Italy for First Timers - September 2026 - Hostess Roundup - Cindy Plant

What a trip of a lifetime for these sisters. We started with a bang when we landed in Venice and were transported via stunning wooden speedboats (water taxis) right to the door of our hotel.  As our two boats sped across the water to Venice Island we felt like we were in a James Bond movie and we were the Bond girls! Our boats then slowed down as we entered the famous canals and the sisters got to see Venice in all it’s glory.  We had fun waving to all the people on the Rialto Bridge and those taking gondola rides, which we also got to do in the coming days. Four nights in Venice was amazing and it really set the tone for the rest of the trip.  The sisters got to know each other and bond over incredible food, coffee and the odd spritz on our hotel rooftop.

The wonders just kept coming as the trip continued and it was really hard for any of the sisters to pick one highlight because it was just one highlight after another.  Here are some of them:

The first day we walked into the centre of Verona and spotted the Ampitheatre that is 2000 years old and still operates today was wonderful.
Stepping out of the Galleria in Milan and seeing the incredible Duomo for the first time was jaw dropping.
Sitting outside our gorgeous hotel in Como with the fairy lights twinkling eating a delicious dinner with local wines and then spotting George Clooney’s villa amongst others while riding the ferry on the lake was surreal.
Visiting Siena and learning about the great rivalry between the neighbourhoods and the passion surrounding the horse race they hold in the piazza twice each year was great and the spot of shopping afterwards was pretty good too.
Our food tour in Florence was great fun and a wonderful way to get familiar with the city, and ending with a glass of Prosecco at a rooftop bar with the best view of the Duomo was very special.
Visiting a winery near medieval hilltop Orvieto where the wine was stored in hundreds of metres of underground tunnels and caverns which were once Etruscan tombs was mind blowing.

These are just some of the highlights and I haven’t even mentioned Cinque Terre and Rome with it’s layers and layers of history.

In our three weeks away the sisters got to see so many different parts of Italy, a fabulous mix of cities and villages, coastline, lakes and hills.  The scenery outside our bus windows was constantly changing.  The sisters also got a real taste for Italian food and wine and all wondered how they were ever going to return to life as usual.  They also learnt quite a few Italian phrases and grew in confidence as the trip progressed. And finally, whilst doing all of that, new friendships were made that will continue for a long time to come. Bellisima!!