2022 World Tour – Italy
Hello from Italy, my ninth (Genoa), tenth (Monza), eleventh (Milano), twelfth (Maranello), thirteenth (Rimini) and fourteenth (Bari) stops on the trip. I’m way behind so I’m doing a big combined Italy post. I’ve been here several times before so I can’t claim another new country.
– Cool Ranch Doritos: No
– Thai ATM Card Works: Yes
– Thai Debit Card Works: Yes
– Thai Internet Purchase Works: Yes
– USA Credit Card Works: Didn’t try
– Worldwide Telephone/Data/SMS eSIM Works: Didn’t try
– Spanish SIM card Works: Yes
– Magic Jack Works: Didn’t try
– VPN Works: Yes
– COVID Compliance Chronicles: Masks on public transport
– Internet Works: Yes
– Drone Flights: Need to register, didn’t try
– Cost of Living: $$$$
– Currency: EUR 1 = USD $1.07
– Language Issues: None
– City-Wide Wifi: No
I packed up in the marina in Nice and got a green-option Uber to the train station, a nice young guy. Bought tickets all the way to Genoa, changing in Ventimiglia about halfway. Total cost e13.40. The French train was clean, big and fast. The Italian train was dirty, small, old and slow. I noticed on Google Maps that my hotel was near the airport, so I got off several stations before downtown. The local bus was due in 45 minutes so I walked about 20 minutes through an industrial area to the hotel. I have a view of the airport runway and awful Wifi. Yay!
The best way to get into the city is via the VLB bus that runs back and forth from the airport for e5. I got off in Old Genoa, which looks a lot like the Barcelona and Nice old town areas, centuries-old twisty cobblestone streets, tiny shops and restaurants. I had dinner and walked around until I tried to get the VLB bus back. Turns out there’s some kind of festival going on and all of the downtown buses have been rerouted, so I walked to the new stop and waited. And waited, for the bus that never showed up. I got a bus that would take me most of the way back, then walked for 45 minutes in the dark across a major highway and through that industrial area again. That was an 18,000 step day!
I woke up the next day with round 2 of my sinus and cough issue. Yay! Slept most of the morning. Wrote up an AirBnB review for the boat, highlighted the problem with the lockbox. The host replied âvery nice and correct customerâ. Wow. Slept most of the afternoon as my body tries to heal itself. Plotted my journey by train to Monza and booked a hotel.
Rolled to the airport and got the VLB to Genoa the train station. The agent says the train to Milano is full and the last two segments I need are on another train company and he can’t sell me those tickets. Hmmm. How about a centralized ticketing system and then the train companies split the money afterward? He put me on an alternate train so I had lunch and waited for 2 hours. I went to a pharmacy, explained my sinus and cough to the guy and he sold me a box of Vick’s powder packets. A big childhood flashback because that’s my Dad’s company and I’m surprised to see they sell the powder packets like I got in Barcelona. Is that a European thing – powder packets rather than pills? Let me know below.
I eventually got to the Arcore train station near Monza. Apparently there’s one taxi in the whole town and you call him and 30 minutes later he shows up in his Mercedes and charges you e25 for a 10 minute drive to your hotel. Yay! The hotel is quite nice, very northern-Italian boutiquey and hosting a large wedding party with lots of screaming children running through the restaurant. Dinner was purple potato gnocchi and a glass of local red wine – yummy!
The next morning I’m still feeling gross. The track is WAY on the other side of the village so I asked if the hotel had any bicycles for rent, sorry no. I slowly walked the 1.5 hours to the Autodromo Monza, a Holy Grail of motorsport. What a feeling just being here, and I lucked out because it was a Sunday and a special bring-your-Ferrari tribute day to Michael Schumacher. Over a hundred Ferraris buzzing around the track along with car and motorcycle club exhibitions. I was so tired I fell asleep sitting at a table at café on the way home. I passed a Chinese massage place and had an OK massage on a wrecked body. Slept for 3 hours when I got back to the hotel. Dinner was orecchiette ear-shaped pasta with asparagus and shrimp. Delicious and really hit the spot. It seems hard to find pasta + sauce here, everything is just pizzas in the local restaurants. Hmmm.
Feeling even worse the next morning but I decide to head down to Milano for the day. My taxi man gets me for another e25 and I take the train down for about 20 minutes. It’s lunchtime and I’m hungry so I used Google Maps to walk to two Irish pubs which were both closed despite showing open hours. Argh. Then I tried to take the Big Red bus. I waited at one of the stops for nearly an hour and watched it come around on their tracking app and then it just drove straight past. I really wish I knew some good Italian swear words at this point.
I got on the Metro and headed to the Duomo. Truly beautiful, striking architecture and stone work. As I sat there I was reminded of a scene from Silence Of The Lambs, but not 100% sure. As I was eating gelato I spotted – you guessed it – the Big Red Bus main station! I paid and got on and watched the city flow past. After a nice dinner I headed back to Arcore and my e25 taxi man.
