Wonderful ice cream from this establishment. Three heaped scoops in a tub cost €3.80.
The girl behind the counter offered us samples of the wide array of flavours before we settled on our choices.
Some seating indoors but we sat on the Ponte Santa Trinita as we looked at the more famous Ponte Vecchio in the background.

www.gelateriasantatrinita.it
Piazza Frescobaldi 11-12/r Ponte Santa Trinita, 50125 Florence
Google map: bit.ly/KZxZlZ

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Absolute superb find. This pizzeria located in what looks like a German beerhall serves great pizzas for extremely reasonable prices.
Two large pizzas cost about €7 each and one litre of house white cost about €6!
Was family friendly as well.

www.pizzeriadabbe.com/
Via San Bernardo 26, Pisa (PI)
+39(0)50 500 872
Google map: bit.ly/Mn9DC2

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Decent bar a few streets off the main Borgo Stretto street, north of the Arno river. While it does feel a 'student type' of bar, we saw all ages there. A Counting Crows album was playing in the background the afternoon we visited.
Quite a big bar which has some free nibbles on the bar. Good choice of beers - the beer I had had an unusual passion fruit tinge to it!
Prices were very reasonable.

www.orzobruno.it/
Via Case Dipinte 6/8, 56100 Pisa
+39(0)050 578802
Google map: bit.ly/OhcnB1

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served themselves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via de' Neri 65, 50122 Florence
+39(0)55 2382723
Google map: bit.ly/LPLoZ2

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served them selves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via dei Neri, 65-red, 50122 Firenze, Italy
+39 055 238 2723
Google map: bit.ly/LCocAS

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Good find just off Piazza Santa Croce, this bar has a lot of outdoor seating along the roadside. For Florence the prices were very reasonable. Beer was about €4.50 a pint with wine about €4. The food menu is limited with meat and cheese platters served.

Centro Servizi Borgo Dei Greci Srl Piazza dei Peruzzi, 50122 Florence
Google map: bit.ly/LN2nNB

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Great trattoria and pizzeria in the heart of Florence just yards from the Santa Croce church. In our three days in the city, we had the best pizzas here.
Pizzas were between €6 and €8. For two pizzas and a bottle of white wine, we paid €29.
Surprisingly good value in a central location in Florence.

www.baldovino.com/
Via di San Giuseppe, 22 50122 Florence, Italy
+39(0)55 241773
Google map: bit.ly/OhfN6F

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We found a great campsite in Sorrento. It sits right on a cliff overlooking the gulf of Naples and is surrounded by olive groves.
Not only does it have a tent area but also there are caravans and small wooden chalets to rent at a very reasonable price. We stayed in a lovely wooden chalet with patio which though basic had everything we needed for our stay. On site there is also a restaurant, a small shop, kids play area and a swimming pool. It’s a 10 minute walk into Sorrento and near the sea so the location is a great added bonus. I had stayed in the Bristol Hotel the first night I arrived which was a very nice hotel but my stay at the campsite was far more enjoyable.

www.nubedargento.com/
Via Capo, 21 80067 Sorrento, NA - Italy
+39 081 878 13 44
Google map: bit.ly/Np9Ias

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Perche No! (translated as 'Why Not?') is a wonderful ice cream vendor in the heart of Florence, going since 1939. Not particularly cheap but the ice cream tastes great.

www.percheno.firenze.it/
Via dei Tavolini, 19-red 50122 Florence, Italy
+39(0)55 239 8969
Google map: bit.ly/KldqLW

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Historic Franciscan church located in the heart of Florence. When you consider that the artist Michelangelo, the political theorist Machiavelli, the composer Rossini and the scientist Galileo are all buried within the walls of this church, one can't help but be blown away.
The interior of this Gothic church is relatively plain (as befitting a Franciscan church?) however there are some 14th century Florentine frescos & paintings (by Giotto amongst others) around the altar. Great to see some of this artwork in their original surroundings.

www.santacroceopera.it/
Piazza di Santa Croce, 16, 50122 Firenze, Italy 76 m E
+39 055 246 6105
Google map: bit.ly/MmPeh9

