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Trip to Italy


Mattias_2
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Hey


I'm looking to plan my first Europe trip next May/June (2019) and the aim is to get to the shoe of Italy. I'm a 36 year old young professional from west Wales. I'm looking for others around the same age to join me. Anyone interested? Any tips, ideas or shared experiences would be gratefully received.

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best advice is to either make a dash for it using the Autostrada, preferably tha A14 on the Adriatic side as it avoids any contact with Rome. (Rome should be avoided at all costs)


Or... If you have time, keep to the central mountains that run down the spine of the country. Depending on which way you enter the country. from France... You can stay in the mountains virtually all the way. From the north means crossing the Po valley.. Which is extremely tedious.


Italy is of course the home of the Roman road.. Too many ordinary roads away from the mountains are arrow straight and extremely boring. Best avoided wherever possible. And the coastal roads tend to be very busy particularly if it's even slightly touristy. And be aware that driving standards are at best... Patchy. And get worse the further south you go, particularly away from larger towns where drink driving and death race wannabes are common. Avoid lay-bys outside of towns as you will almost certainly be propositioned by a gap-toothed whore.


Petrol tends to be very expensive. Try to avoid if you can smaller stations as they are not usually self service and the attendants seem to enjoy spilling fuel everywhere and if they have a rag... It just makes matters worse. Fill up on Saturday evenings as open fuel stops on Sunday's are few and far between. Have cash to hand... As some machines refuse cards that are accepted everywhere else. You never can tell.


Never ask for the local delicacy... Or you might get a shock, like I did once being offered Donkey Pizza with the stinkiest cheese I have ever encountered in my entire life. More like a medical sample from a village beset by plague, than a cheese. (I'm sure it moved on its own)


I would actually suggest that you consider a change of plan... Stay in the north. north of lake Garda.. Head for the Dolomites.... The nearest thing to biking heaven there is... And if you want an adventure, head into Slovenia and the Julian Alps. Southern Italy is alright.. I've been once on my bike and have absolutely zero intention of ever going again - too many downsides that, as far as I'm concerned, completely overwhelmed the good. the north is much nicer in almost every regard.

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[mention]Gerontious[/mention] is right. If you have a strong hankering after Calabria, then go for it, but if you're after a blast on the bike stick to the Alps and the Dolomites. If, when you get to Trieste, you're not ready to turn around and go home, then head on into Slovenia.

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Sound stuff from our travel guru.


And maybe avoid their bridges! 12 bridge collapses in recent years. Apparently much worse in southern Italy as the level of collusion with the Mafia was higher and a lot of unfortified concrete was used- little cement and lots of sand.


Not that it would stop me going. Or using the bridges, wouldn’t have a clue how to avoid them! Might consider the Dolomites option though!

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Sound stuff from our travel guru.


And maybe avoid their bridges! 12 bridge collapses in recent years. Apparently much worse in southern Italy as the level of collusion with the Mafia was higher and a lot of unfortified concrete was used- little cement and lots of sand.

 

 

One wonders if the added bodies help or hinder the concrete in bridges.

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@Gerontious is right. If you have a strong hankering after Calabria, then go for it, but if you're after a blast on the bike stick to the Alps and the Dolomites. If, when you get to Trieste, you're not ready to turn around and go home, then head on into Slovenia.

 

Glad it's not just me.. I went to the far south because my original plan was to cross to Sicily... There is a 4000 year old chestnut tree there that's on my bucket list.. As well as Ancient Greek temples and so on. I made it as far as Naples and paid a visit to Pompeii and then further south to the (amazing) temple complex at Paestum. Both were interesting enough.. But absolutely everything else was awful. Dirty, smelly, dreary. Fly tipping was widespread and apparently completely normal. The most incongruous sight was a lay-by absolutely crammed with black bin liners 6 or more high... A small area that had been cleared occupied by a seated whore on a white plastic chair holding a parasol. And it seemed as though no matter where I stopped within minutes a whore would appear. I headed across to the Adriatic coast and stopped off at a town called Foggia where I was menaced by a group of very suspect looking men who seemed far too interested in my bike and especially my luggage. They were chased off by some very nice shopkeepers. That was the last straw. The next day I was back in the Alps and in a different world.

I was later told that my experiences were completely normal. The authorities only care about fixed routes that the vast majority of tourists and tour operators use which are generally kept clean and clear. Elsewhere.. Not so much. (Not at all)


I will never go back. And that's not something I would say about anywhere else I have been... Nowhere comes even close except maybe Albania (based on hearsay)

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Reminds me of visiting Palermo, in Sicily. Narrow alleys, filthy streets, buildings quite literally falling apart, shops the size of garden sheds. Driving beyond crazy. It was like being in Cairo... except in Cairo I've always felt safe.

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Reminds me of visiting Palermo, in Sicily. Narrow alleys, filthy streets, buildings quite literally falling apart, shops the size of garden sheds. Driving beyond crazy. It was like being in Cairo... except in Cairo I've always felt safe.

 

I had the same experience in Sicily.

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Sounds dreadful. How long ago was this? It sounds like poverty. Recent events aside Ive never really considered Italy a poor nation but then Ive only been to the alps which were lovely.


How long were you there before deciding it was too unpleasant?

 


6 years ago. Italy has a north south divide that is so stark... It could almost be two different countries. The north is incredibly wealthy and a hive of industry. The south has nothing aside from farming and a little tourism. Even the two populations are different... The south is getting older with the young escaping 50% unemployment and heading north or abroad. When I was there, there had been no refuse collection in Naples for 2 years. The landfills were full and nobody wanted to sell land for new landfills. There was an all pervading stench of decay.... Everywhere. Run down. Nothing happening. Nothing doing. Signs of very obvious poverty you would never expect to see in a European nation. Made worse by an unwillingness of northern right wing politicians to do much if anything for the south. In fact the general attitude is almost racist. A wish they would just go away.


If you go there as a tourist... You will see nothing of this. Unless you go as an independent and go off the trail as it were. Then you can't miss it.


Also... I think for people who live in or near Naples.. That region. Nobody really cares. There's a couldn't give a damn attitude which I reckon comes from living under a volcano that could wipe them out in half a day with little or no warning.

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Thank you so much for your replies. I will definitely be re-thinking my route and stick to the north and spend more time in Switzerland and France. I was desperate to see Rome but I will now leave this for a rugby international trip with the lads.

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