Welcome to our blog about our holiday in Italy! See below for daily updates on what we’ve seen and done.

  • My favourite photos

    My favourite photos from the trip!

  • Day Fifteen – Menaggio to Halifax

    A very early start meant a drive into the sunrise for an early flight back from Bergamo airport.

  • Day Fourteen – Menaggio

    Our final (very hot) day at Lake Como was spent playing crazy golf and eating ice cream!

  • Day Thirteen – Menaggio

    A drive out to the mountains, where we found narrow roads, cows, a local lunch and we crossed the border into Switzerland.

  • Day Twelve – Menaggio

    A really surprising walk starting only minutes from the accommodation, into a hidden valley with waterfalls and an old walkway.

  • Day Eleven – Menaggio

    A trip on the ferry across Lake Como to Bellagio.

  • Day Ten – Menaggio

    Another quiet day at the accommodation.

  • Day Nine – Menaggio

    A quiet day, spent at our accommodation and walking round Menaggio – it was incredibly hot!

  • Day Eight – Venice to Menaggio

    An early morning walk around the area near the hotel, then another amazing hotel breakfast, and we found the water bus to take us to our hire car, for the drive to Menaggio on Lake Como. Our self-catered accommodation at Sant’ Andrea Deluxe was extraordinary – a massive duplex apartment with 3 bedrooms, a huge…

  • Day Seven – Venice

    Breakfast was amazing – everything was cooked and presented perfectly. We headed back towards St. Mark’s Basilica, and into the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale). Ornate rooms, a military museum and dungeons, where we also found the Bridge of Sighs. Lunch at Birreria Forst, before walking to the fascinating Libreria Acqua Alta book shop. A walk…

  • Day Six – Florence to Venice

    Before leaving Florence, we took a walk to a deserted Ponte Vecchio picking up breakfast on the way back. A short walk to Firenze Santa Maria Novella station, and another train journey to Venezia San Lucia. On arrival we found the water bus stop needed to transport us to near our accommodation, Suite735. The hotel…

  • Day Five – Florence

    Breakfast was collect by the girls from over the road, before we headed to the Uffizi gallery for the morning. Then a wander around the main sights – Ponte Santa Trinita (bridge), Pitti Palazo, Ponte Vecchio, Fontana del Porcellino, Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio. Then lunch. We wanted a sandwich from the highly recommended…

  • Day Four – Milan to Florence

    A walk and metro trip to Milano Centrale, we headed out of Milan and towards Florence. We booked a 4-person cabin on the train, very comfortable and would have been spacious if not for our luggage! Free food on the train was not the best….not up to Japanese bullet train standard, nor our own trains…but…

  • Day Three – Milan

    More hotel breakfast set us up for an other day in Milan, starting at the Leonardo3 museum – full of models and working replicas of some of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions. We then hopped on the metro again and headed north, to the modern shopping area at Piazza Gae Aulenti. Lunch was at Berberè Isola,…

  • Day Two – Milan

    After breakfast at hotel (fruit, cake, eggs, coffee), we headed into Milan for a big day of sightseeing. First the Duomo (Milan Cathedral) where we headed up to the roof before looking at the spectacular interior. Then onto the Museo del Novecento, a 20th century Italian art museum with some really interesting sculptures. Lunch was…

  • Day One – Halifax to Milan

    After a quick flight from Manchester to Milan Bergamo airport, we found our chauffeur for the trip into the city and to the Aethos Milan hotel. We had arrived a few days after a huge storm hit the area, bringing down a lot of large trees across the city. The hotel was superb – the…