Trains + Bikes = Italy

I'm going to be honest here and confess an unpopular opinion I have: I don't like Italy that much.

I have been to Italy twice in my life, but I visited quite a lot of places in those two times. My main problem with Italy, and I'll say it right at the beginning so I can go on with showing you guys the good things about my travels in that country, is that it reminds me too much of Spain. Only worse. (If you are Spanish and have been to Italy, I think you get what I mean.) The cities are dirty, everything looks too old (even the things that shouldn't look old), you can't do anything for free (I've had to pay even to go to a park. Can you imagine having to pay to see Central Park?) and I am not a fan of Italian guys, I find them creepy and I think if you've been to Italy and been hit on by one of these Italian boys, most of you girls do too. 

Of course, Italy being Italy, all of this doesn't really matter and the beauty and history of the country speak for themselves. Everybody should visit Italy at least once in their lifetime, but I've already done so twice and it's not on my top destinations anymore.

The first time that I went to Italy, it was on a high school trip. We were visiting Italy for only 7 days, but in that time we travelled to Pisa, Florence, Rome, Napoli and Pompei. Pompei is a really interesting place to visit and Florence was my favorite city out of everything we visited, and it is still my favorite Italian city. Sadly, I can't say much about Rome. We were there for two days of which I only clearly remember visiting the Coliseum and walking aimlessly around in the city without knowing what I was seeing.

The second time that I went to Italy, it was the summer of my sophomore year in college and I went with my parents. If you are from Europe, you are most probably familiar with Ryanair. So yes, you guessed right, we wanted to go for a family vacation somewhere, and we basically just chose the cheapest destination that we could find: Alicante-Bologna, round-way tickets for only 13 euros.

Bologna is not a very well-known city, it is mainly a student city and it is only now starting to get more tourists because of Ryanair. But to be fair, it's a great city. It's small in size so it's very easy to walk from one place to the other, and it hides something interesting in every corner, wether it be a nice little bookstore, a food market, or a stunning gothic cathedral. 

From Bologna we took trains to different cities close by like Ravenna, Rimini, or Florence. You can find beauty everywhere you look in Florence. They also have the best ice creams I have ever had in my entire life.

In summary, even if there are things that I don't like about Italy, these were my top 3 favorite things about Italy: 

1. I oculd eat pasta all day, every day, it is my all-time favorite food so Italy is for me like a food paradise.

2. Bikes everywhere! I don't know if this happens in every city in Italy, but in Bologna the only thing you see is bikes every where. Proof:

Also in Ravenna they have free bikes for the tourists and they give you maps with tours to do by bike. It's a really fun way to discover the city.

3. Cheap trains. You don't need a car at all if you travel to Italy. At least if you are in the northern part of the country, trains are many and cheap and it's the best way to get to know the country. You can also enjoy a good book while you're on the train or waiting for it: