Happy to be back in Italy
I love visiting Italy. The food, the language, the architecture, the history – it all pulls me in, and it’s a country I’ve visited many, many times.
In July 2013 we headed off on a short trip to explore a slice of Tuscany, and then I finally fulfilled a childhood dream: visiting Pompeii and climbing Mount Vesuvius.
Siena: Medieval Magic and Balcony Wine
Siena is one of Italy’s most visited cities and easily one of Europe’s best preserved medieval towns. Its main square, Il Campo, is a huge open space shaped like a shallow bowl, surrounded on one side by a curve of old, slightly lop‑sided buildings and on the other by the impressive cathedral.
Anya and I have a thing for balconies with a view, and that was the selling point behind our hotel, Albergo Benini. Its balcony overlooked the city and cathedral, and as the sun went down, so too did a nice local bottle of Chianti. Hard to beat that combination.
San Gimignano: Towers, Cobbles and Tuscan Views
Just an hour’s drive past sunflower fields, farms and old rusting barns took us to San Gimignano, a smaller walled medieval town famous for its dozen tower houses still standing tall. Approaching the city, the towers rise into the sky like medieval skyscrapers, and it’s easy to imagine how it looked hundreds of years ago.
Walking around the cobbled streets is a delight. A climb up one of the towers gives you incredible views across the rolling green Tuscan countryside. We lunched at a restaurant with views stretching across the hills – Italian hams, cheese, mozzarella and tomato with a glass of wine went down a treat.
After that, Anya flew back to the UK while I carried on for a few more days.
Pompeii: A Childhood Fascination Finally Realised
Pompeii had fascinated me since learning about it at school, and finally I was able to visit. The modern town itself is a bit rough around the edges, but I wasn’t there for the modern bit.
In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius violently erupted and destroyed the Roman town of Pompeii within minutes – not from lava, but from six metres of ash that buried everything and preserved the town in a moment in time. When it was rediscovered in the 17th century and excavated, it revealed an ancient Roman city frozen exactly as it had been.
The city had around 11,000 inhabitants and gave researchers an incredibly well-preserved insight into Roman life. Today you can walk around the excavated streets and see up close how life would’ve been, with the ever‑present Mount Vesuvius looming overhead.
It’s like an open‑air museum. If you get there early and take the non‑tour bus entrance, you can wander the eerie streets alone for a while until the crowds catch up. You’ll see housing, bakeries, toilets, bathhouses and water systems all in good enough condition to imagine Roman life as it was.
Sorrento: Beautiful, Busy and Brief
From Pompeii I headed down to Sorrento, one of Italy’s premier seaside mountain towns. The views driving in along the mountain roads were stunning – deep blue ocean, sun glistening on a rugged coastline, cliffs dropping into the sea.
Sadly, I didn’t stop. The town itself was tiny and jam‑packed with bumper‑to‑bumper traffic. I struggled to find any free parking and, being as impatient as I am, I headed back out of town. But the views on the way in and out made the journey fully worthwhile.
Mount Vesuvius: A Hot, Dusty Climb
My final stop was Mount Vesuvius itself. At 1,281 metres high it sounds like a tough walk, but there’s actually a road that goes to within a few hundred metres of the crater, leaving just a 30‑minute walk in searing heat.
The summit offers incredible views for miles, right out to the Tyrrhenian Sea off Italy’s west coast. It’s one of those places where you stand at the top, look around, and think: “Yep, worth the sweat.”
The Airport Marathon
I raced back to the airport to catch my flight home, only to arrive four hours too early and find myself stuck in the smallest departure lounge I’ve ever seen. Nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs for several hours and contemplate my life choices.
A Trip Full of Everything I Love
It had been the kind of trip I love – full of culture, history, and of course plenty of local cuisine. Italy never disappoints, even when you cant find a place to park or get bored in the airport.
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