In the shadow of Etna

Advantages: The Volcano, the food, the black beach
Disadvantages: the horse meat stall in the market (don't buy anything from a butchers with a cute photo of a horse outside!_

...Catania lies on the eastern coast of Sicily and is, historically and culturally a part of the 'Greek' part of the Island (as opposed to the arabic West of Sicily). The most striking thing about the city is the constantly puffing, and frequently erupting volcano which colours (sometimes quite literally) the city in a magical manner. Some people don't have the temperament for Sicily, the cities here don't have the manicured edges of Tuscany or the Emilian hills, but can provide far more beauty and exhiliration than any other part of Italy. So Catania itself takes a little getting used to. It doesn't have the beauty of Syracuse and Palermo probably has more immediate attractions in it. It has a fine Sicilian Baroque architectural style, best seen around the Piazza del Duomo with it's famous elephant statue - the symbol...

womble 09.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Catania (Italy)

One Scary Sicilian Town

Advantages: See opinion
Disadvantages: See opinion

...Writing about my experience on a day trip to Catania could prove cathartic. There'a also a chance that it won't and at some point I'll run screaming from the computer to seek solace elsewhere and sleep with the lights on for a week. Quite a few personal nightmares converged in the one place, on the one day and if you want to hear about them, pull your chair a little closer to the monitor, and I'll begin. Whilst on an out of season holiday in Malta, we made a last moment decision to take a day trip to Sicily. The price was reasonable, plus an up-grade to first class was only £10 extra, and the Catamaran, The Virgin Butterfly, looked at right tasty little number on which to travel. I'm not comfortable being on the sea and so being told that this was the quickest way to get there, I decided that it'd be okay, just as long as it was...

Salgirl 30.04.2001 (28.04.2001) · Read review
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Review of Catania (Italy)

A Day In Capri Italy

Advantages: Lots to see and do
Disadvantages: not enough time

...salted biscuit's (a bit like pretzels) . This cost about £12.00 and even though its pricey it was worth it. We sat for half an hour and relaxed. Capri's little Piazzetta is one of the best known squares in Italy and is a great place to sit and relax and do a bit of people watching. ~ Parco Augosto-The Gardens Of the Emperor Augustus ~ The garden's of the Emperor Augustus offer splendid views over the Certosa di San Giaciomo the harbour of Marina Piccola and the great Faraglioni rocks out in the bay. It was a clear sunny day when we were there and the views were breathtaking. There was a lot more we wished we could have seen but we ran out of time and we had to make a dash to catch the funicular railway back down to the harbour. We would have liked to have visited the Blue Grotto, Villa Jovis and I would love to go...

debmercury 18.03.2008 (14.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Capri (Italy)

Little Italy, Big Disappointment

Advantages: Dancing is fun
Disadvantages: Dinner overpriced and bland, expensive

...I went to Little Italy a few months ago with my girlfriend and have mixed feelings about the place. Situated on Soho's Frith Street it is the heart of a really buzzy and lively area of London. An area in which you are spoilt for choice for dining, especially with Italian restaurants, you have to be doing something right to survive. Little Italy is a restaurant, bar and club. In the latter two it succeeds, in the former, not so. As a restaurant, the first thing you'll notice is the abundance of staff waiting to wait on you but somehow unwilling to do so or be helpful. Then there is the food itself, which is grotesquely overpriced at about £30 per head excluding drinks. The bruchetta was like oiled cardboard and our main meat dish favouring better but still fairly bland. So much so I can't even remember what meat it was, probably beef...

Nixu1980 19.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Little Italy, London

Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo, Catania

Advantages: Very comfortable beds
Disadvantages: Location, Poor room service

...almost deserted in the evening once everyone had come home from work. I think in hindsight I would have been better staying in Taormina as walking round Catania wasn't that pleasant, as it seems to spend most of the day gridlocked with traffic belching out fumes....

bindie 09.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo, Catania

  Italy For Beginners

Advantages: it´s nice
Disadvantages: none

...So you´re thinking of travelling to Italy and getting to know the country? If you like shock treatment, fly straight to the South, to Naples or Palermo, and throw yourself into the street life there, if you prefer things to move more slowly, though, it may be a good idea to start exploring the country from the town of Trento, 140 km south of the Austrian/Italian border. It is the first ´real´ Italian town, the area north of it, South Tyrol, is more Austrian due to its history, it only became part of Italy after WW 1. Many people there are bilingual, if they want to become civil servants, they must know Italian and German. The valley of the river Adige on whose banks Trento is situated has been inhabited since prehistoric times it having been one of the main branches of the amber route. The Romans built streets there (The Romans...

