Malaysian family goes on a whirlwind tour of Italy

The Star

5 days ago

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My family and I had always wanted to visit Italy for its rich culture and history. After saving up enough money for a family holiday, we finally managed to tick this country off our travel bucket list recently.
Early spring is a good time to head to Italy for Malaysians, as the weather is pleasantly cold and, most importantly, it is still considered the off-peak period for tourism.
Our Italian journey began in Rome. There was so much to see here, like the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. If their walls could talk, they'd have a lot of legends and stories to tell, for sure.
In the evening we went searching for the famous Trevi Fountain. I think in general, Rome is a pretty safe place; it felt safe for us to walk in the small alleyways at night.
However, we did wear waist pouches under our clothing to keep our valuables, as we know that there are many pickpockets who target tourists like us.
Much like in Rome, Pompeii offered a glimpse of the ancient Roman empire too. The social classes of the residents back in the day were evident in this city's well-preserved ruins and houses.
Despite Pompeii's destruction (caused by the Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption), its murals and mosaics are still mostly intact after all the centuries.
Another must-see destination in Italy is the Vatican City, which is actually considered a country of its own. Since we were there during Lent, the Catholic pilgrims performing their dues at St Peter's Basilica certainly enlivened the atmosphere at this religious site.
At the Vatican Museums, we marvelled at the Renaissance art, Roman sculptures and numerous other pieces collected by the church that were on display.
Later, I particularly enjoyed my time in Sorrento, a quaint coastal town overlooking Naples. We took a bus from there down to the Amalfi Coast, a popular seaside resort where lemon trees grow in abundance.
If the weather is right, you could also sunbathe on the beaches in Amalfi, which has a view of some dramatic cliffs.
After a brief stopover in Florence, we picked up our rental car. We had been travelling on public transport to get around before then, and it was fairly easy and accessible, though perhaps not that convenient.
The writer doing the classic tourist pose at the Leaning Tower Of Pisa.
Our itinerary became more packed from that point, but having our own vehicle meant that we had more freedom to explore off-the-beaten track places. We also drove to the Leaning Tower Of Pisa, which may have been a little difficult to get to with public transport.
Later, we took our time to visit the peaceful village of Lucca and even had a picnic there. In fact, so did the locals, who took their riposa (break) seriously. Typically, small businesses will close from noon till 3pm when the owners and workers have their lunch and rest.
Groceries are cheap in Italy, especially in rural towns like Lucca. Naturally, we took this chance to have a home-cooked meal in our cosy rented villa. My father, the de facto home chef, cooked.
Throughout our holiday, we chased sunsets whenever we could. The last one we managed to see was in Cinque Terre. The sun rays were beaming down on the colourful houses and it was just a beautiful sight to see.
In the medieval town of Verona, the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet, Juliet's Balcony is perhaps the most popular attraction. But I was there for something else: Gelato.
I was lucky enough to find a place that sold 'authentic' gelato, though after quite a few attempts. I did my research on how to spot real gelato. For example, the real thing will not melt too fast or have unnatural, bright colours like blue.
After a few scoops of creamy gelato, we continued our journey. Dad finally fulfilled his long-overdue promise to Mum to take her to Venice ... but with me and my sister tagging along!
I can see why it's a 'City Of Love', though. There were many couples who opted to go on gondola rides through the city's canals.
For me, taking pictures of the Rialto Bridge, old buildings and canals was enjoyable enough.
The writer in front of the Duomo di Milano.
Our next stop was Milan, one of the world's fashion capitals. We were only here for a short while so we took lots of pictures of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral). We also window shopped for a bit.
After having seen glimpses of the Swiss Alps along the road while driving around the country, we were in full view of the majestic snow-capped mountain range in Bellagio. This was along the popular Lake Como, and it was our last day in Italy.
My sister was the one who suggested we go to Bellagio, which was a really charming place.
Although driving around was easy, we did have a flat tyre ... two, in fact. The second time it happened there was actually a nail in the tyre. Luckily, we managed to resolve them with the help of locals.
Our sinful eating was compensated by the long walks we took in each town and city. I'm proud to say that we went way above average with our step count!
The views expressed are entirely the writer's own.