Hi all, as some of you may or may not know we have been in Italy for the last 8 days staying in Pisa, but the main thing that struck me whilst we were away was the vastness of places like Florence, Livorno, Viareggio and even Lucca etc, in Malta you simply jump on a bus and arrive either in or very close to where you want to get to, in Italy it is a hike to the train station and then back again when it is time to go back to your accomodation, another thing is the huge amounts of beggars, street hawkers, and tourists of all nationalities all over the place, I have to say that certain places can be quite intimidating especially in places like Florence where you can be constantly harrased in the streets to buy tat or give to beggars, thank god Malta isn't like that, we have always felt safe there, the people are warm and friendly and you can have a bit of a laugh with them wherebye the Tuscans we met in general were quite unfriendly bit stand offish and take themselves very seriously, don't get me wrong it was a good experience we do like Italy it was our second visit to the country (last time was Sorrento which was fab) and we saw some good things this time, but there is no where quite like magical Malta, and in my opinion cassical Maltese architecture and culture far surpasses that of there so called more cultured Italian neighbours, give me Valletta, Sliema, Mdina, Marsaxlokk and Malta in general any time it's much more fun, roll on September and November.
Regards
Sliema2
So you sort of had a good time then. I don't even remember seeing beggars in Florence. I was in Rome for 4 days beforehand so maybe I saw all there was to be seen in that department there, and then I never noticed in Florence.
I really liked Florence, we stayed across the Arno, to the east. Like across the Ponte Vecchio, and then about a mile 'to the left' on the other side.
We loved wandering around the squares at night, watching the street entertainers. Also quite liked some restaurants there, although we found some not so good too. And there were a few bars dotted about too!
Where in September then? We're off to Vegas in September, then Australia in November. Being a bit greedy with holidays this year! Would like to get back to Sliema some time though, really liked it. Could really go a meal at Mamma Mia on Triq Il Torre right now!
Hi Lesley, it's nice to hear from you, yes we had a good time don't get me wrong, it just wasn't as much fun as dear old Malta, we enjoyed the touring and walking as always, and the food in the restaurants was pretty good, but Pisa was a bit weird for going out for a few beers at night time, there didn't seem to be that many bars that you could go in if you just wanted a cold beer, as regards beggars then there were loads in Pisa who would come up to you in cafes and things with there babies asking for money they soon got pretty short shrift, and there was also lots of beggars in the vicinity of the railway station in Firenze, like I said it was a good holiday and we are glad that we did it, but back to Sliema in September, November, February 2006 and then again probably all next year with the exception of Flanders in the autumn 2006, and possibly Germany at Easter, incidentally I to fancy a nice dinner in Sliema but something Maltese like octopus in garlic and wine, bragioli, or some fenek, oh well not long to go really.
Post a Reply
Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.
Similar Topics
-
Back to Vegas- anyone been to Tuscany Resort?
Posted by Fiona in America/Canada Discussion Forum
-
Tuscany
Posted by asiagirl247 in Italy, Rivieras and Islands Discussion Forums
-
The Tuscany Suites
Posted by Derwentrocker in America/Canada Discussion Forum
-
Tuscany accommodation help
Posted by puddleduck2 in Italy, Rivieras and Islands Discussion Forums
-
Tuscany Livorno
Posted by daisyboo in Italy, Rivieras and Islands Discussion Forums