Tag: italy

Island Life: Spending Four Divine Days on Ischia, Campania, Italy

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn italy3 Comments

Getting there

Ischia was the second destination of a holiday following two days in Naples, and what an impression it has left.

After booking the flights, we knew we would want to spend some days at a calmer pace on a nearby island but the only one we knew of was Capri. Capri looks stunning and attracts millions of visitors each year for good reason, however, we had read about the crowds and we wanted something quieter.

Zooming in on Google Maps, we saw two small islands to the south-west of Naples, in the Gulf of Naples / Tyrrhenian Sea, called Procida and Ischia. Both looked beautiful but Ischia seemed to offer more in the way of good restaurants and had better reviews in blogs we read, so we booked the boat and an apartment and were set for what would make one of all of our favourite holidays to date.

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Forza Napoli! Two Memorable Days in Naples, the Capital of Campania, Italy

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn italy2 Comments

(In this blog entry, I am going to use both Naples and Napoli interchangeably)

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In Italian, the word vespa means ‘wasp’.

In Naples, the Vespa rules the roads; motor-wasps darting around and causing people to jump out of the way in alarm, warned by the ever-present revving and droning in the air.

Seconds after leaving our apartment for the first time on the main road of Corso Umberto I in the Centro Storico of Napoli, a Vespa crashed into the back of a car, halting traffic, which allowed us to cross the chaotic road but resulted in both drivers having to swap details. We took this as an early warning to be extra-mindful when crossing the roads in Naples.

Enjoying an espresso on the apartment balcony listening to the traffic on the street below

The constant buzz and rush of traffic and honking horns is the soundtrack to Napoli, and while it means that wearing earplugs at night is vital for a decent night’s sleep, it also mingles with laughter, jovial sing-song by workers, the ding of a bell to signify a pizza is ready, shouts of “attenzione” or “Forza Napoli!” adding to a general sense of hilarity, zest for life and rolling with the unpredictability in the best-humoured way.

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Viva Venice! Exploring Venice and Burano in Just Two Days

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn italy3 Comments

Going to Italy on holiday but don’t know the language? Wanting to know just enough Italian to use on your holiday without having to learn the grammar and tons of pointless vocabulary and phrases? 

Download my simple, easy and colourful guide to Italian for your holiday in Italy which will give you exactly the word and brief phrases you will need for chatting to the locals in Italian here!

Venice

On a recent trip to the north of Italy, after completing five days of quarantine in Quattro Castella in the Emilia-Romagna region, we had a couple of days to visit somewhere before heading on to the second part of our trip to Ravenna on the northeast coast.

Friends who had visited Venice had always spoken so well of the unique canal city and photographs always looked stunning, like a glimpse back in time to a golden era of opera, elegant dress, ornate balconies and orchestras. I’d always thought of it as a place I must visit in my lifetime but had never really made any plans to do so, with other trips and destinations occurring first.

Venice was a mere two-hour train journey from Reggio Emilia with a quick switch at Bologna, so this was the prime opportunity to go!

I liked the idea of travelling to Venice by train, and when we got off at Venice Santa-Lucia station, I was delighted to see that you step off and step out into the street and you are immediately there in the middle of the city, boats sailing along the grand canal, past even grander buildings, people milling round in a watercolour blend of blues, whites, lilacs and golds. It looked like a still-life on a giant canvas, despite all the movement.

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Learning Italian: An 8-Month Journey – Tips, Progress, and Insights

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn italian3 Comments

[You can read the second installment of my Italian learning progress diary at 20 months here.]

[Looking for natural-sounding Italian expressions? Click here for my blog post with 25 expressions]

Going to Italy on holiday but don’t know the language? Wanting to know just enough Italian to use on your holiday without having to learn the grammar and tons of pointless vocabulary and phrases? 

Download my simple, easy and colourful guide to Italian for your holiday in Italy which will give you exactly the word and brief phrases you will need for chatting to the locals in Italian here!

Background

I have been learning Italian for approximately 8-10 months now since I met my partner who is from Italy, with varying rates of study. Sometimes I’m able to study intensively, sometimes I learn casually/passively and when work gets busy I can go weeks without much learning at all. He speaks fluent English but I firmly believe that learning his native language too is only fair! Learning a language is also interwoven with learning about a culture and vice versa so that’s another important reason for me.

I’ve been off work for the last 2 weeks for the Easter break so have had much more time to focus on learning Italian. In the UK we have been in a third national lockdown for the last four months due to the Covid-19 pandemic which means there hasn’t been much else to do during this time off! I feel I’ve made a noticeable amount of progress over the last fortnight so thought I would write a blog entry tracking where I am after 8-10 months and what I have done so far. The idea is that I will write another entry in around 3-4 months so I can look back and track how I’ve progressed as it is often hard to gauge. My hope is that international travel will resume this summer and that we will be able to get over to Italy in August (4 months from now) and that I will be able to converse on a basic level with locals in Italian.

One thing I knew from previous language learning was that whatever your learning style, it needs to be multi-sensory, frequent and as immersive as you can make it even when not in a country where your target language is commonly spoken.

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Living La Dolce Vita: Exploring Lake Como, Italy

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn italy2 Comments

Going to Italy on holiday but don’t know the language? Wanting to know just enough Italian to use on your holiday without having to learn the grammar and tons of pointless vocabulary and phrases? 

Download my simple, easy and colourful guide to Italian for your holiday in Italy which will give you exactly the word and brief phrases you will need for chatting to the locals in Italian here!

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Ten years ago, I booked flights to Milan but they were later cancelled by the airline however I never forgot about my wish to visit Lake Como. When my friend Lawrence suggested that we finally go, I didn’t have to think twice.

I’d seen plenty of photographs of Lake Como but let me tell you this: it is even more stunning when you see its vast, shimmering blue expanse before the surrounding mountains in reality.

I wasn’t disappointed when I finally made it there after all these years and I can definitely see a return trip there in the near future.

So, I’ll talk you through our two gorgeous days in Lake Como, what to see there, what to do and of course, being Italy, what to eat and drink. Oh yeah- one word you will hear a lot while in Italy is prego; it means ‘you’re welcome’ but they seem to use it for ‘thank you’ too. Handy to know.

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