Northern Italy route

We just returned from a fantastic trip in Northern Italy. Our itinerary was to land at Venice airport, and get a car. Since we had been to Venice before, we skipped this and drove to Trieste. 3 nights in Trieste, to get our legs under us and visit a fascinating city. Very walkable, and very interesting history. We then drove to Trento as a mid point to our next destination. Trento was delightful; good food, interesting castle and museum. We stayed one night, which for us was OK, as we had short drives to and from whichgave us ample time to explore the city. We then drove to Naturno in the Dolomiti and stayed at a luxury spa, the Preidlhof for 2 nights. The area is beautiful, and the adults only spa was heavenly. Food was included, and as a "foodie" I can proclaim that it was excellent quality, options and service. It was a great break from museums, etc, and although it may seem expensive, when you factor in the food and use of the pools, saunas and other facilities, it is well worth it. It was also fun to be maybe the only USA people there - the resort said they didn't often get USA visitors. Back track to Bolzano for 2 nights. Again, this city/town is wonderful! German speaking, but with fantastic Italian inspired food. The highlight for us was taking the Renon cable car to Soprabolzen and doing a bit of a hike/walk and lunching at Klobenstein. It is so gorgeous, and the info point at the top of the cable car is very helpful in assisting with length, difficulty of hike desired. We then had our L long car day - 3 to 4 hours to Milan. We has purchased tickets to the Last Supper with guide well in advance (they become available quarterly online - and sell out so I advise getting as soon as you know your dates). We also paid for a guided tour of the Duomo, and were so happy we did. The guide was a wealth of good information, and local knowledge. There is a free standing tobacco stand to the right of the Duomo square as you face the main entrance that will sell you tickets for a guided tour - English. I recommend this. We went to Monza to see some of the Formula 1 racing. Sadly for me this was a waste. We spend more time in line for water than seeing any racing activity. We also paid a fortune for the tickets. It was chaotic, poor signage to get you around, and so crowded. But, F1. We then went to Torino. I love this city! We did a fabulous "free" walking tour our first morning, and the guide was so good! Factual, funny and with some good tips. The food there is the best. My 2 favorite Italian wines Arneis (white) and Dolcetto (red) and local there, and maybe 5 euros for a glass! Maybe 5 euros for a bottle at the grocery store. We also stayed very centrally at UNA Experience hotel, and I think the location, room quality make it a great place to stay. Then we were disrupted by the KLM/AirFrance strike and decided to return home a day early rather than potentially be stuck extra days (we have pets). KLM informed me one day in advance of the strike so I had time to re-book our flight from Torino back to Amsterdam. Very kind of them. This northern Italy circuit exceeded my expectations, and I highly recommend this itinerary to those who like cities, but also mountains.