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Global Travel Planning
Discover Italy: Essential tips for first-time visitors with Dianne Bortoletto
In this week's Global Travel Planning Podcast episode, Tracy chats with guest Diane Bortoletto, a travel expert and co-host of the And Away We Go f1 podcast.
Diane offers invaluable advice for first-time visitors to Italy, covering essential topics such as cultural etiquette, budgeting strategies, and transport tips.
The episode highlights must-try Italian dishes, emphasising the importance of regional cuisine.
Diane also shares practical travel insights, including the best times to visit, how to navigate Italian train systems, and the experiences of driving through Italy's picturesque landscapes.
⭐️ Guest - Dianne Bortolleto (And Away We Go f1 Podcast)
📝 Show Notes - Episode 42
🎧 Listen to next
- Episode #23 - Solo travel in Puglia
- Episode #37 - Guide for first-time visitors to France
- Episode #49 - Guide for first-time visitors to the Amalfi Coast
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Are you planning your first trip to Italy? Well, in this episode, you'll get insider tips on what to expect, must-try Italian foods, essential cultural etiquette, the best ways to get around and key travel advice to help you make the most of your visit. Hi and welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. I'm your host, tracy Collins, who, with my expert guests, will take you on a weekly journey to destinations around the globe, providing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas, practical tips and more to help you plan your next travel adventure. Hi and welcome to episode 42 of the Global Travel Planner podcast.
Speaker 1:This week, we're diving into Italy, one of the world's most beloved travel destinations. Whether you're dreaming of exploring historic cities, indulging in world-class cuisine or soaking up breathtaking landscapes, planning your first trip to Italy can feel overwhelming. Now, to help you navigate the experience, I'm joined today by Diane Bortoletto, travel expert and co-host of the fantastic and Away we Go podcast, alongside previous Global Travel Planet podcast guest, monique Sicato. Their podcast explores Formula One destinations, travel, food and lifestyle, making it a must listen for anyone with an interest in Formula One and beyond. In this episode, diane shares her top tips for first time visitors to Italy, including what to expect, some cultural etiquette tips, budgeting strategies, travel advice and, of course, the best Italian dishes to try. I'm very excited this episode to be chatting to Diane Bortoletto, all about visiting Italy with tips for first-time visitors. Now, diane, would you like to introduce yourself? Obviously, explain your surname, because that sounds Italian to me, but also tell us about what you do, where you live and about your podcast, because you're also a podcaster, aren't you? Oh?
Speaker 2:thank you, tracey. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me on. Diane Bortoletto, my surname comes from Treviso, which is about 40 minutes by train from Venice. My father was born there. My mother was born inland from Naples. They immigrated to Australia as children. They met in Melbourne. I was born in Melbourne. I've been to Italy a lot. Yeah, I lived in Rome for six months and I've been to Italy I don't know 20, 30, 40 times a lot. Every time I go to book a holiday I do try to go to other places, but Italy always ends up being where I go.
Speaker 1:It draws you back, yeah.
Speaker 2:And my podcast Thanks for Asking is called and Away we Go F1 Podcast, which is a podcast about Formula One, which is another passion of mine, and travel that I co-host with Monique Ciccato, who's been on your podcast as well, tracy.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's me Brilliant. So, thinking about this episode, so we are talking about tips for first-time visitors, so really thinking about those people who've never been to Saloon before, wow, you're going to have an amazing time, absolutely amazing time. So what would be the key things that people should know?
Speaker 2:All right, Well, firstly, get excited because you're going to one Absolutely amazing champ. So what would be the key things that people should know? All right? Well, firstly, get excited because you're going to one of the best countries for tourism on the planet. My biggest tip and I'll say this 100 times to everyone is pack light. Pack light Like dragging suitcases over cobblestones up and down stairs in train stations. Not all the train stations have lifts and you need to go underground sometimes to get to another platform. It's not fun dragging a heavy suitcase. So pack light. Number one tip.
Speaker 1:That is so true. I'm just going to totally agree with you with that one, absolutely 100%.
Speaker 2:And if in doubt, leave it home, because the shops in Italy are pretty amazing and you'll be able to buy whatever you need. So just really don't stress and that's the other thing. Don't stress about dress. A lot of people think, oh, italians are so stylish and you know what am I going to wear, and they want to look nice, like, yes, okay, we all want that's nice. But you know, the only thing you really need to worry about as far as dress goes is covering your knees and covering your shoulders when you want to go into a church. The rest of the time, you know, you're even me who, with Italian heritage, 100% Italian blood I still look like a tourist in Italy. So you know, it's impossible to avoid looking like a tourist. So just go with it, just relax and don't worry about what you're wearing.
