184. Summer 2023 Update from Italy

Summer and peak season is hotting up in Italy! As we're only half way through the season we're offering an insight to making your summer Italian trips run smoothly this year and in ones to come. Founder Katy held with our friend Italy travel expert Danielle Oteri from Feast Travel who has just returned from 6 weeks in Italy and is full of sage advice for travelers.

Read the full episode show notes here > untolditaly.com/184

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is the untoldishly Travel podcast andyou're listening to episode number one hundred and
eighty four. Zaatuti and ben Venutitoo and Told Italy the travel podcast to
where you go to the townsend,villages, mountains, the lakes, hills

(00:21):
and coast lines of Bella, Italia. Each week, your host Katie Clark
takes you on a journey in asearch of magical landscapes, history, culture,
wine, zelato and of course awhole lot of pasta. If you're
dreaming of Italy and planning future adventuresthere, you've come to the right place.

(00:51):
Chao ben Venuti. Friends, Ihope you're enjoying your summer if you're
in the Northern Hemisphere. Here inAustralia, we're doing winter, but there
are are a lot of people travelingin Europe right now chasing that summer sun.
So chow to all of you listening. This week's episode of Untold Italy
is a replay of a live reportwe recorded last week with Daniel o' terry

(01:14):
from Feast Travel, all about howsummer travel in Italy is playing out in
twenty twenty three and what to expectif you're traveling in the next few months
and coming years. In the summertime, It's a must listen if you're wondering
where to go, how to avoidthe heat and crowds, and have an
amazing summer vacation in Italy. Ihope you like it. Bon journa Bonneseta.

(01:38):
Welcome everyone, and welcome to anupdate on travel in Italy for the
summer of twenty twenty three. I'mKatie, your host. I'm from Untold
Italy, which is a podcast andonline destination for planning your tips to Italy,
and today I have with me myfriend Daniello Terry from face Travel,

(02:00):
and I want to introduce yourself,Danielle. Thank you Katie. First of
all, let me just say,do you know how many people are in
Italy walking around with your voice intheir heads right now? I don't know.
That's very thought because I was justin Italy and there were people that
recognized my voice from just being aguest on this podcast. So there are
a lot of people walking around KatieClark in their bodies. Oh good thing,

(02:23):
they're having a good time. Iam the founder of Feast Travel and
we provide trip consultations, trip planningin small group group tours in Italy.
I do trip consultations where I helpself planners. We do the full kit
and kaboodle for people who want tolet somebody else take care of all of
the details. And we run justa few small groups group tours as well.

(02:46):
I should mention them when we rungroup to us too. I just
completely forgot about that. Oh well, I mean my podcast Mede so we
as you can tell if you onyoutu, the Untold Italy sort of family.
We are very passionate about traveling inItaly and between us, Danielle and
I have a lot of experience travelingin Italy and we love to share it

(03:08):
with people and help people have themost amazing trip there that they can,
because there is a lot of kindof very poor advice out there, and
you know, after many years experienceof traveling, we just want to make
sure you've got the right information,the most up to date and you can,

(03:29):
you know, access it the bestway you can. So we wanted
to start off actually, and I'mjust going to check out a few comments
here ah Randy's online. There wego, Hi Randy, how you going?
And Maria, thank you, Maria, thank you for your kind words.
Maria said, or we're very helpful, and we do that's what we
try to do. We aim tobe very very helpful. So what we

(03:52):
wanted to do is just to giveyou an example of someone that may have
got some bad or poor advice ormaybe no at all even about traveling to
the amoulfe goes, and just togive you an idea of some of the
things that go around. And weactually found this I don't know, and
we had to mix some emotions aroundthis video, but let's yeah, there's

(04:18):
definitely I have I think people mightbe surprised at our reactions to it.
All right, so I'll pull itup on my screen and play it for
everyone here, all right, onegive me one moment to share my screen
and I will pop it online.Yeah, so why are you waiting?
Like? There are so many waysto get information these days? And look,

(04:43):
I think the main thing that wewant to let everyone know is just
make sure that you check out whois giving the information and what their credentials
are like for me, one tripto Italy is a perspective for sure,
but it may not be an expertperspective. Sorry. Let's have a listen
to this young lady who arrived inPositano and got a bit of a shop.

(05:09):
Every single influencer and TikToker who putthe Amalfi Coast on my for you
page over the last two months deservesjail time because while they showed you the
gorgeous coastlines and the cute little towns, what they didn't tell you were the
disclaimers. First of all, it'simpossible to get here. You have to
fly into Naples, then you haveto take a train from Naples to Sorrento.

(05:29):
Then you have to stand in ninetydegree weather waiting for a ferry to
get on a ferry with all ofyour luggage. Mind you, we've been
in Europe for two weeks. Allof your luggage, lug it onto the
ferry, get to Amalfi Coast.Finally, then to get to the highest
of the high points, the beautifulhotels with the gorgeous this there is no
streets here, there's no cars driving, so you have to walk up one
hundred and sixty stairs with all ofyour luggage to get to the top of

(05:55):
this gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous areawith these beautiful views. Carry it and
then also all the power went outbecause the multi coast doesn't have the infrastructure
to support this tourism. Oh mygod, Oh dear, oh dear,
thank that. Sorry, thoughts,feelings, reactions, Well, you know,

(06:17):
of course, like people that aresharing it on social media, their
comments are about, you know,how spoiled and how entitled she is.
And here she is in a beautifulplace and she's complaining. But here's the
thing, she's not wrong. Theseare all the conditions of Positano. And
I'm not saying I sympathize with her. I don't have any sympathy before her
at all. I hope she tookwhat she saw beautiful photographs taken from drones

(06:43):
of a destination that is two pointtwo square miles of primarily luxury resorts.
She's trying to have a budget versionof a trip in one of the world's
most expensive destinations, and she's surprisedthat it's not so convenient. So because
it's something that people do not understandabout the Amalfi Coast that I explain over

(07:06):
and over again, and I thinkninety percent of the time they don't believe
me. They think I'm trying tosell them on something else. I don't
get any money for somebody not goingto the Amalfi coast. But it's a
series of sea facing cliffs with little, teeny tiny houses built into the mountains.
It's not an easy or an inexploitin an expensive place to visit.

