The Big Summary

So after 405 days on the road, our trip is over and we are back in London; adjusting to not living out of a backpack, having a routine and waking up in the same bed every day. The trip was incredible and we loved every minute of it. We really didn’t want it to end….

An amazing last nine days in Piedmont, Aosta and Liguria

From the coast we headed inland to the city of Turin, the capital of Piedmont. Off the radar of most foreign tourists, it was a gorgeous mix of baroque buildings lining beautiful boulevards and sumptuous squares. We had a delicious wine-fuelled seafood lunch at a casual place in the centre: As well as trying bicerin,…

Eating in Emilia Romagna and hiking in Cinque Terre

The region of Emilia Romagna is one of Italy’s best known food areas. It is home to the heavyweights of the cuisine such as bolognese, Parma ham, balsamic vinegar and Parmesan. To eat in Emilia Romagna we based ourselves in Parma, another stunning town (does Italy even do mediocre ones?): And ate our way through Parmesan…

The Dolomites: the most beautiful mountains in Europe

I was really excited about visiting the Italian Alps as they looked beautiful in photos and driving the Canadian Rockies was one of the highlights of the trip. They border Austria and German is the main language. We rented a car for four days in and around the area and it was even better than…

Our first week in Italy: Milan to Venice

We were sad to leave Africa behind but incredibly excited to back in Europe, surrounded by historical buildings, amazing food, clean toilets (!), a temperate climate and the ease of public transport in a developed country. We’d never visited Europe on our previous two RTW trips so weren’t sure how enjoyable it would be on…