Speaker 2:So that'd be my other tip, a big tip when you first land, especially if you're landing in Rome, there is a flat fee from the airport in Rome to the centre of Rome. It's 50 euros. Well, it was when I was there several months ago and it's been the same for several years, so I'm pretty sure it'd be close to 50 euros still, and if there's more than one of you. It's much better value than taking the train and easier, because you often get dropped at your hotel or where you're staying at the door Rather than a train station. Then you're going to have to navigate from the train station to get to your accommodation, so you're either dragging your suitcase over cobblestones or having to get a taxi anyway, and the train is about $28 Australian, which would be in pounds.
Speaker 1:It's probably about 14 pounds 14 pounds, somewhere like that, and in US dollars, I guess that's about 20 US dollars, I would say around about then, to be honest. I mean, when we landed in Rome, I went with a friend at the beginning of November and we organised a pickup and it was $50 right to our Airbnb. So that was really easy. Yeah, totally Much easier, less stressful, exactly.
Speaker 2:Especially for us coming from Australia is a really long flight. So the last thing you need to do is be tackling public transport, I think, when you first get there. Another tip first time is, if you're planning to travel around Italy and see the big ones you know Venice, rome, florence which a lot of first timers want to see, which is fair enough book your trains in advance. The Trenitalia website is in English. It's really easy to navigate and if you book four weeks in advance or more, then you can save a stack of money. Plus, often and this was the case with us when we travelled last year the business class fare was like two or three euro more than a standard class fare, and business class is so much nicer.
Speaker 2:You get a bit more space. You get better service. The carriages, when you get on, are closer to the entrance of the train station rather than at the other end of the train where the economy cabins are. So book your trains in advance. You'll save a stack of money and you can reserve your seat as well, so you know exactly which carriage you're getting on and which seat you're sitting in and you can tell when you go on the platform as well, because they actually have where your carriage is going to stop at.
Speaker 1:So it's really easy. It is really easy I know because I did the trip from Bari up to Florence actually, which is quite a long train trip, and then back down to Rome and then initially did from Rome to Bari. So I did quite a lot of train travel in November and I totally attest to that. You can pay a couple of euros extra and have a whole lot more comfort.
Speaker 2:It was amazing, yeah, yeah, definitely. I actually love traveling around Italy by train. I try to do that wherever I need to go, because it's just, you know, you just get to sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery. Even at 300 kilometers an hour, it's still pretty good, that's true. 300 kilometres an hour, it's still pretty good, that's true, yeah, and it's just really easy to navigate and it's so much less stressful.
Speaker 2:Another tip I've got is Ubers are more expensive in Italy generally than regular taxis. There's taxi stands in all the major cities pretty close together, so you don't often have to walk too far to find a taxi stand. But there's also FreeNow, which is an app for taxis like an Uber, like the Italian Uber, which you can download and use. And the other tip I'd say is just to sort of drop expectations. Rome is a city that's big and busy and noisy and chaotic, and beautiful and surprising and wondrous and full of art and full of history. One minute, you'll be just frustrated beyond belief that you've been waiting in a queue all this time and you know that they serve somebody else in front of you. The next minute, you'd walk into this little doorway and just be blown away by the most beautiful fountain you've ever seen, or some artwork from the 14th century that you weren't expecting to see. So I would just say, just to chill out a little bit, when you're in Italy as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wander the streets, because you say I was going on a food tour, actually with Devour, which was amazing, and we took the bus but then had to walk down this long street where we were meeting everybody, and we just happened to see this doorway was open and my friend Cherry I was with. She picked in and there was the most beautiful church inside this building. It was just incredible, and you would never, ever have known about it. Not at all. There was no way you could have got a plan. It just happened to be when we walked past and peeked in. And that's the amazing thing about Italy it's just and it's so different wherever you travel to as well. I've just come back from pulia, which I've never been to before, and oh my goodness, what a beautiful region pulia is. It's just fabulous, absolutely fabulous. Now, first-time visitors, though, are probably thinking, as you know, going to be the top kind of rome, venice, florence, maybe a mouthy coast down to there, possibly going to pompeii, which I'd highly recommend because it's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pisa, maybe let's talk.