(07:28):
It's really got some unique challenges andit's small. There's just a last space,
no I know, And it's sohard because it's just it is so
beautiful, and people whose job itis to make beautiful things come alive,
they it's an easy job for them, Positano, because it's just it is
so absolutely beautiful. And you knowwhat, I am going to go back

(07:53):
with you in September, but we'regoing to do it in a way that
is not stressful. So and we'regoing to go buy boat. And so
this is to me, the wayto see the coastline is just to embrace
the nature and just get out thereon the water and enjoy it away from

(08:13):
lots and lots of people. Sothat that's just I think that's my number
one tip. Did you have anythingelse? I mean, the thing is
about the boat is it's not cheap. It's not a bargain, you know,
like you really you're split. Yougot a splurge. You know,
just so many people because you know, apartment rentals and things like that online

(08:33):
show up in these places. Theexperience they have in mind is that of
a luxury resort destination. You know. The other thing that she mentions in
this video is that the power wasgoing out because the Amalfi Coast, she
says, doesn't have an infrastructure tosupport this. The Amalfi Coast is a
real place and actually you know,people do live there and they're dealing,

(08:54):
you know, like they have theirpower going out. People that have to
get up and go to work andwork in all of those hotels and drive
taxis their power is going out toobecause of this over tourism that is happening.
So I just think that people needto be clear out. If you're
going to a place like Posatannel,which is two point two square miles and
you know that it is such apopular destination, you either really need to

(09:16):
pay to have a type end experienceor be really prepared for some challenges.
Yeah, you're right. And Maria, who's watching us live on Facebook,
said that she what is whether peoplethink that Italy is a bit of a
theme park and a bucket least kindof checklist destination rather than it's a it's

(09:37):
a country, and you know thatpeople need to have realistic expectations about what
to expect when they get there,and we do it. Is there is
some struggles at the moment, andit's because there are so many people there
and they're all crammed into the onethe few handfuls of spaces that they've seen
that they think they have to doand see, and really, you know,

(10:01):
easially Is has got a vast numberof options that people can choose from,
and that's what we try and giveyou the different options because you can
be on the Amalfi Coast, onthe coast, or you can go down
to where Danielle's family is just youknow, not far from there and there
won't be hardly anyone. So samecoastline, same beautiful, same water yep

(10:26):
It's villages that were like Positano beforeyou know, three thousand dollars at Night's
resorts were there. You know whenHemingway discovered Positano. You can go thirty
miles down south and find villages likeHemingway discovered all of those years ago.
And you know, you just gotto realize too like the reason you all
know about Positano is because cruise shipsand resorts have been feeding you advertising because

(10:50):
the Kardashians went there and had awedding. Like even if, like I
have never intentionally ingested anything Kardashian,yet it still pervades or world. And
you know, like all of theseideas kind of get filtered through social media
and so this tech to acre,you know, when she said, how
dare these things show up on myto do page? You've got to do

(11:13):
your homework, you have to doyour homework. Well, I think everyone
that follows us is really smart andhe's doing their homework. That's that's why
they're on the Facebook group or followingthe podcast. So respect to everyone who's
doing their homework. But yeah,I know, it's just the pool,
the pool of Positano. It's justit's it's yeah, it was. I've

(11:35):
found it a little bit disappointing,and I know others did too. But
let's move on. Let's move onto Rome and some of the other crowded
places because there is and the heat, oh my goodness, so summer.
If you're planning to go for therest of the summer and for next year,
or years beyond. We do wantto cover a few tips here because

(11:56):
you know, I think that thenewsreels have been full of information about how
hot it is over there and howmany just how crowded eas So let's why
is it. I think everyone's youknow, like just getting back into the
travel game after the time that weshall not mention. So why do you

(12:18):
think there's so many crowds, Danielle? You know, I think this is
the real travel revenge year. Ithink last year, you know, in
the United States, you still hadto test for COVID to return back,
so some people, a lot ofpeople did go, but they made last
minute plans. And I think thisyear people are doing the really classic journeys.
They're doing Florence, Venice, Rome, a multi coast chink with and
you know, I on hundred percentunderstand why people are choosing these locations.

(12:41):
But seeing the cities in particular inthe summer months is a challenge no matter
what. You know, it's alwayshot in Rome, and now we're throwing
extraordinary heat into the mix. Also, you know, Rome is not in
the greatest shape right now. There'sa lot of garbage on the street,
there's a lot of political problems inrealme, and I tested some some advice

(13:03):
that I gave I was in Romeat the end of my trip. I
did six weeks in Italy. Idid Calabria, Puglia, Pinacilento, and
Rome, so I really covered alot of grounds. So I was unexpectedly
in Rome for five days and Ididn't have restaurant reservations. And I always
tell people, if you want toeat well in Rome, you don't want
to eat tourists junk. You've gotto make reservations. And my previous advice

(13:24):
was correct. I found some prettydreadful food. And even knowing what I'm
doing and speaking Italian very well andall that, it's still not an easy
place to be spontaneous, just thenature of it being a very busy city,
the Italian capital, and the additionof so many tourists, and then
the heat on top of it.The challenges of the coliseum are also still

(13:46):
going on. And now there's alsothe additional ticketing to get into the Pantheon,
so there's even there are even moredetails that you kind of need to
plan for ahead of time. Yeah, and I think it's definitely white.
You can get around all of thatbecause like we mentioned before, it's all
about the planning, and I thinkit's being spontaneous is great, and I

(14:09):
love being spontaneous, but if youwant to make the most of your short,
short and precious vacation time, thenyou want to make sure you're not
sort of standing in lines and standing, you know, like waiting for trains
and things like that, and youhave to make a nod to the fact
that the infrastructures might be what youexpect at home. Like today, I

(14:33):
was reading that there's just such amassive lack of taxis in Rome because they
haven't issued licenses for many years.So and obviously uber is not readily available
there either. So you know,like pre prepared to walk and plan your
days around if you're you know,you've got mobility issues or you get tired
very easily. Most of us doin the heat, plan your days around

(14:56):
a specific area so that you canyou don't have to rely on the transportation
and you can walk to most placesbecause and the timing of it in going
the early morning or in the eveningif you can, and you know,
make sure you're out of the sunin the heat of the day. I
also picked up a great tip frommy relatives there, which is, you

(15:18):
know, I think a lot ofEnglish speakers when they're at a loss to
where it go for a restaurant,they'll turn to trip Advisor. You're only
in the tourist information there. Italiansonly use Instagram when they're searching for something.
If Italians are in a place ina city, in a town and
they want to know where to eat, they use Instagram to search for restaurants.
So that might require you needing toalso download Google Translate so you can

(15:43):
figure it out. But if youreally want to find out where the locals
are eating, you want to readthe advice of Italians. Yeah wow,
well, I mean, I guessit's very visual food, you know,
for Italians especially, so maybe well, you know, even when political propagandas
friends in Italy and the United Stateshad happened on Facebook, in Italy,

(16:03):
it happens on Instagram. Oh sothat's a good tip. So Instagram for
your restaurant recommendations. And I thinkas well, Yeah, troop Advisor,
I don't know. I think Idon't want to know what's happened to troop
advisor lately. It's just it usedto be. Maybe it's done, it's
run. I don't know. Yeah, I think people go to a trip
advisor to have their day in court. And there's also a lot of butts
and reviews that are generated that areyou know, false generated. So it's

(16:27):
a it's a green of salt platformin my opinion these days. Yeah,
I mean, there's so much ofthat anyway. So that's why, you
know, it's really good to findyour you know, your true north,
who you want to trust when youget your information. I just think,
you know, like I did arandom search of YouTube and I'm just I

