Italy is the last long stretch of our 73‑day European trip, in September and October 2026. We start in Sicily — Castellammare del Golfo, Palermo, Cefalù, Agrigento and Taormina — then cross to the mainland for Naples, Rome, Rimini and Bologna.
Quick Stats:
Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Area: 302,073 km²
Population: 58,900,000 (2025)
Day 60 — Six hours late and one of us on the train
We packed our bags the night before, knowing it would be an early start. We had coffee, grabbed the bags and were in the town square by 07:20. Together with a group of school children we got onto the bus [...]
Day 59 — Etna smoking and a free ride home
Hugo had a 09:15 meeting, so we only left the apartment at 10:50. We decided to take the walking road down to Taormina. Turning the corner at the St George church, the big one, we saw that Mt Etna had [...]
Day 58 — An empty bus at dawn and a town on a rock
Another transfer day. We got up super early to walk the 1 km back to the station with our bags. The plan was the 06:27 replacement bus. In the dawn light we were the only people on the square, and [...]
Days 56–57 — Chasing sunset through the Valley of the Temples
Monday started as a workday. Hugo had a meeting at about 09:15, while Caro washed some clothes. We ate the salami, cheeses and other things bought the previous evening for brunch, then had more of the same for lunch. At [...]
Day 55 — Two trains, a bus and 131 steps
Sunday was moving day again. We checked out at about 10:00 and started walking through some of Cefalù's narrower side streets and archways with our big bags. We stopped at a bakery and bought a crispy baguette-type loaf, [...]
Days 53–54 — Dodging storms and one very large gelato brioche
Friday was a full office day for Hugo. After work we went for another swim. There were clouds around, so it was a little cooler than the previous day, but the water was still very nice. Back at the apartment [...]