Around the World with Hardy(T)

Italy

My first visit to Italy was a very brief one. I stopped over in Bari on 31st August trying to get from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Corfu in Greece. I'd been told by just about everyone in Croatia that the direct ferry link had been restored after the war, only to find, on arrival in Dubrovnik itself, that this was not actually the case!

I was back again on 21st September, this time I stopped off in Brindisi on my way back from Greece. I then caught the so-called 'train of death' overnight from Brindisi to Napoli. This was supposed to be the realm of felons, footpads and brigands who'd drug you and make off with all your stuff as soon as look at you. Despite meeting some fairly dodgy characters, nothing untoward actually happened. Whilst in Napoli, I managed to take in the excellent ruins at Pompeii and also caught some Serie A action at the stadium San Paolo. After Napoli, I got the train up to Rome and did the usual sights and stood in the same queues as everyone else for hours on end. I also took in the Vatican State City, which for the purposes of this website, counts as another country! I soon tired of Rome, so I headed north, taking in the Tuscan cities of Florence and Pisa, before heading up to that Adriatic gem, Venice. I left Venice on September 27th and headed up through the Alps and back in to Germany.