(16:49):
despair because there's you know, there'sthe reality and everything. So anyway,
so that's the thing. So justjust be organized and be prepared for the
hate type of water bottle. There'sfree water everywhere in Rome. You can
feel up wherever you go, somany different fountains and it's all free if

(17:10):
you if you're stuck traveling in Julyand August, because that's when you have
time off and that's when your kidsare away from school. You know,
of course you're not going to flyacross the ocean and not go to the
Vatican or go to Florence. You'regonna want to go to some of these
famous places, of course, butI would say don't do Florence, Venice,
Rome in those hot months. Ifyou're going to do one of those

(17:32):
cities or two of those cities,put something else in there that is quiet.
You go to Rome and then goto lin Market. I just had
some clients who went to lin Marketfor a three days, for maybe four
or five days. At the endof their trip said it was their favorite
part. Kids didn't want to leavethe villa that they rented. They were
you know, it's just an amazingexperience that nobody had ever heard about.

(17:53):
And when they told their friends wherethey were going, they're all like,
why aren't you going to Venice?Why aren't you going to Positano? And
felt this peer pressure. But theycouldn't have been happier with their plans.
So got to Rome, got toFlorence, got to Venice. But pick
something else if you're going in Julyand August, where you can really have
a proper vacation and experience a bitof authentic Italy. Yeah, that's what

(18:17):
we do. Like we sort ofdip in and out, like we're going
to this time, we're going inSeptember, and we're going to Florence for
a few days, and then we'regoing up to the Dolomites. And I
think that how I tend to planthe days because I've got small or youngish
children, is that we do someactivity in the morning and then we just
come and splodge by the pool inthe afternoon, and it's just it's worked

(18:37):
out so well like and then wego out for dinner in the evening or
a petitebo and just go for walkin the beautiful villages and it just works
out perfectly. Danielle, what aboutLa Market? Why don't you tell everyone?
Where is the Marke? Why don'tpeople know about? The market?
Is on the eastern side of Italy. It's right next to Latzia, the

(19:00):
region of Romes and the Abruzzo,and it's a region that has a beautiful
coastline and a national park on thecoast with beautiful beaches that Italians go to.
The region Le Marque is best knownwithin Italy is a place where where
all the best Italian shoes are made. So there's a lot of actually good
outlets hidden in Lamarque if you wantto do some shopping. And then there

(19:21):
are two cities there that are justextraordinary. There's Urbino, which is one
of my favorite cities, actually studied, would you know, as part of
my master's thesis, and it's abeautiful hilltop village. It's actually one of
the coldest places in Europe. Theyget a lot of snow in the summer,
which makes it a perfect place togo in the summertime because it is
a hilltop town. If you wantto have the Sienna send Jiminiano experience,

(19:42):
go to Urbino. It's also auniversity town, so there's a cool local
life there. And then this otherbeautiful city called Asculi Piceno. The entire
city is composed that of travertine.It was designed to look as though it's
glowing under moonlight. Big beautiful piazzaswhere you can really live that Italian dream
that everybody has in their heads ofsitting in the piazza there, you're not

(20:06):
going to drink an Apperol sprits,You're going to drink a Milletti sprits because
Miletti is the bitter that is localto that town. And these are just
really beautiful, well healed, wellorganized cities that cost a lot less or
a lot cleaner than Rome. Rightnow, but just you know, not

(20:26):
that far away from Florence from Rome, where you could absolutely you know,
pair of plays like Lemark with avisit to Florence or Rome so that you
have a more well balanced trip.Yeah. Agree, Like there's so many
many plate cities and places in Italyto explore that you know. One of
our favorite places that we'll be goingback to this year is a Milia Romania

(20:48):
and just outside of Moderna. It'sjust a beautiful area. People are so
friendly, They've got amazing food,it's very pretty with the countryside and you
know, very similar to what peopleexpect from Tuscany, but like a whole
other world away where you're not goingto really run into a lot of other
tourists and you're going to have abeautiful, relaxing experience that is full.

(21:12):
You know that you will remember andit's hard to sort of combat this relentless
you've got to see this, You'vegot to see that. But you know,
and maybe you do, but maybe, like Danielle says, you split
it up with like a trip toa city and then go and explore some
more. And I have to sayfrom all our tour clients is that what

(21:33):
that's what they love the most isgetting that contrast of you know, having
that time to explore some of thosemajor sites and really you know, getting
that over and done with and enjoyingit in the in the best way that
they can. But also you know, heading out into the countryside and seeing
a different part of Italy that theymay not be splashed all over Instagram or

(21:53):
YouTube. Yeah, and you knowItalians do town and countries so well.
I'm not sure how it is inAustralia, but in the United States,
you know, there tends to bea pretty big division between rural places and
cities. Italians, you know,who live in rural areas and these small
towns. They are still everything youwant of Italians. They are still beautifully

(22:14):
dressed. They in many ways likelive the Italian life much much more so,
you know, life in Florence andVenice of Florence, in Rome,
in particular in Milan. You know, this is modern life. That's not
that different from my life in NewYork City. But in these small towns,
if you really want to have apassage job and you know, see
the entire family eating dinner until twoin the morning at a local restaurant,

(22:37):
just got a small town Italy.It's there and it's fantastic. And the
people that leaving the cities, Italiansthat leave in the cities, that's what
they crive for. They holidays two, isn't it, So that's what they
enjoyed. I feel like the biggestsecret is that Italians are as nostalgic for
their grandmothers as like a lot ofyou know, Italian Americans or Italian Australians
are for their grandparents. They areso own nostalgic and you're in so much

(23:02):
for that authentic Italian life in thecountryside and they you know, so many
people just Bemoan having to live ina place like Milan because that's where their
job is, because their heart isreally back home in Pulia or in Sicily.
Yeah, exactly exactly. So Iwas asking Danielle before as a mum,
and you know, it's just Ithink it's a cultural thing in Australia

(23:23):
where actually have no problem taking ourkids out of school to take them traveling.
And I know in the UK that'snot possible due to their school education,
But I mean, is it.Do you think it's possible at all
in the US for people to taketheir kids out of school, maybe not
in the summer holiday. It's veryhard. I mean, the people that

(23:44):
I know have done it, havemade a concerted effort that you know,
this was like sort of a valueof their family and they pulled their kids
out of school and they home schooledthem. You know, it was a
huge effort. It's not so easy. And don't I don't know about in
Australia, but sports really dominates thelives of people with children and missing sports
and schedules. There's so many Idon't know. Being a kid in the

(24:06):
United States is a complex these days. So I think it's really hard for
parents to pull their kids out ofschool unless there's a very specific mission that
family has in mind. Yeah andso, and I'm sorry, so obviously
families and teachers are really locked intothis July August kind of schedules. So
what we've just discussed is really,you know, really for you people.