Speaker 1:Pisa maybe? Yeah, I'm not going to pronounce it properly, so you pronounce this for me please the five towns, the Cinque Terre, oh, cinque Terre, cinque Terre? See, my Italian is non-existent, diane, absolutely, I speak French. I put that in my defense. I speak fluent French, so I kind of go, I can't cope with Italian as well, my brain wouldn't, wouldn't deal with it. But yeah, that's another, obviously another popular destination. Now let's think about time of year to go, because if you have a choice about time of year now, obviously if you're in the southern hemisphere, we have a long holiday over the summer, which is the winter in the Northern Hemisphere when would you say, is the best time, or is there a best time to go or a best time to avoid?
Speaker 2:I would avoid at all costs August at all costs, because that's when Italians are on holidays. Half of Rome shuts down in August. It's so hot in the cities. That's why half of Italy's on holidays. It's just too hot. They escape the cities.
Speaker 2:July is also in Rome. It's humid and sticky and unpleasant, it's not. You know. You have to get up early, go do something, have some lunch, go back to your hotel or airbnb, wherever you're staying, relax for a bit and then go out again when it cools down. That's how you have to structure your day at that time of year. The best time look, I love May and June. It is really nice and even if you want a swimming holiday, like a coastal holiday, you know June's beautiful weather in the Amalfi Coast, sicily and Puglia, which aren't often on itineraries for first timers, but really worthy places to visit, and also on the other side of summer, like September, october, are also really usually pretty good weather-wise Crowds all year round like there's not really. I think I read somewhere the other day that the only down month in Rome, like off-season, is January. Every other month Rome is heaving, so yeah.
Speaker 1:And I guess this year I don't think any month's going to be quiet in Rome with the Vatican Jubilee. So yeah, it's going to be crazy.
Speaker 2:The good thing about going this year to Rome would be yes, there'll be probably more crowds than usual, but all the monuments are going to be sparkling, because last year they were just cleaning them all and everything was under scaffolding. And you know, piazza Navona was under scaffolding, the Trevi Fountain was under scaffolding, you know, and so now they're all. I've seen photos of friends that were there and it's just. They're just all sparkling and white and the marble looks gorgeous.
Speaker 1:So you, know there's advantages. I missed that. I was there in November and everything was covered over and I was like, oh, luckily I've been before. But I was like, oh, this is the first time in Rome and everything's covered. But yes, I bet it looks amazing now, but I have to say, even in November, the, the queues and the lines to get in places were crazy, and that was November, so, and that was in Rome Florence was equally as busy. Um, so I agree, I don't think there's a time where it's actually quiet to go to any of the main main cities. For sure, puglia was quieter, definitely quieter, and it's such a lovely. Honestly, I probably could talk about Puglia forever, so could.
Speaker 2:I.
Speaker 1:I was going to say. This is totally remiss of me, diane, because I dived into this episode so enthusiastically to talk to you that I forgot to ask you about the fact that, obviously, not only have you got your Italian parents, but you've lived in Italy and travelled there many, many times. You actually lived in Rome, yes.
Speaker 2:I lived in Rome for six months. It was kind of my eat, pray, love moment, if you like, just before that movie came out. I should have written that book. Anyway, it was a yeah, I just decided. I thought, what am I waiting for? I've always wanted to live in Italy and I just, you know, asked for six months off work. I was working for the West Australian Government for Tourism at the time and they said yes, so I went and lived in Rome with the view of setting up my life there like to live there. But after that six months I came to the realisation that Italy is the best place in the world for holidays, in my opinion. But to live every day, australia offers me a lifestyle that I can't get in Italy. Like, my Italian is good, but not good enough to write media releases and articles for newspaper, which is what I do here. So you know it meant having to start again or change professions and everything when you live in Italy is hard.
Speaker 2:It's awesome to be visiting, but it's, yeah, everything like from even sending a parcel. You, you know you've got to leave half a day.
Speaker 1:That's just the way it is and, and sometimes the best, the best thing actually about the place that you love is not to live in it, because you appreciate it so much more. Like we, I have a big you know my UK travel planner podcast. I write about the UK, I write about London, I write about all over the UK actually. But I actually appreciate it so much more now that I live in Australia and come back to the UK for, yes, months at a time. But I just appreciate it and see it through different eyes and I totally agree. I think it gives us a different perspective. I think when you live somewhere forever and all the time, you don't see, you don't have the same eyes as somebody visiting. Also, too, you don't have the same eyes as somebody visiting.
Speaker 2:Also, too, you don't have the same, but you also have to do things that visitors don't have to do, like try to connect electricity or try to get a tax file number or try to open a bank account things that are really simple and easy to do here in Australia, whereas in Italy it's, like you know, you need several trips to a government office and you know, several weeks, and I'm not even joking, it's the truth and that would just. I found that so frustrating, like, but you know but then.