As I checked out, I suggested that they get some bicycles since the hotel is on the edge of the village, only to be told they do have them. Yep, there they are, hidden behind a fence on the other side of a stone building. When I said I would have used them rather than walking to the track and the taxi to Milano, the desk lady suggested that I should have asked. When I told her that I had asked, she said “Oh that new girl doesn’t know about the bicycles.” Sigh.
I got my taxi man for his last e25 to the station, went to Milano and transferred to Modena on a really sweet Hitachi electric train, new, tables & comfy chairs. Hit 300kph at one point, smooth and quiet. Took two buses from Modena to get to my AirBnB in the small town of Maranello, known for of course the FERRARI FACTORY!
The next morning I walked across the village to the Ferrari Museum, past a few “official” souvenir shops and shops offering test drives in Ferraris for various lengths of time. The museum is pretty cool, lots of iconic cars, check out the pictures. I walked to the big metal gate of the Fiorano test track, they buzzed me in but said they don’t have a visitor area at all. Finally I walked to the classic little historic front entrance to the Ferrari Factory. I just stood there, imagining the best racers and engineers in the history of motorsport walking through that little gate. Shivers.
I packed up and took a bus to the second train station in town and started the journey to Rimini via Modena and Bologna. Rimini is a family holiday beach destination town on the north-western Adriatic Sea. I arrived to cool breezes and light rain, a nice change from the almost-hot sunshine of the last few weeks.
Now here is where things go to shit. I bought a bus ticket and trundled towards the #11. There’s a guy standing in the rear door of the bus, sees me and tells the driver not to leave because I’m coming. As I get on, he just stops and blocks the way so I can’t move past him. After a WTF-stare and a move-over hand motion, he helps lift my suitcase to the back seat row. As I sit down I immediately notice my wallet is gone from my front velcro pocket! I jump out the door and yell “Hey” really loud. Since it’s only been a few seconds, the guy is only 10 feet from the bus, he flicks the wallet onto the ground and keeps walking, cool as a cucumber. Several people point to it as I walk up, I say very loudly “That man took my wallet!” and he just keeps walking. No cops around and he’s blended into the crowd, a generic guy I wouldn’t be able to identify in a lineup. I checked the wallet, nothing missing, even the cash is there – I guess he needed more time to clean it out. I ran back to the bus and sat down, everybody saw and heard what happened. I checked the wallet again, happy nothing’s gone but furious that this shining Italian example of shitfuckery tried to steal it in broad daylight. Lesson: No matter what happens, if somebody is close enough to touch you, check yourself immediately. Pickpockets are everywhere.
I rode the bus in fury to the hotel, checked in and find I have a lovely room on the top floor with a large balcony overlooking the beach. Went for a walk past souvenir shops, restaurants, food shops, arcades and gelato stands. Had a burger in an English pub. This city is DESIGNED for, as the English say, holidaymakers.
Had a nice breakfast of pastries the next morning, asked for crispy-crispy bacon when it came out in almost natural-pig form. I walked to the beach and found a grid-array of lounge chairs and umbrellas. I mean grid. You can see the grid from SPACE on Google Maps. There must be 10,000 lounge chairs on this beach. I am not joking. I walked north to the Ferris wheel and marina where I crossed a street in front of a Tesla Model X. As I crossed I made an X sign with my fingers and pointed to the car then thumbs up. The guy started laughing, thumbs up and a stream of rapid-fire Italian, my new best friend. Got some dinner and gelato and rested for the evening.
Up the next day, crispy-crispy bacon without asking! Went to the beach and slept under an umbrella for several hours. Went for a long walk up and down, thousands of people have now settled in. I packed up and left when a random guy said I had to pay e30 for the chair. I suggested no as I smelled a scam and went back to the hotel. Broke down and had a margarita pizza for dinner.
I did some laundry the next morning, luckily the woman who runs the laundromat was there and helped me. Her system can’t use a debit card and all I had was ane50 note. The wash was e7.50 as only the large machine was available and it gave me e42.50 in COINS in change! She changed back e35 with me from her funds. 45 minutes in the washer then 15 minutes in the dryer and not completely dry. Walked home in the shade of the main beach street, put the clothes on hangers in the wardrobe.
In the afternoon i went to the Republic of San Marino, but that will be a separate post.
I walked a long way south of the hotel and found a high end restaurant called Carlos, had cheese and spinach tortellini, just what I’ve been searching for.
The next morning I packed up and due to limited availability got my second choice of train in first class all the way down the east coast of Italy to Bari. This is where the ferry to Albania goes across, which will be another post. Overall, Italy turned into Mikey’s motor racing adventure, with pickpockets. Would recommend, but beware!