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A clean and friendly hotel in a residential area. Area around hotel seemed to be very safe and was very busy with diners on a Saturday night.
We paid about £60 per night for two nights in this hotel using a well known hotel website.
It was about a 10 - 15 min walk into the the centre. One of the ways into the centre was to walk along the Arno river.
Basic breakfast provided. Hotel had free wi-fi as well as free use of a computer in bar/eating area.
One tip is to try to avoid rooms ending in '9' as these tend to be right next to the old lift.
Shower/bathroom was relatively small but still good value for Florence.

www.hoteljane.it/
Via Orcagna 56/58, 50121 Florence
+39 055 677382
Google map: bit.ly/M73qXQ
Email: info@hoteljane.it
Not too far from Ponte San Niccolo on Arno river.

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When we were flying into Pisa airport (to get to Florence) we intended to take the train from Pisa to Florence.
However due to times being more convenient we took the Terravision bus just outside the arrivals terminal.
Absolutely no complaints and for €6 one way we got dropped off in Florence at Stazione Centrale di S. Maria Novella in just over an hour.

www.terravision.eu/florence_pisa.html
Just outside arrivals hall on right as you leave airport. There is a ticket office in airport.

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When we were flying into Pisa airport (to get to Florence) we intended to take the train from Pisa to Florence.
However due to times being more convenient we took the Terravision bus just outside the arrivals terminal.
Absolutely no complaints & for €6 one way we got dropped off in Florence at Stazione Centrale di S. Maria Novella in just over an hour.

www.terravision.eu/florence_pisa.html
Ticket office in airport with bus departing outside arrivals hall (on right as you leave arrivals).

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Chef Riccardo Zanni has been here for six months, and his ambitious and delicious menu is a cause for celebration.
We arrived with no reservation, were warmly welcomed, and the service was the best I can remember in a long time. Over a glass of prosecco we considered the menu (just one dish was not available and we were informed right away). Though artichokes were only listed as a side vegetable, I am fond of them and the chef said they had just come out of the oven and would be great as a starter (and we were only charged the side veg price!). A tiny chef's salad arrived as a bonne bouche and meanwhile we had to choose wine: we enquired about something red, less usual, perhaps a less known region or grape variety. Six(!) bottles were brought to our table for a delightful discussion about the relative merits - and we were told right from the start that none of the bottles cost more than €25. We chose a Lacrima di Morro d'Alba which was terrific.
All courses served were excellent - the amount of tuna served sashimi style was so generous it was hard to finish. So there was no room for dessert, but the chef insisted on presenting his newest creation, an ice-cream of parmigiano cheese and kumquat marmelade, which was extraordinarily delicious. We declined further wine, but were nonetheless served a perfect vino generoso (sticky and dark, served chilled).
None of the extras appeared on the bill, a very reasonable €80 for two. We left a big tip and still felt we had enjoyed a bargain.
Recommended without reservation.

www.boccondivino.it
Piazza Campo Marzio, 6, 00186 Roma
+39 06 68308626
(the location is a few streets north of Pantheon)
Google map: bit.ly/JL2rMh

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A Celtic festival of music and games is hardly the sort of thing you’d expect to find in the mountains of central Italy. But the Montelago Celtic Festival, launched in 2003, routinely attracts over 20,000 exuberant and kilted Italians and Europeans for a totally unique weekend experience. Every year on the first weekend in August, the alpine plains of Colfiorito straddling the border of Le Marche and Umbria throb to the beat of Europe’s Celtic heavyweights, with the final act bringing the sun up on Sunday morning. The Peatbog Faeries headline the 2012 festival at 1:00am on Saturday night/Sunday morning (August 4th-5th), following in the footsteps of previous appearances by Hevia, Kila, and Berrogüetto. The mainly under-30 crowd, who camp in a reserved area for the two-night event, are boisterous but amicable as they heave to the music, toss the caber, pulse to the thrusts of a Celtic battle reenactment, and trip through the more than 50 Celtic stalls (amongst which is a stand dedicated to Tolkein). Set in the spectacular surrounds of the central Apennine mountains, it’s a happening festival of rare camaraderie that offers something very different for the young European music and nature lover. Within striking distance are as many travel gems as you’d like from the outdoor (the Grand Circuit of the mythical Sibillini Mountains) and the celebrated (Assisi), to the “indoor” (Frassasi Caves) and the unheralded (the art and architecture of almost any village/town you happen into).

