FIVE DAYS in Italy. I know. It’s ridiculous to think you can do justice to the delights and diversity of Italy in five days. My friends thought I was mad. You need at least a month, they said. Well, I didn’t have a month. I had five days.
My objective was to spend the time indulging my passion for food. A cooking course was not a realistic option so I turned to my network of foodies for idea. What could I do, given my tight schedule and lack of Italian language?
Initially, the suggestion of a guided women-only tour didn’t appeal. I wanted something more personal. Then I got put in touch with Shahla Motadel, from Women Tour Italy, and several email exchanges later it was sorted. She offered a five-day guided tour, just for me. So I set out to see, taste and smell Italy, one-on-one.
Article by Heather Church
FIVE DAYS in Italy. I know. It’s ridiculous to think you can do justice to the delights and diversity of Italy in five days. My friends thought I was mad. You need at least a month, they said. Well, I didn’t have a month. I had five days.
My objective was to spend the time indulging my passion for food. A cooking course was not a realistic option so I turned to my network of foodies for idea. What could I do, given my tight schedule and lack of Italian language?
Initially, the suggestion of a guided women-only tour didn’t appeal. I wanted something more personal. Then I got put in touch with Shahla Motadel, from Women Tour Italy, and several email exchanges later it was sorted. She offered a five-day guided tour, just for me. So I set out to see, taste and smell Italy, one-on-one.
The flight to Rome arrived in the early morning. I flopped into a taxi, read the driver the directions Shahla had emailed to me and 30 minutes later I was outside my hotel. Shahla was there to meet my taxi, and make sure there was no ripoff with the fare.
Next morning, we hit the streets of a stifling Rome. The day included a tour of Vatican Museums where I was overwhelmed by the intricacy of Michelangelo’s frescoes. Later we visited Piazza Navona via Chiesa Nuova, the 15th-century church witch houses great work from artists such as Caravaggio and Rubens. Back outside it was sweltering and breaks for refreshments were a necessity.
An iced lemon tea at an outdoor café enabled us to watch the tourists cruising among the colorful array of artists and street vendors.
We had dinner at a tratorria in Trastevere. It was a gorgeous summer evening so we sat outside. I chose zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese and anchovies, octopus and a side salad of fried mozzarella, zucchini and mint. Buonissimo.
Day two: the Colosseum, the Campo dei Fiori market with its sweet smells and blaze of colorful flowers, the Pantheon, Fontana de Trevi, the Spanish Steps, and the designer boutique on Via Condotti.
That evening we had tickets to an opera concerto in a little church in Via Nazionale that was the first non-Roman Catholic church build inside the walls of Rome. We luxuriated in a performance by singers performing aria from operas as La Traviata and La Boheme.
The Eurostar whisked us to Florence in little over an hour, where we checked into the Hotel Varasi, formerly a 16th-century monastery. Lunch in the Piazza della Republica turned into an unexpected delight. While enjoying salmon, walnuts, cheese and apple salad, a Russian opera singer began singing with a power that filled the piazza.
An afternoon bus ride took us to Siena for the town’s annual parade through the ancient streets. At a fabulous deli, Pizzicheria de Miccoli, the heady smells of cheese and small goods sent my taste buds into frenzy.
The mustachioed owner initially ignored us as he filtered with two young Australian backpackers. After sampling the most delicious sweet and nutty cheese, I bought some pecorino. At dinner that evening I savored baked sea bass with tomatoes.
The next day’s stop was classic Tuscany – the medieval town of San Gimignano, overlooking a rolling green landscape of olives, grapes, and tomato plantations. Launch was heavenly – melted gorgonzola with lettuce and pears, served in an earthenware pot.
On the way back to our hotel in Florence we inhaled the earthiness of the leather goods at the San Lorenzo street market.
On day five we capped off Florence with a visit to the Uffizi Gallery and a stroll across the 14th-century Ponte Vecchio, where gold and silversmith shops literally hang from the bridge. Then it was off to La Spezia by train. We where almost too late for lunch at La Spezia, where the café owner said all she could offer us was gnocchi. What followed was the most delicious cloud-like gnocchi in a rich tomato sauce. The afternoon was spent at Cinque Terre, the famous terraced villages in the Liguria region.
The following day, before flying out from Pisa, we visited Porto Venere and its 13th-century church on the cliff tops, absorbing the magnificent sea views. Liguria is famous for its pesto, particularly Pesto Genovese. Shahla gave me a jar so I could take the taste of Italy with me.