a few interesting discussions, but the driving on the autostradas and in towns is reasonably straightforward. Parking charges and tolls, however, can be expensive. Parking in Amalfi was the most expensive at just on NZ$40 per hour, with Portofino a close second. Tolls for the autostradas ranged between NZ$35 to NZ$60 per day during the days we spent between cities. Petrol was roughly NZ$1 per litre more expensive than here, depending on whether you pumped it yourself.
The stunning Amalfi coast with expensive parking & shops under the road!
You have to watch out for LTZs, though. These are limited traffic zones—roads or streets which are closed at certain times of the day due to congestion. They are not physically closed; you just have to watch out for signs. Failure to comply is expensive, and Google Maps doesn’t have them. There are other traps, like you can’t use cars with even-numbered registration plates on the Amalfi Coast on even-numbered days because of congestion. You can’t enter Monaco in a vehicle not registered for Monaco, again because of congestion. However, after seeing the anguish on people’s faces with the not uncommon day-long national train strikes, and seeing buses pull up with perhaps only enough room for 4 people in a queue of roughly 100, I’m sure we did the right thing.
The car we had was a new 5-door Cupra, and I wouldn’t go any bigger, as the parking and back streets are very narrow. Retail shopping away from the malls in the little boutique clothing shops is great. Service is next level; different colours or sizes of an article would appear within seconds. Needless to say, Mrs Rowe’s luggage was heavier than when we arrived.
The sights
Touristy things we obviously did: the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, pizza, the Rialto Bridge while in Venice, the Abbey of Casino, along with other monuments and basilicas all around the country, to name just a few. We tried some local delicacies like deep-fried zucchini flowers and we tried to immerse ourselves into the way of life as much as possible.
Rome - Clockwise from top left: Altare della Patria, looking down on the Colosseum, view from the Monument Emanuel ll & the glass lift that costs $31 NZ per person to access it, cityscape, inside the Colosseum.
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Venice, where a 1/2 hour Gondola ride = $360NZD
Abbey of Monte Cassino in the Lazio region, a must see! The Cassino Apartment owners 1954 MV 175. Still a regular ride!
Italy is great, and six weeks later, I miss being there terribly. The tourist places are oversold, and if you want to be at the front, you have to pay. Having said that, they are amazing. I’ve never seen so much history, gold, or marble, nor thought there could be so much. After 25 nights and 4,000 kilometres by car, there’s still so much to see. I’ll have to get back that way on a bike for sure.
Ciao for now!
📸✍️ John Rowe