(24:26):
But anyone else who has any flexibilityaround time that they can travel, please
go and go on the shoulder seasons. Go in like go March, go
even November, October. He isbecoming very busy. If anyone's traveling on
October this year, please make sureyou've booked your accommodation. I was trying
to book something in Rome recently.There's not a lot of stubbled you know,

(24:55):
busy as July this year. Yeah, because I think people are getting
the message that it's hot. SoI think, please please be organized and
you know, be flexible around yourtravel times. You really can have an
incredible experience. I love being inItaly when it's there's a little bit of
crispiness in the air, there's therain seems to not hang around for too

(25:18):
long. It just washes through ifit comes, and it's really it's my
favorite time to visit is in thelate fall or the late autumn and in
early spring. It's just delightful.But you know, the real people ask
about the shoulder season all the time. I don't know that there are as
much of a shoulder season anymore,but I would say the best time if
you really truly want to avoid thecrowds, is now March and early April.

(25:41):
And if you are going to FlorenceVenice Realm. You spend so much
time inside anyway, because you're goingto museums and churches and sites the good
weather, it's not necessary it's notonly going to the Amalfi Coast in March.
If you're going to do the bigcities, March or April is the
best time. Yeah, exactly.Now what about what about some of the

(26:02):
experiences that we can have. Solet's just let's focus on summer because that's
what people are doing. And youknow, there are you know, if
we've established that, there's some differentplaces that we can go to, and
you can even go to different placeson a day trip. Even from Rome.
There's some nice beaches. I thinkthere's Santa Severas and is one with
a castle on the beach, andthere's what do you know some other places

(26:27):
you could get by train. Yeah, you can go to spare Longa,
which also has a great archaeological museumas well. You know, I love
a good archaeological museum. But that'sbeautiful. Actually, was chatting with somebody
on the plane who said that shewant somebody she worked with had a grandmother
from spare Longa and she was advisedto go there, and she said it
was the single best day of hertwo week vacation again after being path but

(26:49):
she also got out she was inRoman, so she got out of the
heat and I you know, there'sjust even that word experiences. I think
really focusing on experiences instead of sitesor checklists or the theme park of vacation
of Italy is such a valuable thingto do. And you know one piece

(27:11):
of advice or one question actually thatI almost always ask my consultation clients,
and ninety percent of them don't havean answer and look a little thrown off.
And I ask them this as Isay, what's your overall budget for
the trip? And I think alot of people tend to think of a
per nighte budget based on hotels andhow much food they think they're going to
eat. But the reason I askfor an overall budget is I want to
prioritize experiences. And when I askpeople about their experiences, say, for

(27:36):
example, you know their experience thatthey really want the dream of Italy that
plays in their head is to cookwith an Italian nona and learn how to
make pasta. It is so wortheating a few sandwiches or staying in a
less expensive hotel part of the tripin order to spend as much money as
you can on having that beautiful experience, because that's what's going to make your

(27:57):
trip really special in memorable one hundredpercent, absolutely, And I think then
that takes it to a different Youhave to go a little bit deeper,
don't You have to really search insideyourself. Is really why is it that
you want to go to Italy?Is what is driving you? What's the
passion behind it? And so youneed to ask yourself those questions. And

(28:21):
sometimes it can be a bit confronting, because I think it's the way we've
been conditioned lately, is that youknow, there's all these suggestions that come
at you, and you know it'salmost a bit overwhelming, and so you
kind of lose sight of what isit that you want? And so I

(28:41):
think it's that's probably why people arelooking a little bit hesitant to actually share
the information, because maybe they justdon't even know or they haven't really asked
themselves that question. And and youknow, I think we all as travel
as we all go on a bitof a journey. I know, you
know, when I first started asa backpacker, I just was like,
I want to say you everyathday,you know, like even in my twenties,

(29:04):
and you know, you do gothrough a bit of an evolution.
But you know, I think whatwe're here to do is like maybe speed
that up a little bit and likegive you some tips about how to you
know, have those amazing, beautifulexperiences, because you know, some of
the favorite things that I've done justin the last year initially include my friend

(29:25):
Arianna. She knows I love babygoats, and so when we went to
visit her in Tuscany, she tookme to the goats cheese farm and it
was sort of like early summer,so all the little baby goats were running
around and I got to cuddle them, and I got the taste of delicious
cheese and learn about all the funthings about the you know, like what

(29:47):
you can do with ghost cheese.So it's just like that to me,
I'm going to remember that. Youknow that that's what I remember from the
chees, you know, and youknow, we needed somebody like Ariana to
coordinate that experience, and you know, very and you need somebody like that
also to be a translator. Andthat's really worth spending money on. And
you know, travel is a marketplace, and you go online and there's the

(30:08):
marketplace of things to buy. Andalso again when people are thinking about their
budget, you know, you're likeyou do with everything right. You try
to get the best deal on everysingle thing that you're purchasing, but it's
really not the best way to goabout travel. It's a it's such an
important experience. You're spending so muchtime and so much money, and you

(30:30):
really deserve to have a beautiful memorythat comes of it. You know.
One of the experiences that I hadjust on this most recent trip is I
spent two days in a part ofCampania called Eopemia, and it's just north
of the Amalfi Coast. It's likeforty five minutes from Posits Funnel, but
it's a different world. It's inthe mountains sort of east of Naples.
And I spent two days visiting differentwinemakers there and having lunch with them.

(30:52):
And there was a woman I workwith named Sarah, who's a collaborator of
mine, who's an American who livesthere, and sheep facilitated these experiences,
and you know, she was sheI send many of my clients there,
and she always serves as the translatorand the driver even but we sat with
these winemakers in their kitchens in theirhomes, and one of the things that
they were talking about, what werethe challenges of this year, about all

(31:18):
of the rain that's had all overEurope and how this is going to impact
the wine, and how this impactsthem and their traditions. And one of
the things that they said over andover again was, you know, we
really rely on our relatives, ourolder relatives, for wisdom about what to
do when things are difficult, andthey don't have any wisdom for this yere,
you know, so leads into conversationsabout climate change, and you know,

(31:41):
here we are sitting with just somereal salt of the earth people eating
delicious food, having big conversations aboutthe world, and that it was priceless.
It was a priceless experience, andlike my heart was just like so
full after that, more so thanyou know, any sort of perfunctory tour
I would have felt obligated to dealif it was my first time in Italy.
Yeah, And I think that's sucha great point. And I know

(32:05):
that both you and I we havea very similar view on this. But
if you want to go and experiencesomething that's truly local and have those experiences,
you aren't going to need quite abit good Italian if you're going out,
you know, to truly local experiences, or you'll need to have someone
with you that can speak Italian fairlywell or very well, I would say.

