Come once for the Pizza, come again and again for the lifestyle!
I've now been to Italy thrice - once on a working holiday back in 2001, and then again in 2012 - on a working holiday(!), and most recently, a return to Sardinia in 2023! It's truly a beautiful country, very mountainous, surrounded by the Mediterranean (meaning great beaches!), with friendly folk, great food, and mad drivers.
There's great Wine, Olive plantations (if you're into that sort of thing), Ancient and Medieval history galore, and every town / village is unique!
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Last updated
31-01-2025
Back in 2001 I spent 6 weeks working de-montage for EuroCamp - which basically means cleaning up at the end of the season, and packing everything away.
We cleaned up several campsites in Cecina (Livorno) and Sardinia, before moving on to Corsica.
Probably the most memorable event during this fantastic trip was waking up in the campsite on the 1st morning, to find that the Twin Towers had just collapsed (I didn't say it was a positive event, did I?).
Once we'd gotten over the shock of that though, it turned into one of the best working vacations ever. As a group we took every opportunity to jump into the company van and explore places like Pisa, Sienna, and the villages of North Sardinia.
We swam in the Mediterranean almost every day, we found local Pizzeria's and bars, and adventured to every beach we stumbled across.
The second time I visited Italy was in 2012, when I was lucky enough to be sent on a Six-Sigma Green Belt course in Rome. We spent a week in a 4-star Sheraton (all inclusive, obviously :)), and I was even able to take Asia with me.
There were so many highlights of our free weekend there before my course started, but the best part was having a beer by the pool after 3 days of hiking Rome flat and seeing what felt like the whole city, but really only included:
- The Colosseum
- The Vatican (we gave up after the Sistine Chapel - too tired and too busy!)
- About 100 different churches
- Trevi fountain
- Foro Romano
- Plaza del Popolo
More recently, our trip to the Island of Sardinia saw us exploring the Southern half of the island, with some of the most beautiful coastlines in Europe. Having a hire-car allowed us to explore into the mountains and along the coast to our hearts content.
The beaches are truly spectacular, and I even managed to complete a hike down to Gorropu gorge, which is super dramatic - one of those places where you're so dwarfed by nature that you realise just how insignificant you are...
We also opted for comfortable accommodation, half board at a great hotel on the South coast, taking so much stress out of having to worry about mealtimes.
Bliss.