MALU 04.03.2005 (30.09.2005) · Read review
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Review of Trento (Italy)

A week's successful holiday in St. Agnello, Sorrento (Italy)

Advantages: Excellent, inexpensive public transport
Disadvantages: Traffic is very heavy don't even consider a hire car

...Eight days in St. Agnello, Sorrento, Italy. We have just returned from a very successful week in Sorrento. Arriving at Naples Airport we took the regular bus service to Sorrento as far as St. Agnello which is once stop before Sorrento itself. The journey time should be one hour and the single fare was 10.0?. Having poured over many reviews of hotels in Sorrento area we chose the Alpha and found it to be the Alpha and Omega of Hotels. We couldn?t have asked for anything better; from the moment we walked through the front door we could see that we were going to like it. We were met by a cheerful, smiling, English speaking receptionist who greeted us with the news that they had decided to upgrade our room to a panoramic one with a balcony without extra charge. We were booked for bed and breakfast but after the first evening...

Tibblington 24.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sorrento (Italy)

The Gate to Italy

Advantages: nice scenery & architecture, fine cuisine, great shops, very relaxing place
Disadvantages: nothing REALLY spectacular in a country full of attractions

...Just a few miles south of the Swiss border, Como is the first town in Italy. Very different in style and culture to Italy's thriving cities, Mediterranean holiday resorts and antique sights, Como exudes the mild charm of Lombardy region. I was a bit surprised myself when I realised that I hadn't written anything yet on Ciao about one of my favourite countries, Italy. So when famous Ciaoer ConnaisseurHaggler said she was going to nearby Milano two weeks ago, I decided it was time I introduced the northern Italian region of Lombardy, and its pearl, Como. Como is two things in one - the city of Como, and the Lago di Como (lake). It is not really a holiday destination for itself, but a place which you shouldn't miss when you are nearby. 1) Como is ideal for a day trip or weekend getaway from Milan, if you want to escape hectic...

From_The_Continent 22.03.2001 (24.03.2001) · Read review
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Review of Como (Italy)

A little bit of Spain in Italy!

Advantages: Busy town in Northern sardinia, good base
Disadvantages: Small airport

...Alghero known in Latin as Algarium, is on the West coast of Sardinia, in the province of Sassari. The name is derived from something, which might be off-putting, as it means "the place of algae"! However, I thought it was a lovely little town and enjoyed my brief stay there. Alghero, the tourism capital of northern Sardinia, is a fascinating town of immense historical interest, which also has excellent beaches. It can be lively, vibrant and cosmopolitan in the holiday season when there are open markets, bars and restaurants, which cater for most tastes. There are quality hotels and apartments, which complement the traditional tourist amenities, which are transforming Alghero into one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy. Founded on a peninsula facing the Bay of Alghero early in the 12th Century, it was taken from...

jo145 03.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alghero, Sardinia (Italy)

Sicily not kicked quite so far - weakling Italy

Advantages: Nice people, good food and wine, weather
Disadvantages: Driving is scary

...or a boat and race across the water. When you arrive in Sicily you realise that the rhyme was in fact wrong and Italy must be a bit of a wuss as it has effectively managed to kick Sicily about 3 km into the sea. To fly to Sicily you have a number of options. We booked using Expedia and were able to select flights (one way) for the grand total of £142 for 2. We flew with Air Malta to Catania and found the experience perfectly satisfactory. If you would like to take your own car to Sicily you could potter through France, go under the mountains and then potter through Italy until you get to the Strait of Messina. Once there you would have to jump on ferry and sail across this narrow bit of water. There is talk of a bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland although it hasn't been started yet. Due to be finished in 2012 the bridge will become...

josarah 06.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Sicily (Italy)