(32:29):
And and then also you know alot of these places they're not advertising
on viatour or get your guides.They're not. They don't want to write
because they do not exist online.No, they don't. It's really really
important because to know and to understandthat those type of experiences are just they're

(32:52):
very, very very special, butyou need to know people to find them.
So at the first steps what itis you want to deal like,
craft the experience, have a dream, and then you'll find it. You
will find it, but you needn'tknow what it is in your heart you
really want to experience. That's true. That's true, And I think you
know if you so. I mean, I've been grappling with this and I

(33:15):
did a podcast about this recently.But basically, if you you either want
to invest the money in the timein that type of experience, and that's
a personal choice, and everyone's different, and there's no judge. Everyone's got
a different budget, everyone's got adifferent motivations for their travel, all of
that. But I would say thatif you can't just go and book those

(33:39):
type of things online. You canget like a say, for example,
you can go visit wineries, right, you can do that, and you
can find tours and et cetera todo that online. But it's a different
type of experience, so you needto really understand what it is that you
want out of the experience. Ifyou're really super into wine, I would

(33:59):
definitely try and you know, getfind a local producer that knows or operator
that knows exactly about wine, becauseyou will not there's these there are big
wineries like there are everywhere in theworld that you can go and visit.
But it's a different experience to goingto visit a family run vineyard that has
been doing that for generations and I'mreally wanting to share the passion behind what

(34:22):
they do. It's it's completely likechalk and cheese or it's like barolo and
a. Yeah, so I thinkyou know, have ya just get really
deep and think what you want toexperience, and you'll have those moments that

(34:44):
you remember the goats, the goatbaby goats, moments like all them when
you're feeling overwhelmed about all the optionsand you don't know what to do,
like if you prioritize the experiences,then everything will sort of falling around that.
You prioritize the experience and thing aboutthe budget, and then the decisions
start to become much easier. Yeah, and then as well, you just

(35:05):
don't feel like you have to cramsomething into every single minute of every day.
And that's another thing. You know, you do want that time to
relax, and no matter how longyour vacation is and how you know,
you just need that time to justreflect and soak it all in and just
really really think about what it isaround you. Just activate all your senses.

(35:29):
And I think that's to me,they're the memories that I have the
most is where I've actually taken timeto just stop and activate. Daniel,
you mentioned to me the other daythat you did something very special in the
Vatican, and this is a goodexample of where you something you can invest
in if you really are interested inart and you you have an art history.

(35:52):
So what did you do? Idid the key Masters Tour of the
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapels, whichis at six am. You have to
get there to the door of theVatican Museums by five fifty. I am
not a morning person, so thisis a big deal. That alone was
an investment. It's very expensive.The tour is about four hundred and fifty

(36:13):
or five hundred dollars American dollars fourhundred and fifty euros, I believe.
And you are with just twenty otherpeople for a private tour of the Vatican
Museums at Sisteine Chapel before it opens. Of course, that's a ton of
money. And when people say isit worth it, I mean for me,
I studied art history, I youknow, Michael Angelo. Seeing the

(36:37):
Sisteine Chapel for me, like Istood there in that room and I was
just overcome with emotion. It wasone of the best experiences of my life.
I'm not kidding you. It wasone of the most amazing things I've
ever done. It's not for everybody. It's a lot of money. You
gotta get up early. Michael Angelois not your thing. You don't need
to do it. But for me, that was an experience worth spending the

(36:58):
money on. And I ate sandwichesfor the rest of the week because I
spent a lot on it. ButI don't regret it. I do it
again in a heartbeat. Wow.Yeah, So it's it's each to their
own baby guides for some Michael Angelot'sstage chapels rather also too, I'd want
to say if people are feeling like, I don't know that I'm like looking

(37:19):
for some deep emotional experience in Italy, I think I just wanted to go
see beautiful things. That's fine too, but I would you know, I
think a lot of the Amalfi Coastpeople are looking for that experience, and
I would just redirect you to Pugliabecause if you want to go to really
amazing beaches, because the Amalfi Coastbeach it's terrible, like full stuff.
The beach in Positano is gross.The beaches in Puglia are some of the

(37:43):
best on planet Earth. And thenthose beautiful towns like Monopoly, Loco Rotanto.
If you want to take pictures ofyourself in a sun hat looking hot,
those are the places. And it'shonestly still even though it's become a
more popular destination. I was therein June, it was still pretty quiet,
and you know it's July and Augustwhen the Italians go down to Pullia
that it gets really busy. It'sa little bit like the Florida of Italy.

(38:06):
For Italians it's you know, wherethey go away. But even in
June it was still pretty quiet inlocal Rotondo. So you know, beautiful
whitewashed cities or Stony would be anotherone, bugnano A Mae. You'll see
if plenty of these places on Instagram. But that's the experience that you want
to have, that's the place togo. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

(38:27):
We just released a video that wetook off one of our tours there that
we had some friends along that arevideographers and if you want to check out
Pulia and just the just so beautifuland just so like relaxed. I like
to call it a bit it's abit like like there's it's not dissimilar to
Sicily, but it's much more chilledout, like you've got spile that tell

(38:51):
me they're like, I'm not reallyinto history, even though I go in
a corner and a cry a littlebit. Pulia doesn't have a doesn't have
a ton of history going on.It's not don't you know, like you're
not really missing anything by not engagingwith history specifically in Paulia. It's there,
of course, it's Italy, butI think that's a place where you
can go and not feel the pressureto go see things that maybe you're not

(39:12):
that excited about. Yeah, it'swell, I do like that. I
love they the Crusades and Pilgrim likethere's stories around Pilgrims and that whole Saint
Michael's line and to me, that'sreally cool out down in Poulia. But
yeah, you're right, it's notreally the place where you're getting. I

(39:32):
mean, they do have Roman stuffthere and it's more, but it's not
like you've got you know, Romanruins from every traffic circle. It's much
more of a vacation place. Andthey do have amazing food and wine,
like amazing, so good if youlike seafood. They have even had the

(39:53):
Italian version of sushi which is calledcruder and yeah delicious, so fresh.
And you know here in Australia wedo have some good seafood too, but
sometimes it's can be quite expensive.So if anyone is like an adventurous eater
and wanted to try, like asea urchin in Australia is so so expensive

(40:15):
when in Polio as like one eurofor a like a I don't know what
they like a sea urchin and youcan just scoop it right out of the
shell, squeeze of lemon. Ohgosh, I love Mary chin uny colds
in Japanese. I'm crazy. Andnow if you're an Uni freak like I
am going to Pullia in March whenthey're all my greeting or something and you're

(40:38):
just feast diamond. Oh yes,so good, so good. Hey,
listen, if anyone's got we gotsome amazing comments. Maria is reckons that
she would do goats and Mike Michelangeloand I admit I would too, like
that I was being a little bitfacetious and and carries off to Poulio carries
in our tea. But she's offto Pullia in September, and she's very

(40:58):
excited too. So if anyone hasany questions, you feel free to drop
them in the chat there. Wecan see all the messages coming through and
we're happy to answer a few questionshere. But like, yeah, definitely
Poolia. It's so it's so amazingand so relaxing. And yeah, Maria
also said that Mussadias are wonderful,and yes they are. They're just a

