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Italian solo adventure
  • Lara Marich
  • Lara Marich

Italian solo adventure

A trip to Italy to celebrate my retirement (20+ years of teaching and 16 years of library), to challenge myself with some solo travel and return to my lifelong project of developing my Italian language skills. Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 26, 2025
    Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    Gangsters at the pubBeautiful blue sky day and winter starts in just 1 week3This is the book where it all started with a description of Porto Santo StefanoMy 100 day streak and completion of Duolingo Italian

    Farewell

    May 26, 2025 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    We had a wonderful night at our local Uraidla Pub to mark my retirement and my upcoming trip - 8 joyous hours of celebration with beautiful family and friends😍
    I had a lovely achievement this morning of finishing the entire Duolingo Italian language course in exactly 100 days🤩
    We have 120kph wind gusts forecast for this afternoon, so it remains to be seen whether my flight takes off!🛫    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler

    Buongiorno Italia

    May 27, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    My flight departed pretty much on time but I've just seen footage of that same plane landing in Adelaide an hour beforehand and that looks terrifying (we did have some fairly wild turbulence through the night though)!
    Spent the whole day in the town of Fiumicino wandering around and relaxing in a couple of bars/cafes, waiting for my 3pm check-in.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler

    Journey to Orbetello

    May 28, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today, over breakfast, I met a couple from Milan and they kindly offered for me to join them as they drove back to the airport - it was a lovely way to start the day.
    From there, I caught the train to Orbetello and then a bus to my accommodation which was a hotel with a lovely view across the peninsula.
    In the evening, I enjoyed taking a walk around the old city with the obligatory gelato, followed by aperitivo and people watching then dinner and watching the sun go down from the rooftop terrace.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    1

    Giglio Island - paradiso😍

    May 29, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today I took the bus from Orbetello to Porto Santo Stefano and then the ferry to the island of Giglio.
    It was a spectacular journey of 1 hour and gave me the opportunity to view this incredible landscape from the ocean.
    My room at the hotel is literally suspended over the ocean and it is perfect in every way.
    I took a 40min walk to Spiaggia delle Cannelle, in the afternoon, to swim in the crystal clear ocean and relax on the beach.
    Aperitivo was enjoyed at a small bar watching the locals and a few italian tourists as the sun went down below the mountin range.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    1Isabel, I took this photo for you ...captain's pants 💜
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    Exploring Giglio....andiamo!

    May 31, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    This morning, I walked down from the castle, along the old trail they used with their donkeys 'Mulattiera' .
    It was a lovely cobbled trail, lined with spring flowers and spectacular views all around. I only came across 1 small group of hikers and a woman stopped me in my tracks and started speaking in rapid italian in a very serious tone. I was desperately trying to catch keywords and work out what the problem was - then I heard 'pee pee' (universal language) and realised she was just trying to preserve privacy for her friend!
    In the afternoon, I decided to walk further on past my favourite beach to Caldane. It was a rocky overgrown track but provided more stunning views and many more boats than I've seen over the past few days.
    I had a quick swim but decided to return to my favourite Cannelle Beach for the rest of the afternoon to swim, people watch and eavesdrop on italian conversations.
    I do not hear English spoken around me here on the island but many people are keen to talk to me either in my basic italian or their basic English - sometimes it's a chaotic mix of both!
    I have really challenged myself not to worry about sitting alone at restaurants or going places solo - it's a lovely freedom and I find that I do actually have quite a bit of lovely interaction with people.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    This was actually quite a steep entry into the water
    This is looking back up to my hotel room from the waters edgeGiglio portLooking back towards the Hotel SaracenoArriving at Porto Santo Stefano by ferryPorto Santo StefanoFig panforte - a Giglio specialtyView from the balconyHome for the next 4 weeksView from my bed!From the balcony

    From Giglio to Porto Santo Stefano

    June 1, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Being my last morning at the wonderful Hotel Saraceno, I decided to have my breakfast outside on their terrace. When I returned inside to get a drink, a large seagull swooped through and helped itself to my bowl of fruit and yoghurt. This caused much hilarity and was a great conversation starter for me in Italian!
    An Italian woman asked if she could join me (she left her husband alone at another table!) and she was so curious about my travels - it was a lovely conversation in the sunshine over coffee.
    When I returned to my room I noticed they had opened the access path, across the large boulders directly down to the ocean for the first time (it is closed when it's at all windy). With 10 min before check out, I decided to be super brave and give it a go....I can be quite the nervy ocean swimmer. It was a very cold and quick dip but I was so pleased that I did it.
    I felt sad leaving this gorgeous paradise but was so happy to know I will be returning in 4 weeks.
    I was welcomed at the Airbnb by the lovely Antonella and the apartment is just perfect with another incredible view.
    Verena arrived shortly after and we squealed like excited children about this incredible opportunity we've created 🙏 We did manage to lock ourselves out as we unpacked her luggage but we were rescued by a lovely neighbour within 5 minutes.
    After enjoying prosecco and the view from our terrace, we set off for dinner quite late (not by Italian standards) but every restaurant was fully book due to their holiday long weekend.
    We eventually had success with takeaway pizza and beers and we sat down by the port on a bench - not the fancy restaurant meal we set out to have but it was perfect!    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler

    Settling in

    June 2, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today was a national holiday for Italy and everything was closed so it was the perfect excuse to spend most of the day in the apartment relaxing and soaking up the view. After a full week of eating out, I was desperate for a plate of vegetables, so we cooked at home and sat out on the terrace.Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    6

    Exploring the hood

    June 3, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I spent the morning at the market, discovering some of the small shops and trying to use my basic Italian language skills wherever possible.
    After a delicious dinner prepared by Verena, I took an evening passagiata across to the old port and up to the castle, and the whole town was bathed in beautiful golden light.
    We finished the evening with Averna and cantucci on the balcony.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler

    How to spend a day in Porto S Stefano

    June 5, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today consisted of a long walk around the harbour (stopping for coffee and a croissant),
    a return trip to the small swimming beach, aperitivo at Bar Giulia (snacks were so substantial, I called it dinner) and finished with Vin Santo (aged for a few years in chestnut barrels) on our balcony to watch the sunset.
    Total of 13.08km walking    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    Looking back down on Porto SSThe 1 trail marker I could find!Coming over the crest of the ridgeThe view down the other side - swimming beach belowMap indicates wolves, wild boar and porcupines!The tiny boat in the background is actually a small ship!Lovely rugged trailAnother 'pericoloso' signOne big gumtree was quite a surprise

    Hiking adventure

    June 6, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning I set out on a hike with a map from the tourist info centre. The first half of the hike followed a small but steep road straight up above the city with beautiful views to the buildings and ocean below. After quite a few kilometers, I finally found the small side trail that dropped down the other side of the mountain and then all the way to a small beach - it was lovely to cool off here with a swim. I then continued back to Porto SS via the main road (still very scenic) Via Panoramica.
    My aperol spritz and panino were devoured after this 13km walk.
    In the evening, I joined Verena at (my now favourite) Bar Giulia for some beautiful jazz music and chatting to various people.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    A little bit of cooking today - stewed apricots in Vin Santo

    Meeting some locals

    June 10, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today was market day, so I spent some time looking around before moving on to some small local shops where I had lovely conversations in Italian with the store owners.
    I returned to the bar Il Buco for lunch and when I asked to try the same dish that the woman next to me had, I was served the delicious Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro (a wonderful comfort food of tomato, stale bread, strachiatella cheese and fresh anchovies).
    The woman (Chiara) kindly asked me to join her at her table and we had a wonderful hour together speaking, mostly in Italian, about food, travel and family.
    It was a very special encounter over delicious food, a glass of wine and a coffee.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    Leaving Porto SSThis is the hill ridge I hiked last weekFrom my doorwaySuper yachts

    Return to the paradise island of Giglio

    June 11, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning I took the ferry back to Giglio Island to spend a night at the beautiful Hotel Saraceno. When i walked in, they welcomed me back with double cheek kisses, as if I were family - it was very lovely.
    I was also recognized and welcomed back at the bakery and the bar!
    I spent some time at my favourite little Cannelle Beach but it was quite a shock to see super yachts there this time!
    I am now enjoying the sunset colours from my room and even hoping to see the super pink moon tonight.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler

    Evening on Giglio

    June 11, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    Wild swimming below the hotel
    Hotel built right in to the rockfacePeople snorkeling below my balconyHotel SaracenoVerena - Giglio Castello

    Today I am Verena's Gigliese Tour Guide

    June 12, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today, Verena arrived by ferry from Porto Santo Stefano.
    We caught the bus up to Giglio Castello and spent some time exploring the small streets and taking in the views.
    When we returned to Porto Giglio, we took advantage of the calm seas and took a wild swim in the deep, crystal clear water off the rocks below the Hotel Saraceno - it was glorious.
    We then walked to my favourite Spiaggia Cannelle for another swim and time on the lovely white sand beach.
    We caught the last ferry for the day, at 7pm, back 'home' to Porto Santo Stefano and this hour long ferry trip was once again like a sightseeing cruise.    Read more

  • Lara MarichItalian solo adventureTraveler
    The best yoga studio around - the floor of my apartment!
    I think this steak is the first red meat for the trip.I love this author so I purchased this book in Italian - it's the perfect level for me.

    Tranquillo

    June 13, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today was a very calm day of exploring the book shop, lunch at Il Buco, reading, yoga and a delicious home-cooked dinner on the terrace watching the neighborhood settle down for the evening, after another very warm day .Read more

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