Milan to San Marino - A Week in Italy
- Lucy and the lens
- Sep 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 11, 2018
In October 2017 Patrick and I spent a week driving from Milan to San Marino and back again, in the smallest car of all time. Despite being traumatised for life by the driving itself - we were warned, but we didn't believe it until we saw it, Italian drivers are insane - we saw some incredible places and ate some incredible food. For more photos, take a look at my Italy Photo Story. Here's what our itinerary looked like:
Day 1: Milan
Day 2: Modena
Day 3: Bologna
Day 4 and 5: Florence and Tuscany
Day 6 and 7: San Marino (see this separate post for the San Marino leg of the trip!)
Day 1: Milan
I explored Milan on my own, as Patrick was away on a training course. It was probably for the best, because I wanted to give my camera a workout at the Duomo (cathedral), and spent at least three hours there throughout the day, capturing it during the day, and the hour before and after sunset. Patrick wouldn't have been impressed.
Aside from the stunning Duomo, I went on the hunt for the best Italian pastries, being incredibly indecisive about which pasticceria to go with and even more baffled by the system of ordering and paying for pastries at the bar. Eventually, I settled on Princi, which has a staff uniform designed by Giorgio Armani, of all people! I tried their cannoli and they were as good as their designer uniforms!
Afterwards, I wandered around the absolutely stunning Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, built in the 1860s. Even if you can't afford to shop at the designer stores there, it's still worth checking out!
I was interested in seeing da Vinci's The Last Supper, painted onto the wall of Convent di Santa Maria delle Grazie, but the ticketing process is quite complicated because a limited amount of visitors are allowed in each day, and I didn't want to commit to a specific time slot. I'm sure it would be absolutely worth it, time allowing, though.
Day 2: Modena
We arrived in Modena in the late afternoon as the sun was setting spectacularly. We decided to save our sightseeing for the morning, because Mondena's famously orange streets were a sludgy-brown in the darkness! We did stop for some street aperitivo action, though - our favourite discovery about Italy, this is a chance to order a drink and catch up with friends while eating complimentary snacks to keep you going until dinner. Some bars simply offer crisps or nuts, but others go all out with pastries and canapes of all kinds!
We visited a 'gourmet pizza' restaurant for dinner - TasteIT offers a selection of very fancy pizza, or a tasting menu of single slices of many different kinds. Being indecisive, we naturally went for this one. It was really fun seeing how elaborately each slice was presented.
The next day, we explored Modena, and while there aren't a great many specific 'landmarks' to tick off, walking around the open squares and bright streets, sheltered by bicycle-lined archways, made the day pass quickly. Even though it was October, it was still warm enough for ice cream, and the perfect excuse to stop by Gelateria Bloom, which has great reviews for good reason!
That night, we decided to try our hand at cooking Italian food. We love making a spaghetti carbonara, but the ingredients available to us in Germany aren't as authentic as the real thing, so we went shopping for proper Italian ingredients and got cooking!
Day 3: Bologna
Bologna is capital of the Emilia-Romagna region and, unsurprisingly, known for its bolognese. While the modern part of town is an absolute nightmare to drive through (finding parking took us ages!), the old centre is just as charming as Modena. We stopped in for some bolognese (obviously) and tigelle (a thin, round bread baked in a griddle leaving a distinctive flower pattern on each side)
We also stopped into a quiet town called Vignola, hoping to check out the castle -sadly, it was closed! I did get to enjoy the shabby old shuttered buildings, though.
Day 4 and 5: Florence and Tuscany
We'd found a beautiful old stone cottage in Tuscany to stay in during this leg of our trip, but sadly when we arrived both the heating and hot water were broken! We moved into a warmer hotel and set out to explore the Tuscan vineyards.
We then headed into Florence for a whistle-stop tour of the city.
-Views over the city from Piazzale Michelangelo. This place is no secret, because the views across Florence on the other side of the Arno River are breathtaking. Instead of getting the bus back down into the city after taking it in, though, we walked down through the rose garden next to the Piazza and then on down the winding streets.
-Ponte Vecchio. Before walking the bridge, we headed to the bridges on either side of it, to view it from as many different angles as we could! It's fascinating that this bridge housed businesses and homes back in medieval times.
-Florence Duomo. I'd strongly recommend getting the combined ticket for the climb to the top of the Duomo's dome AND the Campanile tower next door. Do the dome climb first but be prepared - it's a workout and not for those with claustrophobia. At one point you're literally climbing up the curved side of the dome. The Campanile tower is the perfect place to be at sunset, but make sure you start queuing an hour before - once you're up there you can relax and watch the sun's slow descent, rather than stressing down below about making it up in time.
-La Cite Libreria - This is a cafe located in a bookshop. We drank wine surrounded by books, which, being two of my favourite things, was the perfect way to spend an hour while waiting for our dinner reservation.
-IO Osteria - Our delicious tasting menu dinner of Italian classics with a modern twist. See this post for details of the meal and why you should eat there!
Day 6 and 7: San Marino - Click here for a separate post on this leg of the trip - it is, after all, a whole different microstate!
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