Tag Archives: Italy

Places you MUST visit when in Northern Italy.

After arriving in Milan at around 10am and battling with every single car rental company in Italy to no avail, we decided to jump on the train to Verona via Milan’s Central Station. As we purchased our tickets from the self-service machines, a slightly concerning message flashed across the screen, warning us to be careful and to watch out for pickpockets.. We had just arrived from one of the safest cities in the world. How bad could it be that it would warrant such a warning?

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Best. Pizza. Ever.
Best. Pizza. Ever.

Verona

When we finally arrived at what was meant to be our hotel, we were taken aback by the fact that everything from the room keys to the cards were hotel-esque, except for the actual building itself. More like a renovated house than a hotel, it was clean and comfortable.

After a small rest to recover from our disappointing arrival into Italy, we decided to head to the Arena, situated just 15 minutes away from our “hotel.” Full to the brim with shops, cafes, and restaurants, I was able to snag a beautiful Pandora charm for my sister.

Verona was wonderful; the churches, ancient buildings, intricate architecture, and vast amount of Italian marble dominated the large stations.

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Granada Land

With our love for amusement parks, we headed to Granada Land the following day for a bit of fun! The park was celebrating its 40th anniversary, which they advertised with large signs scattered throughout the park. Wow, I thought. This place is almost as old as the UAE!

We could easily see why this theme park was ranked fifth of the best amusement parks in the world! If you like plenty of rides and a fun day out, you should definitely check out Granada Land!

mwahahahaha...
mwahahahaha…

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Parco Natura Viva

After checking out and leaving our luggage at the train station, we headed to Parco Natura Viva; a huge Safari Park and Zoo. We decided to grab a rental that had Four Wheel Drive to explore the park. It was so refreshing to be able to drive through the grounds and see the animals free to roam without cages or restraints!

The animals were clearly used to humans driving around; as one very bold giraffe peeked into our window! Even though the safari park was not as big as we had anticipated, the zoo was so huge that we, unfortunately, didn’t have time to explore it all.

Visiting Parco Natura Viva was a really great experience and we would highly recommend it; just give yourself enough time to explore it all in depth!

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Mont Blanc

Not everything had gone as planned thus far. However, I was determined not to let the next part fail. Forget everything else. We were about to embark on the ultimate adventure, which we had been dreaming of for years; hiking Mont Blanc.

We headed back after our mini-safari adventure to Verona, where we jumped on a bus to Turin. Arriving quite late in Turin, our host met us at the station and drove us to our hotel. A small, yet stunning room was waiting for us; well styled and gorgeously modern, I loved it!

We rose early with a spring in our step. This was the day we had both been waiting for. After gathering our things, we headed to the station to meet our guide, Elisabetta. We agreed to leave our luggage at another guide’s house whilst we went for the hike.

Boots, bags, sleeping bags, and food for the trip were all packed and ready. It was time to head for the mountains. The trip there was incredible in itself. The greenery was such a striking contrast compared to how it is back home and there was so much of it! Waterfalls, houses in the mountains, old castles; was this place real?

After driving for two hours, it was time to jump out and start walking. The cold air hit our faces immediately and I had no other choice but to wear every single item I had brought; hence the mix-matched outfit! That didn’t matter. I didn’t care. I was finally doing it.

When we initially booked the hike, the website; Trekking Alps asked us whether we wanted to opt for the easy, medium, or hard hike. We were coming to see it all and live out our dream; so we went with HARD. What were we thinking? The hike was tiring and cold, simply unbearable.

The breathtaking views and intense adrenaline rush were what pushed us forward the whole time. Just knowing that we were hiking the “white mountain” kept our spirits high! It may have been deadly cold; however, we had been sweating underneath our layered clothes, which caused an icy chill to shoot through us when we stopped for some lunch.

Powering through, we continued on for another two hours. We were done. Completely exhausted. Or so we thought. Elisabetta turned and looked at us, imparting some not-so-great news. “We need another three hours to reach our hut. It’s not heated or equipped.” Followed by, “Come on guys, we can do this!” To which the only response that was appropriate was, “No, no we can’t.”

Elisabetta told us of a hotel we could stay at back down the way we came, to which we quickly agreed! After giving them a call, we were all booked in. Yes! I had seen the views, felt the burn, now I was ready to warm up and feel the soft sheets of a large bed! “How long will it take to get to the hotel?” I asked.

“Around three hours,” Elisabetta said calmly.

We wanted to cry. Surely, she could not be serious! After thinking we couldn’t take another step, we made it to the hotel. We knew along the way that the river was the half way point, back when we thought we couldn’t take another step, yet look at us! We laughed and felt proud on our way back down, with the occasional, “Go on without me, I can’t go any further!”

Feeling the burn from our muscles, we started to think that our gym membership was a waste of time. This was a completely different type of workout and to be honest, even though we were unprepared, we were surprised by how much we achieved!

After a grueling four hours, we made it back to the car. We did it! The moment I got into the car, I fell fast asleep, awaking to the view of a beautiful wooden house. The owner of the house, a very proud man, greeted us and showed us around. The bed was the most inviting thing I had seen all day; but not before one of the best hot showers of my life! That night, we slept like babies!

