Take a walk - Italian style

Italy, a fascinating and interesting place to be.  Being here is taking a step back in time; at least, that is how I feel.  Many steps back in time.

At this very moment though, I am bored. Am sitting on a bus heading to Venice and nodding off to sleep along with the other 47 people on the bus – so will type something to update family & friends about our Italian excursion.

Have gone from being totally lost in the Italian out backs of Tuscany, being ripped off by an Italian telecommunications company, to being pushed into the underground tubes due to peak hour office workers going home, to having the funniest taxi ride around Rome by a rogue and rough taxi driver,  to mixing it with Rome’s street girls, to condom machines and of course, the Pope heaving at me.

Our first nine or ten days of being in Italy on our self-guided walking tour is long over and we are in Day Something of the hi-de-hi bus tour around all the key points in Italy.

There’s 48 of us on this bus. Lots of Americans, Singaporeans, one Pom, Russians, Australians and four of us Kiwis.  Mixture of ages 10 to 110.  Well, almost. 

Actually… on reflection, Delwyn and I just may be the oldest on the coach.  But we shall not enlighten any of the other passengers of that statistic.

The walking trip

Look, if have every thought of something exotic for a holiday and would like to head to Europe, do a walking tour.  Well, at least this walking tour in Italy.  Getting almost lost every day in the hills of Tuscany and Umbria, whilst frustrating at the time – mostly due to the excessive heat in the sunshine rays of 32-37 degrees – was fabulous. 

And throwing oneself into the Italian culture in this was is the best way to force one into learning the language, quickly.

Since being on this bus we’ve hardly had to use an Italian word. Pity, as was just beginning to feel confident in engaging basic communications with Italians.

It certainly wasn’t quite the easy walking tour I had pictured, walking flat to rolling countryside from wine tasting spot to wine tasting spot.  Indeed, most of the day's walking distances were shorter than they had told us they would be, and jolly hard slogs some days, especially whilst becoming lost. We would find ourselves climbing from sea level to 2,000 feet, on gravelled or broken and hardly distinguishable tracks.  Fun.

We booked  the actual tour through Mac’s Tours, online. But wouldn’t do that again, would book direct as Mac’s merely were the middleman between us and the small walking tour company here in Italy.

That tour company had some rough edges (the botched directions being in that category), but it had so many positives that we shall reflect back on the ten days as the best way to have been introduced to a new country.  And to Michael (or Michaela, as his real Italian name is). He was certainly the epitome of the perfect Italian man and was the main cause for us not throwing tantrums with the tour company over their ineptness.   He did not have a lot of intelligence, but who cares about that when he had a lot of everything else Italian … looks, smoothness, charm, smile, perfect skin, great body….   need more be said?

The hotels and bed and breakfasts we stayed in each night were superb.  By Italian standards.  Wonderful medieval castles, homes, hotels and fortresses.  The food, very Italian – funny that – the wine even more Italian and oh so smooth to move from table top to mouth top.

If I could encourage anyone to seriously consider the trip I would do.

The tour company is a small, local one that is run by three Italians who have lived all their lives in the area – two women and one man. They specialise in cycling tours which to me, after having gone through all the entertainment of the walking one, would be so very ho-hum.  That says something coming from a cyclist. 

They also specialise in Vesper tours.  Now that’s a tour that could tempt me to return.  Zipping around and getting lost on Vespers throughout Tuscany and Umbria would be a dream holiday.  Except for the fact they drive on the wrong side of the road. And drive madly.  And don’t stick to speed limits.  And never stop at stop signs.  And drive through red lights.  And never stop at pedestrian crossings.  And never use indicators.

Seriously, plan a holiday for next year, or the year after - an Italian self-guided walking tour in Tuscany and Umbria.

Arrivederci.