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Adventures—and Food—in Italy, France, and England

By Joy Brunetti

In June 2005, I had the opportunity to visit Italy, France, and England for three weeks. I enjoyed seeing the sights of Italy including some new and some favorites of past trips, revisiting Paris, and visiting London for the first time.

I've had the chance to spend time in international locations during past trips, mainly in Italy since that's where I'm from. I've since branched out and made other countries and cities focal points of my travels, although the history—and food—of Italy always seems to call me back. On this latest adventure, I visited Ischia, Positano, Caserta, Palermo, Rome, Pisa, and Florence.

Ischia is an island in the Bay of Naples not far from Capri. While not as well known as Capri, it does have its own notable tourist attractions including the Castello Aragonese and the Mortella Gardens. Positano is a small town on the Amalfi Coast and is accessible from either Naples or Sorrento by way of a winding road towering high above the Bay of Naples shoreline. Not a trip for the faint of heart—or stomach. Two hours of very beautiful views if you can withstand the stomach-churning turns and curves! Caserta is located east of Naples and is home to the vast eighteenth-century royal Reggia, often referred to as the "Versailles of Naples," which essentially dominates the town.

Palermo was a new experience for me since I'd never been to Sicily, and I found the sights there to be a great experience—and likewise the food! I am happy to say that the authentic Sicilian cannolis I had always wanted to taste did not disappoint. The cool and quiet English Gardens are also found in Palermo, which offer relief from the hot city. I hope to visit eastern Sicily in the future where Mount Etna is located.

My last stops in Italy were Rome and Florence where I revisited attractions like the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Uffizi, and the Ponte Vecchio. One new sight I visited in Rome was the Villa Borghese which houses the gardens and museum collections commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. A side trip from Florence included Pisa, where I visited the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) where the Leaning Tower of Pisa stands.

My next destination after Italy was France, where I spent a week in Paris with one day trip to Versailles to visit the Chateau there. Places I visited in Paris included the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Arc de Triomphe. The Musée d'Orsay is definitely one of the best attractions in Paris for its architecture as much as for its art. The site of a former train station, the museum is currently one of the leading collectors of impressionist art in the world. If you're a fan of Monet, Cezanne, or Renoir, this is the place to visit.

Another highlight of my time in France was my day at the Palace of Versailles, which includes in its history the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and the Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I. The Chateau's size often leads people to ask how much it all cost to build, and while no one knows for sure (Louis XIV burned the financial records), we do know that its maintenance paralleled the cost of 25% of the entire government's income.

The last stop on my vacation was London, England, which I'd never visited before. I toured locations such as the British Museum where one finds the Rosetta Stone and virtually no British art or sculpture, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Gardens, Westminster Abbey, and Notting Hill. I found London very similar to the United States, perhaps because so much of it has been rebuilt and therefore is much more modernized than other cities in Europe. It also doesn't boast the same type of homegrown haute cuisine that countries like France and Italy are renowned for.

As I've learned from trips abroad in previous years, technology in Europe has come a long way in a much shorter time than we've seen in the United States.

Many European countries abound with Internet cafes where you can browse the Web and use other applications for a set fee depending on the amount of time you plan to spend using a computer. I'm a dedicated Macintosh enthusiast and I was happy to see iPods and Apple computer sale areas in several locations. One of the largest of these was at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, where it's said the entire city's population visits monthly. Nearly an entire floor was dedicated to computer exhibits, televisions, and the latest in technology. In London, the streets were filled with phone and Internet booths, where for some heavy change, you can browse the Web on a phone-like device. I used one of these machines at London's Heathrow airport as I waited for my flight.

Looking back, I was able to take some time away and enjoy several places that I'd only read about in books. I spent enough time in each location to get a sense of its culture and visit some famous and lesser-known attractions, but not enough time that I could become bored or see everything the place has to offer. That's what makes someone want and need to go back and so—coupled with my coin toss into the Trevi Fountain—I know I'm assured a speedy return!

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