Speaker 2:I'd like turn a corner and I'd see something hilarious. And you know just the Italian way of life and it's just such a wonderful place. But yes, every day for me, australia's home, and you know I'm close to my family, so it would be hard to be. Yeah, perfect, perfect.
Speaker 1:So let's pivot back a little bit to how to get around Italy, because I know we've talked briefly about train travel and whenever I've gone to Italy, that's the way my niece actually, who had a baby yesterday, I took her for a 21st yeah, my brother's first grandson. So it's lovely. I took her for a 21st around Italy because I asked her where did she want to go, and so, of course, we traveled around by train. She didn't get the message, the memo about traveling light, so she ended up actually ditching quite a few things along the way as she purchased new things. Yeah, so train would always be my first choice, but obviously there are other ways to get around. I mean, let's talk about driving, I guess.
Speaker 2:Right, would you? Yes, well, I spent three weeks last year driving around Puglia, which is as far as driving in Italy goes, as far as driving in Italy goes pretty tame, and that was hugely stressful. So some tips, like train, 100% would be my first choice. Places like the Amalfi Coast, I would say to travel by boat or ferry. Rather, you can get a private driver to take you, but especially if you're going to like a smaller place, perhaps in Tuscany, like outside of Florence, you know a private transfer, private driver, yes, you'll pay a little bit more, but the convenience is sometimes worth it. But driving okay.
Speaker 2:My top tips for driving in Italy would be to bring a phone mount for your car. So nearly everyone's got to you know, has their phones on their car. Take that with you so you can put it in your hire car, because you need the Google Maps Like there's no all maps and for that. So you need to download Google Maps beforehand, so if you've got no mobile coverage, that the maps will still work and give you directions. But also buy an eSIM or get a local SIM card so you've got network coverage in order to get directions, because there's nothing worse than being lost in a foreign country where you're not understanding the signs. You don't always understand how the signs work, what they mean different symbols and, yeah, how the signs work, what they mean different symbols and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we're so reliant on our phones for directions these days, like the days of having a big street directory or maps. You know they're gone. So that would be my number one tip and have a charger. Bring a mount that can charge to your phone as well. I did that in Puglia and it was relatively that can charge to your phone as well. I did that in Puglia and it was relatively like we didn't get lost, not once, even with my mother chatting to me the whole time. Actually, I had a no talking policy in the car when we first started driving and she was really good, to be honest, she could see.
Speaker 1:I was pretty stressed about driving initially I haven't driven in Hats off to you, honestly, diane. Honestly, diane, hats off to you for doing it when, luckily, my friend Shelly was. She was living in Puglia so she picked me up, she drove us around. But I have to say I became her google map interpreter because quite often it sent us on some quite bizarre routes. And it was really funny because my friend Terry was with us and the first time she picked us up from the train station.
Speaker 1:Then we had to go back to accommodation and it took us forever. And my friend Terry was, like she says, I couldn't understand why. You know why Shelley was struggling with Google Maps. She then went out with Shelley. A couple of days later she came back, went wow, I had to help the whole time because Google Maps was sending us in all sorts of weird directions. She was like now I understand how difficult it was. But after I left, shelley was like oh, I miss you so much because you helped with the directions, because first of all, I wouldn't drive. I just, you know, I don't even want to drive in the UK anymore and I'm used to driving on the left. So what about in this city? Would you even consider it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but one thing to be mindful of is in a lot of cities they are resident-only zones. So if you take your hire car through there and we did this in Tuscany where we were looking for parking, so we didn't know what the sign meant, so we drove in and out of the residential zone, we got fined three times in the space of 10 minutes because we were looking for a parking spot. Yeah, the car hire company. Oh, and those fines are huge as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. Oh, my goodness, I know.
Speaker 2:And we thought about oh, we're in Australia now, you know we can probably get away with not paying it. But then I thought, oh, they'll put a black mark next to my passport when I want to go to Italy again. So we paid it and learnt a lesson. So that's one thing, but yeah.
Speaker 2:I would drive in the cities. Like I said, the distractions in the car were a big one. So my mum was really good at not talking in the car, because she's one of these people that's like, oh, look at that cute little farmhouse over there, oh, what a beautiful tree, and oh, did you see those? You know I'd be like mom I'm driving no, I can't, I'm looking ahead. Yeah, so she, but she was really good.
Speaker 2:So that's another tip I would give people is, if you've got passengers is, just ask them to limit the chit chat until you're familiar with driving on the right or, you know, just got the hang of the car Book. A small car is the other tip, the smallest car you can get, which is another reason why you need to pack light. So you know parking is a premium. Parking is tricky. Parking can be very expensive as well if you need to pay for parking. So if you want to try and get free parking on the street, then yeah, the smaller the car the better. And just check your insurance as well.