The next day, we awoke feeling well rested and proud of our previous day’s adventure! Our host had prepared breakfast for us, but not just any breakfast: homemade Italian breakfast. Honey, eggs, marmalade, cheese, bread; all locally sourced, mainly from the farm! It was incredible!

After packing up our stuff, we went and had a little walk around, where we bought some souvenirs before heading back to Turin. Looking back on the hike, I feel so immensely proud of what we achieved. I suppose you never really know how strong you are until it’s your only option.

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Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.
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2300 meters above sea level
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Bed & Breakfast | Mont Blanc
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That breakfast tho!!!

Why Italy wasn’t exactly my favorite.

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at Dubai International Airport, not knowing what’s waiting for us on the other side.

After having everything planned and our week in Italy laid out, we arrived in Milan excited and anxious to get our incredible trip underway.

We had planned to hire a car and do a mini tour of Italy hitting up spots such as Florence, Lake Como and Venice. We have booked it online through Carrentals.com . After passing customs we headed to the car hire desk to collect our wheels for the week.

The lady behind the desk checked our details and asked us for our credit card to pay the balance remaining on the hire. This is where the trouble began.

Credit card? We don’t have a credit card! We explained that we only had a debit card or cash, but apparently, neither would be accepted.

Even though their website clearly stated that the use of a debit card would be accepted with a 1,700 euro hold on the card which would be released upon returning the vehicle. After pointing this out, she still refused.

We remembered that my brother had a credit card, but again, unless it was here with us, it wasn’t allowed. Great.

We approached every other car hire company at the arrivals terminal, each and everyone turning us away when they learnt we didn’t have a credit card. Tears started to fill my eyes through complete despair and frustration. I couldn’t believe there was only ONE way you could rent a car. There are no other options!

Everything was booked. The hotels. The tours. Our whole trip was about to get flushed away over a piece of plastic.

We had a 3 hour tour booked in Milan for 3pm which had to be cancelled. Where would we leave our luggage while we were on the tour? We had done zero research on these things as we didn’t expect not to have a car.

Our hotel was booked for that night in Verona, two hours away from Milan. In hindsight we could have left our luggage at the train station, but at the time it didn’t cross our mind.

We headed straight to Verona and started researching public transport options. We only had a week and we had an itinerary full of activities.

That evening, feeling totally down and out about the car hire mess we grabbed some pizza at the Arena. Our waiter approached us and asked if we spoke Arabic to which we obviously replied, yes. After chatting for a little while I turned to my husband and proposed the idea that we could ask the waiter whether he knew anywhere or anyone we could rent a car from.

The waiter told us that he had a friend who may be able to help us out and he would get back to us later that night. Surprisingly, he did indeed get back to us and told us his friend could rent out his car for the week.

Amazing! Finally, we can get on with our trip! We arranged to meet his friend at the restaurant the following night.

As promised, his friend did indeed have a car he could let us hire but after my husband expected it, he quickly realized the tires were not safe enough to go long distances.

Our mystery man said he would get them fixed by tomorrow 12pm and that was that.

The following day we packed up our belongings and checked out of the hotel. We had plans to head to Venice that day which was only an hour 20min from Verona. This is when problem number 2 popped up. The guy was unreachable. We sent him messages. Tried to contact the waiter. Nothing. It is like they just vanished off the face of the earth.

Public transportation would have taken 4 hours to get to Venice and we really didn’t want to waste half a day so again, it had to be cancelled. Venice stinks and I suffer from motion sickness, I told myself.

Feeling defeated yet again, we called our hotel in Verona and asked if we could extend for another night. After all this bad luck we should have really expected the following response. “Sorry, we are fully booked”

Really? Really!?

After some searching, we found another hotel to take us in.

Following Venice we had plans to head to Tuscany, that too, had to be cancelled.

Up till now, absolutely nothing had gone right on this trip. We had seen nothing we had planned to see. It was just one obstacle after another. We had one more trip paid for. A hike up Mont Blanc. This has to work out. It just had to!

We took the bus from Verona to Turin and after spending the night we met up with our guide and left our luggage at their house. The hike would involve sleeping out in the mountains for the night and she reassured us that our belonging would be safe.

The hike was incredible! Finally something good had happened! After hiking for 5 hours we still had 2 hours to reach the lake, then another hour to arrive at our accommodations for the night. We were exhausted. The cold was intolerable and made every movement slow.

Our guide then turned and informed us that the hut we would be staying in was not at all equipped with heating or even bathrooms! No chance. The cold was too much. My only savor would have been a nice warm and cozy hut where I could have a warm shower and sleep. Our bodies couldn’t deal with sub-zero temperatures, we are from Dubai, 50 degrees we can handle, not minus 10!

We skipped the sleepover and headed back down the mountain. After trekking for a further 4 hours back down, we stayed in a wooden house in the mountainsides. It was absolutely stunning. Modern with hints of vintage chic! Finally!

Easily the best two days in Italy!

The bus took us back to Milan and after leaving our luggage at the airport we went and explored Milan for the day, it was amazing. After all that had happened, at least we managed to have a couple of good days without being rejected, ditched and/or abandoned!

All trip details coming up in my next blog. Stay tuned.