www.montelagocelticfestival.it
Località Taverne in the municipality of Serravalle di Chienti on the plains of Colfiorito straddling the border of Umbria and Le Marche.
Google map: bit.ly/LzgTuC

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Over 65's concessions for EU citizens. All national museums are free entry on production of proof of age. This made it unnecessary to get a Roma Pass which is the most publicised tourist reduction. Sites include the Forum, Palatine and Colosseum also the Villas Adriana and d'Este at Tivoli. The wonderful Villa Borghese has free entry but must be pre-booked so do it when you are in Rome. If you do it before leaving the U.K. use their own on-line site, not a commercial ticket site, as the booking fee is much less.

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A wonderful find, deep in the Umbrian countryside - a bed and breakfast but so so much more. Ca'di Gosto is part of the slow cooking movement offering great food and even cooking lessons. Set among terraces of olive trees, most of the produce is grown by the owners Jenny and David and it's home of the best eggs have ever had.
It is a beautifully renovated Umbrian Farmhouse with wonderfully decorated bedrooms with en-suites, and the luxury of a swimming pool and Jenny the chef to cook for you. The whole place is a feast to the eyes.
If you are not an animal lover then maybe it's not the place for you as Jenny and David have a lovely family of beautiful dogs, a couple of cats and an array of chickens and bantums all with there own characters!
A truly lovely and food filling pleasure.

www.slowcooking.homestead.com
+39 348 323 6704
Google map: bit.ly/IZ9Lmi

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Riva d'Arno is a new wine bar/art gallery on the banks of the Arno, a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio. It's beatifully designed with great views, fabulous food and wine and a new centre for art. It's a peaceful place to have a drink after walking around the city, a nice lunch overlooking the river or a supper as the sun goes down. It's definitely worth a visit.

www.rivadarnowinebar.it
Lungarno Soderini 7r
+39055280223
Google map: bit.ly/KhVLIc

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This coastal walk links five hill top villages and is classed as an Unesco World Heritage Site. The paths are a combination of rugged steps and narrow soil pathways that hug the steep and jagged coastline of the Ligurain Riviera as they meander through fragrant olive and lemon groves and past precariously perched farms. The sparkling clear waters of the Mediterranean are a constant companion and it is a sheer delight to descend into Monterosso al Mare in time for a late afternoon swim. Apart from the stunning views, the excitement of this coastal path is finding the blue and white painted markers found on rocks or on the side of houses. It really felt like a mini adventure. A train pass can be bought which allows travel on the local train connecting the five villages so walkers can walk the paths in any order depending on fitness, time or if a path is closed.

Google map: bit.ly/I8hDCs

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Take an easy and must do day out from the urban bustle of Naples. Buy a 180 minute biglietti ticket at Naples Central station and take a train south to the university port of Salerno. Outside the station change on to a SITA blue line bus to underrated Maiori, remembering to sit on the left hand side. Hold tight as the bus winds its way along the coast with each bend offering a different breathtaking panorama. Get off at Maiori, the only town along this coast with a promenade and beach. Take a swim in the warm waters or sit under a shading palm, sipping a fizzing local wine. Walk along to the harbour and take a 10 minute water bus around the headland into Amalfi town - a jaw dropping way to arrive, plus it avoids any local traffic jams. Spend some time exploring the moped friendly alleys, the churches and soaking up the atmosphere. Continue by taking a 15 minute bus into the mountain above and the quiet hill town of Ravello. Relax in a garden bar before descending, on foot, down through fragrant lemon groves to ancient Minori below. From here take the bus back to Salerno and onwards to Naples. How much fun in one day can be bought for under 20 euro?

www.sitasudtrasporti.it/

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