Two days ago I was having a typical Italian breakfast: brioche and cappuccino. And when I’m sitting in my office 1400 km further north it is really hard to believe. Especially when this morning temperature dropped below zero. But here I am. I got back after 2 weeks of a combined car, train, scooter and bike voyage. What can I say? Italy was awesome. As always. (Just like the last one).
Drive
The drive is long. It takes about 12 hours to drive through Germany, Austria and Italy, to cross from Poznań to Ferrara. And if the traffic is heavy or the road works are carried out then it can be 14 hours. So it is rather challenging in terms of driving. How to survive a long drive? Well, I found a good way to stay focused on the road: I listen to the audiobooks. This time I was listening to a book by Bulgakov The Master and Margarita. This is not my favorite book but you know what? I am still thinking about it. About the cat, Russia, Moscow that I have never visited and the main plot. I can tell you this: this book gets into you and it is very hard to stop analyzing it, remembering the crucial events, trying to imagine the main characters.
Italian highway
Train
Thanks to the book I drove safely to Ferrara where I joined some of my Italian friends and we went further south by train. With 2 changes – one in Bologna and one in Napoli – we arrived to Sorrento. This was a Frecciarossa train which meant it was a really short journey. The train goes with a galactic speed of almost 300 km/h and it crosses numerous tunnels. As a side effect of this fast journey and many tunnels you get your ears clogged. This is very similar to a feeling of being aboard of a plane that takes off. While on a plane it takes few minutes at most in the italian Frecciarossa it takes hours. So think twice before you decide to use this mean of transportation. My personal preference? Scooter, what else?
Scooter
This was one of my big dreams: to drive a scooter in Italy. So when I received a scooter as a gift for my birthday I was unbelievably happy. I was proudly driving it in Italy for couple of years and loved every minute of it. So when I went to Sorrento I knew I would love to do it again. Plus, there was my birthday. And the route from Sorrento to Positano is one of the most scenic routes in the world (Costiera Amalfitana was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The weather was fabulous that day so I had an absolutely wonderful time! I had my GoPro camera with me and shot more than a hundred short clips. I will share them with you when a short movie was created (later, I mean…).
Driving a scooter around Costiera Amalfitana
Bike
The final stage of this journey was done by bike. In one of the hotels I stayed in Ferrara the bikes were available to the guests so I took a long ride through my favorite Italian town enjoying the sun and the spring air. It totally convinced me that Ferrara is a bicycle town, very friendly to bikers. I participated in an extraordinary feast of the Hebrew literature (La Festa del Libro Ebraico in Italia) and joined a guided tour around the town, focused on Jewish traces, that are numerous and well preserved.
So here is what I’ve been doing for last two weeks. I hope to share it with you in few episodes in next few weeks. Keep in touch! …and start from the first post about Sorrento.
Traditional piada romagnola in Ferrara
I love Ferrara – alternative way to spend your holiday
Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!
