Amalfi by Alfa Romeo

I dug this video up on Youtube, and quite liked it.  It’s a short documentary with a presenter who finds chaotic Naples, dirty, grimy, but vibrant.  She promptly flees the city in her red Alfa Romeo convertible and heads off towards Vesuvius, and then along the winding roads of the Amalfi coastline towards Positano, the emerald grotto, and ends up in the town of Amalfi itself.

Adding to the flavour of the video is the classic Italian Alfa Romeo Spyder which the presenter, Julia, drives.  The pizza and mandolin music is a little clichéd, but what the heck, the views are stunning.   The video is from April 2008, and while it is unlikely that the scenery has changed much, the prices mentioned might well have.

OK, on to the video.

… Continue Reading

Palermo, Sicily – the Smouldering Rubbish Crisis

Remember Naples’ trash crisis, with its rotting piles of rubbish threatening the health of this major Italian city’s inhabitants?  Now it appears to be Palermo down in Sicily which is becoming submerged in piles of stinking refuse.

The Gulf of Palermo, Sicily, by night

This latest Italian rubbish crisis does not yet appear to have reached the scale of that in Naples.

Such was the level of the trash trouble in Naples that the situation grabbed the attention of the press throughout the world.  The affair also blackened Italy’s image somewhat, and had Italy’s prime minister scurrying down to trash infested Naples to sort the mess out.

Recently, items of news on a mounting trash problem in Palermo have also been reaching the Italian press, but stories have been overshadowed by Italy’s recent bout of showgirl politics.

Just what is happening in Palermo?  A good question, and here are some recent YouTube videos which might give you an idea.

… Continue Reading

Hostels in Italy

Like much of Western Europe, accommodation in Italy can be on the expensive side.  But right across the country, from fashionable Milan in the north to the Sicilian capital of Palermo, there is a range of hostels and low cost hotels in Italy offering cheap dorm beds and private rooms.

Accommodation on a Budget

Hostels aren’t all about drunken students and bunk beds any more, either – modern facilities and more luxurious features are increasingly common. HostelBookers has a wide variety of accommodation to suit travelers heading to Italy on a budget.

What follows are a few examples of hostels and low cost hotels from around Italy which really show the quality of such so-called ‘budget’ accommodation. … Continue Reading

A Weekend in Bardonecchia

Just before the Christmas holidays we took our little one for a weekend on the snow up in the Italian ski resort of Bardonecchia which is right on the border with France in the north western corner of Italy.

As is my wont, I took the odd photo or three, so here are a few.  Others can be found over at Flickr.  I’ll also tell you what I made of this place, just in case you might be thinking of looking for somewhere to go skiing this winter, and Bardonecchia is a good place to go skiing with children.
… Continue Reading

Bardonecchia

We’re off the Italian alpine resort of Bardonecchia shortly!  I’m looking forward to this weekend in the mountains, and after seeing this brief You Tube video presentation of the area, I’m even more keen on being there!

I know it is a little dated, but it’s the video used to send up the place before the 2006 Turin winter Olympics.  It’s only 30 seconds or so long.  Have a look and see what you think: … Continue Reading

Roccaraso Ski Video

Off the skied piste resort Roccaraso is somewhere I’ve already written about, so I thought you might like to see the Roccaraso ski slopes in all their snowy glory, seeing as it is the time of the year when people are thinking about booking ski holidays.

Hope you like the video! … Continue Reading