(41:20):
mussadia is like an old fortified townhouseor country house that's been or farmhouse that's
and so many of them have beenbeautifully renovated and they'll have swimming pools and
and all of that, and they'rejust and some of them have restaurants on
site. We stay. It's abeautiful mussteria on our tours and they're just

(41:40):
an amazing place to relax, mightbe surrounded by these are monumental olive trees
that have been there for since thedawn of time, and it's just a
different it's a totally different pace andit's beautiful. I stayed at Maussadia in
Martina Franca for a few days,and I travel with my dog and she
I think Poullia was her favorite place. She was just awful eash for three

(42:04):
days because we're seeing in our massadiathat's also a lentile firm, so there
were no roads near us, andI just left her alone and she had
a wonderful time. A bike gradeessential in Poulia because it's pretty flat,
so even if you're not athletic,a bike grade is a really great way
to drive through those beautiful groves ofolive trees and see the truly and just

(42:28):
experience the lane. Yeah, it'sso beautiful and it's I think it's really
I like it's especially because there's somany different contrasts. So you've got you
know, you've got the red earthand the olive trees, and you've got
the whitewashed towns, and then you'vegot the sea, which is so blue,
the Adriatic Sea, and it's it'svery different landscapes than you're seeing in

(42:51):
a Maufi coast, which is obviouslyvery steep and clips and stony beaches.
But in Poulia they have sandy beaches. Yeah, you can go from the
well on the eastern side of Paulia. It's pure rock. I mean even
you go to the beach clubs.You want to a great beach club and
sabletrie, but you are on rocks. If you want the sand, you
can just drive an hour in theother direction to the interior side facing the

(43:15):
Ionian Sea, and that's the partthat people call the Maldives of Italy,
and you can do boats. Andyou want to have a really good beach
holiday, go to realme seal thethings you're going to see in a realm,
but then go to Paulia and havethat experience. Yeah, and so
that's yeah, I totally agree,like absolutely, And you know what,

(43:37):
it's being Australian. We have weare we don't we only have sandy beaches,
like it's what is the what arethese stones? They are slippery and
slimery. But I do like therock beaches actually because there's no sand,
no sand getting in your costume,well, your bathes or whatever. We've
got a million different ways to sayswimsuit in Australia. But but yeah,

(43:59):
and so I actually was a littlebit oh, you know, like I
don't know about this rock but itwas really good. Actually I really enjoyed
it, Okay, and Carrie justwas like, you know and carrying spoiler
alert. Well, we will askDaniel this question. However, we do
have an episode coming up with Carinnaabout this very topic. She would love

(44:20):
to know what you consider it tobe a great family beach getaway that beat
maybe off the beaten track, andshe said she'd love to visit Elba Island.
I like Alba. I just don'tthink Tuscany has got the first beaches
in Italy. There was there wasa report that came out in Italy that
said the best beaches in Italy werein Tuscany, and everybody was like,

(44:43):
so who did Rezoni in Toscana payoff? Because like nobody in Italy believes
that. I would say God ofPonza, the island of Ponza, which
is you can get to buy ferryfrom realm as where a lot of Italians
go, and it feels very likethe mainteen fifties in many ways. And
you know, my love for easciasbeen well touted on this podcast many many

(45:07):
times. But I would say fourFamilies specifically, that is a fantastic getaway.
Yeah, I've got my eye onSardinia myself. That looks pretty nice.
There are so many options because youknow, Italy is basically a peninsula,
so it's surrounded by water and soyou've got so many options. And

(45:27):
you mentioned La Marque earlier, theAmelia Amania coast, and I know it's
very very popular with Europeans around Reeminyup there, which is a bit more
huge, like a bit more resorting, I think, And even I don't
love Ramany. I feel like it'swhere people go for night clubs, but
I think a little south of thereagain in La Marque an Conna that's a

(45:49):
good for families. Yeah, andI mean even Venice has beaches. Let's
not forget. You know, ifyou're in Venice and you've had enough of
the city, go to the beach. It's right there, Lily, don't
just take Papperetto number one and you'rethere. And that's just something import when
you're talking about going to what wecall an English the beach, and Italians

(46:10):
they're going to call it a lido, because that's going to be a place
where you actually have like proper egressto the beach, to the sand and
the water. And often that's whereyou'll find beach clubs or even just little
stands. You know. Sometimes thepublic beaches are open, but they are
called lidos. So if you're doinga search to try to find where to
go, look for that word lido. Oh my goodness. And this

(46:32):
is another thing that's pretty unique andwhere we just don't have them in Australia.
You do not pay to go tothe beach. Okay, we just
don't pay. It's just unthought of, right, So basically when you go
there you can pay to have likea beach chair and an umbrella, and
they bring new things like that youcan order a cappuccino, you can order

(46:55):
your sprits. It's very civilized.I'm just saying I love it. Great
active with sandwich at the Beach Clubin Poulia. Oh yes, Oh my
goodness, I just need to knowwhat they've got at the Beach Club in
Chillento. There's a glamorous experience.You feel like a movie star in that
place, just where Katie's going therein September. I can't wait for you

(47:20):
to experience it. I'm so excited. So you know, I'm actually for
those of you who want who liketo think of a ways to celebrate their
milestone achievements in life. I'm havinga big birthday soon and I am going
to Chilento, which is south ofAmufi, and I'm very very excited to
be going there with my family andfriends. And we're just very excited about

(47:44):
experiencing a part of Italy that notmany people go to you but perhaps that
they should. And you're going tohave a day trip on the Amalfi coast.
So sometimes these really famous states,if you stay just a little bit
east or west of them, youcan still experience those big famous states.
But you can go back at theend of the day to a police that's
not so crowded and expensive. That'sright. Carrie had one more question.

