I can't leave Emilia Romagna without talking about edible life. Nevermind the sights, what you eat is the most important thing, and of course, those who share in your meal or had a hand in its creation are revered. People aren't joking when they say they left Italy ten pounds heavier; they are dead serious, but I'll bet they leave satisfied and content. Once at home, they must have visions of dream banquets that just don't manifest quite like they did in Italy. According to my father, his sister - my zia pia is simply the best cook, like his [View Full Entry]

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On the side of the Autostrada near Reggio Emilia, there stands an effigy of a ferrari and a sign advertising the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, the birthplace of Ferrari. It was something I had to see and how could my father possibly refuse, they have a place in his heart as well, so we set off to find it one afternoon. It was just him and I this time and we managed to get really really lost. We ended up taking backcountry roads and kept missing Maranello somehow, which means when we finally reached Maranello and saw the first prancing [View Full Entry]

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"Hello is Mrs Bent..ivg..olio.. there?" People mess up my last name allllll the time. In fact, if you don't, I am immediately impressed and automatically like you. Italy knows me! Italy is the ancestral home of the Bentivoglio family. I've always been brought up to be very proud of the name and the history of the family. The fact that the lineage can be traced back to the time of the Renaissance has always made me proud and I could often be heard saying "we're in the dictionary!" in my snotty little voice as a kid. The family crest was subtly [View Full Entry]

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Finally, Italy! I've been waiting 22 years for this! After getting to Italy and a half day’s forced rest, I was restless to explore beyond the suburb in which my aunt and uncle live. My uncle, suggested the ruins of a castle called Mathilda de Canossa on a nearby (still a lengthy drive away) cliff-top, which we could quickly visit and then be home for dinner (dinner is very VERY important. I’m happy we kept to this rule). So we drove the rental car, a silver fiat punto, in a straight line on the autostrada. Then we began to weave [View Full Entry]

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-more like it destroyed us. Now where was I? The four of us parted ways as Steve, Sas and I planned our Greek Island adventures, with Steve heading towards the Cyclades in the Aegean and Sas and myself heading for Corfu in the Pleiades which was on the way to Italy. Our decision saved me from a night camping on the beach near the port in Athens, but as far as I know, Steve still did it on his own. We packed up, ate a tasty spaghetti dinner which Seb cooked up, picked up our giant backpacks and headed towards the [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone! I arrived in Athens on May 3rd 2007, Sas, Seb and Steve picked me up at the airport where I was ever so hopeful they would remember to come pick me up. They did! It was so great to see them, and have them carry my luggage as well as I was exhausted from the 7hr flight across the ocean, then my morning (1am-5am) sitting at Schipol Amsterdam Airport, and the next 3 hrs on the plane to Athens. Drinking? No thank you. Feeling a little knackered? yesssssssss!!! We went on the train, got threatened with a little fine [View Full Entry]

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