(48:07):
She wanted to know if the bestplaces for a few nights beach nights in
near Romes be Longer Gate or northof Rome. Yeah. I don't know
that area so well, so inthat case, yeah, it's Longer lovely,
all right, anyone else got anyquestions, Marie, Marie's loving the

(48:29):
advice Marie's is. I don't know, Maria, how many times do you
go to Italy a year? Ithink several. She's like a serial visitor
like us, so she loves havinga great kid. She had a great
time in Levanto recently. We lovedLevanto too last year. It's so nice.
Yeah, just beautiful. If you'regoing to the Chinque, that's actually

(48:52):
a really great place to stay.I don't want to advertise it too much,
but Levanto is just the next stopon the train line from Montrosolmare,
so you can easily get into thetowns and then escape back to the beach,
which is a sandy beach down there, and they've got a sea pool
and like lots of beautiful Yeah,it's beautiful. There and it's just far

(49:16):
away. Maria shish No, Ithink. I mean the Europeans no Levanto.
They don't, so it's very wellknown. But yeah, I think,
what's that's another option if you're goingto the Chinqui, just have a
look at the towns along the coastand on the train line, and you
will pick up a few great tips. I mean, I love Camoli,

(49:38):
I love Sestri. Levante or Liguriais so untapped, so untapped, and
I don't understand why. It's justbeautiful. There is a there is a
local People in Italy say that Liguriansare famously unfriendly. It's sort of a
stereotape among Italians. But I havehad that experience. You know. Sometimes

(50:00):
every culture has there, you know, especially Italy. There's a famous syndrome
in Italy called company Lismo, wherewhich refers to the company lay the bell
tower of each town, which isyour tower is the best, and the
tower in the town next the worstplace on earth. And Ligurians like Genoa

(50:21):
is like the Naples of the North. People like to make fun of Ligoria,
but I think it is a realtreasure. I think it's a beautiful
things and it has some of themost unique food. And what I think
is best about Liguria, especially Genoa, is that it's support town and so
you have influence from all over theworld there, and so it's a really
interesting, dynamic place. It's notfrozen in time, and you know,

(50:42):
that's a that's a complaint that alot of Tuscans have about themselves, is
that their history is so extraordinary,but it also holds them back, and
so I think it's interesting. Againin terms of contrast, I'm always sort
of, you know, keep encouragingthis contrast a place like Florence frozen in
time, and that's what's amazing aboutit. But and it's also really cool
to go to a city like Januaexperience the coast and sphere place that well.

(51:06):
I was in January in April.Love it, Honestly, I loved
it. I loved it so much. And there's so many cool shops and
just the way they it's very richtown because you know, they were the
merchants and they were they provided allthe navy people when people were discovering the

(51:29):
New World, and so they havean extremely rich past as well. But
it's a lot of it's hidden andit's you have to like go into these
little you need to be there witha local. Actually, we've got a
tour in Liguria in spring next year, and I'm so excited about it because
you know, the food, asyou say there is amazing. It's very
focused on the local quiz, localterrain. You've got a lot of lentils

(51:53):
and pulses and also the basil andpesto. If you love that really fresh
flavor, then that's the way togo. Because you know, this was
like a massive relevant revelation to mebecause you know, people teach how to
make pesto all the time, butlike, why doesn't it taste the same?
Was been you're in Liguria. Well, it's the actual variety of basil

(52:15):
that they use, and also thevariety of garlic and the olive oil,
which is they're very proud of theretoo. So all of those things go
into making this delicious sauce, which, let me tell you, I think
one of the best cities in Italyto do a food tour if you're a
food person, I would say Genoa, Modna, Neeples and Palerimal best city

(52:38):
is to do a food As youknow, I'm a cereal food to a
person so I do agree with allof those. It's really terrible. Oh
dear, oh, Now I nowwe have one question which I think which
a lot of people will want toknow the answer to. Carry wanted to
know where's the direct train from Rometo Pompeii going to be on sale.

(52:59):
I read something today that said it'sonly gonna be on one Sunday, on
the third Sunday of every month.It's every month, and I thought,
oh my goodness, why bada okay? And I think I may have said
this in the past before on thepodcast, But don't do that. Don't
take the trip from Rome to Pompeii. No, it's a bad idea.

(53:21):
Go to Ostia. Ostia Antica isa Roman city right near the airport in
Rome. Unlike Pompeii, it wasn'tcovered in volcanic material. Instead, it's
sunk into the silt and it's perfectlypreserved. It's a million times more well
preserved than Pompeii, and it's justoutside of Rome. Do not spend all

(53:43):
day on the train to go toPompeii from Rome. Bad idea. If
you're staying in Naples, go toPompeii from Rome. Go to Ostia.
I actually got a text from myfriend Pat this morning. She says,
I got twenty four hours in Rome. Tell me some place where nobody else
is to go, said, goto Ostia. And she said, this
place is incredible and nobody is here. Go to Ostia. Yes, love

(54:07):
it? Yeah, look I think, yeah, I mean, why is
it that they cannot convince people thatthey should go somewhere differently though? It's
really don't trust us. Danielle hasbeen to all of these places multiple times.
Right, and you love Pompeii,right, she loves it. I

(54:27):
think to Pompeii about thirty times.I've written articles about POMPEII. I and
my father's family is from just outsideof Pompeii. I love POMPEII. I
think it's incredible. But if you'rein Rome, it's too far, it's
too far, and you think,why would you spend all that time in

(54:47):
transit when you can go to Austiayea, and even like you know,
so we went to Herculaneum last yearinstead of Pompeii. Amazing, amazing because
they have artifacts there which they don'thave a Pompeii. And yeah, there's
you can get up really close tothe frescoes and then the mosaics there it's

(55:08):
much more compact. So, especiallyif you've got some mobility issues, like
getting around Pompeii, it's a nightmare, Like really, yeah, it's brutal,
absolutely brutal. And if you reallyhave mobility issues, go to a
Plantiffs, which is just one villathat was also destroyed at seventy nine,
and it's really flat and you canwalk around the entire villa without having to

(55:30):
traverse any of the uneven peaving stonesthat you have all over Pompeii and in
Herculaneum. So there are plenty ofoptions. And just don't you know,
when your neighbor says, why aren'tyou going here, here, and here,
just tell them you've been listening tothe unte literally podcast and you've got
some Yeah. I have it ongood authority that there are other options.

(55:54):
Yeah. I think my favorite thing, and I've said this a couple of
times, is one thing that justreally opened my eyes to what's happening,
especially now online, is that everylike even before we had all this the
internet, and we had guide booksand guide books or would direct you to
the same place as very famously inthe movie a room with a view.

(56:16):
Lucy there. They're trying to followthe Buydecker, which is the old,
the old guide book, and shewants to throw it in the river because
it's it's just taking her to thesame places that everyone's going too. But
now we have that on steroids.And what really blew my mind in Venice

(56:37):
was that we will I was walkingto meet someone, Monica actually Zato,
who will be? She's been onwhat's that guy? Eugene Levy, She's
been on that show. She's gonnashe's going to come back on on top
of literally I feel very flattered,and she's she I was meeting Monica.
Anyway, I put one thing inGoogle and guess what, everyone had the

(57:01):
same instructions carrying on. Pushed everyoneinto the same streets, right, and
it was like it was squat Itwas crammed, you could hardly move.
I was really feeling a little bitclaustrophobic. And then I realized everyone had
their phone out and was going doingthis, and I went, oh,

(57:22):
Google's all pushing us in the samefunnel. I don't want to be in
the same funnel as Google. Getout, and I said, I'm going
that way and then that was youknow, it was just to me that
was the ultimate like lights on moment. It was just like everyone had their
phone and was going the same way. And it's not just in terms of
directions, but it's also in termsof like where we choose to go.

(57:45):
Okay, so throw the bidecker intothe river, into the Arno and you
know, follow your own path.It's just it's one of those Yeah,
I think it's a nice contract.But as an aside to that, if
you haven't seen that movie, Jakeor watch it. And I'm very sad
because Julian Sands, who plays theLoving Chest in the movie, he actually

(58:08):
passed away. And I was justabsolutely devastated when I heard the us because
that's one of my favorite movies anda whole time. It is an absolutely
beautiful movie. And if you reallywant to discover Florence in a most magical
way, that's the way to doorwatch a room with of you. There's
a lot of people that are travelingnow who are Generation X people. Their

(58:30):
kids are getting, you know,of the age where they're either coming with
them or they're out of school andthey finished paying for their college. And
I call these folks the before Sunrisegeneration in reference to that movie with Ethan
Hawk and Jolie Delphi where they spendthe night roaming around Vienna. And you
know, I was sort of thetail end of that. My earliest travels
when I was in college were withouta phone, without a hat, a

(58:52):
guide book, Let's go guide,but like no Google Maps, no Google
Translates, no Trip Advisor. Itwas fantastic. It was Thank god I
am the age that I and Igot to experience that. So for all
of those, all of you Genxers who are returning to travel after maybe
twenty thirty years, Europe wasn't havethe same place anymore. But if you

(59:15):
want to have that experience that wehad, we got to have really exploring
new places. Why would you beafraid you didn't when you didn't have anything,
when you had no resources whatsoever.And you know now you always can
pull up the maps and Google Translateif you need it. But so don't
feel the peer pressure. It's peopleat this age know how great it can

(59:37):
be to bind things on the fly. Yeah, totally, But they are
the best memories, you know,Like if I think of my favorite travel
memories, I'll never forget arriving inFlorence for the first time, and you
arrived on the train station at SantaMario Novella and you walked off with your
backpack and there was all these peopleholding sides apartment one room however, been

(01:00:00):
Lira it was. It was Liarraback in those days, and it was
like it was like, oh,we've got to just make a choice.
Let's choose that one. And thenext thing you know, you're waking up
in you know, in an apartmentin the middle of Florence, and the
bills are tolling next to your roomand you're like, oh, that wasn't
a bad choice after No, youknow, not everybody in the world is

(01:00:21):
as wired as as you know weare in the United States or Australia or
Canada. I was in Calabria therewas no WiFi to be found. And
I've had this in Sicily like,outside of Palermo, not like in the
middle of Sicily like and fairly,you know, well populated metropolitan people are
just now as connected to the Internetas we are, and it's important to

(01:00:43):
remember that so you can have yourexperience on their time frame, which is
going to be slower and more local. And I think deeper and richer too,
But you got to be open toit. You have to be open
to it open. I do likemy comforts, but you know, you
know, mix it. Everyone weeksit up. Yeah, let's go.
Well, what's a hour up there? Danielle, I have such a great

(01:01:06):
chat as also as always we alwayshave a wonderful chat. And yeah,
I think everyone if you want somereally amazing advice, Danielle is the person
to go to for all your tripplanning needs. Would you want to tell
everyone how they can reach you.Yes, If you go to feast travel

(01:01:27):
dot com, that's my website andyou will see in the navigation bar consultations
and planning. So if you clickthere, you can make an appointment with
me. It's ninety minutes online.We share my screen with you. We
do this on zoom. I openup our database of all of our resources
what we use to plan trips forour private clients, everything from restaurants,
guides, tours, places. Youshould see all those good, meaningful experiences.

(01:01:51):
We craft your whole trip in ninetyminutes. And then you also have
access to me later to ask questionsas you're making your bookings. If you
encounter any problems. So I lovedoing these. I give you everything,
I open up the keys to thekingdom. I'm pulling up my phone and
giving you personal phone numbers of peoplethroughout these and I've met so many people
the summer who had taken my adviceand they were really happy, which makes

(01:02:15):
me, of course happy, becauseI want you to have a wonderful that
that's what we want. That's that'sall. That's the motivation is. We're
not wanting to tell you what notto do. We're trying to give you
options and ideas of what you cando. But you know, like to
be honest as well. Now untoldlyto reach us a very large audience with
our website and our podcast and allof that, so I need to be

(01:02:37):
very careful how who I recommend andhow because we can't some of these providers
can't. They can't take the volumeof requests that that I get every day.
So if you're wanting the really youknow, really unique and special stuff,
then you do need to booking withDanielle or you need to join a

(01:02:57):
tour with one of our multi dayis, because it's we can't. We
can't put the pressure on these peoplewho are providing a service, you know,
at their own time and at theirown pace. So we'd give a
lot of resources on our website,Like there's hundreds and hundreds of articles that
you can find information on and wegive a lot of suggestions and all of

(01:03:20):
that you can find on our websiteand also on the podcast. And while
we're here, I just want tomake sure everyone knows if you're watching the
podcast, my assistant who is alsocalled Katie Clark. It's one of those
amazing coincidences in life. She doesthe most incredible, incredible show notes and
they are so detailed. Every singlename of every single place that's mentioned,

(01:03:43):
restaurants, everything is in there.So you need all you need to do
is go to the episode number,which I repeat usually over time, and
you can and you can find thaton our website Untold Italy dot com.
Okay, everyone, Well, ifyou're heading to Italy this summer, have
an amazing time, and you know, make sure you're organized, but make

(01:04:03):
sure you also make time for youknow, spending just relaxing and engaging all
those five senses. And I mightsee you around there in September. I'll
be there myself, which isn't technicallysome of but it is to me and
we'll be back another time with moreupdates in Q and A be Danielle.

(01:04:24):
But until then it's chalfen out byeveryone by. So there it is all
the Italians summer that you could wishfor or wrapped up for you. Well,
not quite. Next episode, KarinaCook is joining us to give us
her expert tips on places to visitthat are not the Amoufi coast in summer

(01:04:45):
for the ultimate Italian coastal escape.Of course, we put all the details
of the places and information we mentionedinto the show notes at untold Italy dot
com forward slash one eight four forepisode one hundred and eighty four, as
well details on how you can bookyourself in for a trip consultation with Danielle.
This is highly recommended from personal experience. She has everything under control for

(01:05:10):
our trip, including beach clubs,ancient ruins, boat trips, and of
course the life changing buffalo mozzarella cheese. Don't worry, I'll report back on
that one. Thank you GRATSIMERLV forall your ongoing support of Untold Italy.
We truly appreciate all of you,and especially everyone joining us from all the

(01:05:30):
four corners of the world. Ifyou have a spare moment, it would
be so wonderful if you left usa five star rating and review on your
favorite podcast app. That way,we can reach more Italy loving travelers just
like you. That's all for today, Chow for now. The Untold Italy
podcast is an independent production podcast editing, audio production and website development by Mark

(01:05:54):
Hatter, Production assistance and content writingby the other kg Clark. Yes there
are two of us. For moreinformation about Untold to Lead, please visit
untold to Lead dot com.