Speaker 2:We opted for the top cover, which cost like for three weeks. It cost like an extra. Oh geez, it was an extra like $800 or $900 Australian dollars just for the insurance top up. Because I got there and I was a bit freaked out about driving and he was like what if you damage the car? I mean the hire car guy put the fear of God into me at Avis Anyway, and I'm glad I did, because when I mounted my phone mount on the air vent as soon as I got the hire car I broke one of the little struts on the on the air vent.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh, my god, I just paid for all that insurance, like because he said you know you can damage anything, you won't pay a cent. I'm like, okay, you know, so not, you know, I didn't intend to break it.
Speaker 1:But yes, I always pay for that, literally always pay for that, because I just the thought of it like we drive in some of the you know I didn't intend to break it, but yes, I always pay for that, literally always pay for that because I just the thought of it, like we drive in some of the you know islands off Scotland and I'm like I'm not taking a chance. There's no way I'm taking a chance with that. So I think that's a good one. And I also work with a company called Tripiama who actually do guides to help people, particularly North Americans, driving in different destinations around the world, just to kind of drive like a local, and they have some really good guides and videos and stuff like that. And John actually, who runs the company, has been on the podcast a few times, so he's a great one. If you want to drive and you want to prepare yourself for it, I definitely would recommend to have a look at his resources because they're really good, but for me it's a no-no, I'll stick to the trains, I think, diane.
Speaker 2:The trains are so nice. The trains are really the best way to get around. The fast trains between Rome and Florence these days are like an hour and a half. It's just so easy.
Speaker 1:So yeah, definitely. Let's pivot to one of my favourite subjects food, food. And I was listening to your episode with my friend Amanda Kendall on the Thoughtful Travel podcast and you were talking all about tiramisu. Now I'm going to say, hands up, I don't like tiramisu.
Speaker 2:Oh Tracy.
Speaker 1:Which I know is going to be sacrilege. I shouldn't be saying it, but I have to hands up, I don't. So I I'm going to ask you what? What food and drinks should people have? Try, and I know there's different regional variations where you go. Um, so what? What would you say? People should absolutely try, and I'm sure you're going to say tiramisu. Well, yes, obviously you're going to say tiramisu.
Speaker 2:Well, yes, obviously I'm going to say tiramisu, especially if you're in the north, like in the Venator region, which is where tiramisu is from 100%, because, you know, most people are not crazy and they do like tiramisu. So that's all. No, but, yes, tiramisu. But aside from tiramisu, I'm going to say something else. Quite controversial is that there's no such thing as Italian food. It's Italian regional food. Every region has its own food and own dishes and it's just, in my opinion, the best food experience you can have in Italy is eating the food known for that in that region. So, for example, in Rome, which is Lazio region, the main pasta dishes, or their most famous pasta dishes, is spaghetti carbonata. Most famous pasta dishes is spaghetti carbonara, amatricana, spaghetti pasta amatricana, which is, you know, a chilli, bacon, tomato-y sauce, and cacio e pepe, which is made with pecorino and parmesan cheese and pepper. Like there's three ingredients in cacio e pepe and pasta. But when those dishes are done right and in Rome they often are done right and in any eatery they are sublime. So that would be.
Speaker 2:You know, you can't go to Puglia or Sicily and expect carbonara. You know, we searched when we did search Puglia for carbonara, because my nephew was insistent, he wanted a carbonara and we did find one place and he said it was average. You know like he knows, because his auntie Di cooks a very good carbonara. Right, right, yes, so try the regional foods. You know, in Florence it's bistecca alla fiorentina, is steak, essentially, and it's steak that comes from the Chiarano type of cow, a special breed of cattle, and it's usually very big, like a big T-bone steak, and seared and, quite rare, medium rare in the middle, and that's the way you want to eat it, and it's salt-crusted, it's delicious, like delicious I saw it everywhere in florence, I have to say.
Speaker 1:Now all the the restaurants seem to kind of um, show the meat it's now on display, which apparently is a a fairly recent thing. And I have to say, about those those three pasta dishes that you mentioned, in rome, I did the tour with, uh, with Devour, and just now I'm going to pronounce this wrong again, so you're going to have to help me. Is it Trastevere? Oh, trastevere.
Speaker 2:That's it, trastevere, which is a neighbourhood in Rome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so we went there and we went into this fantastic restaurant beautiful restaurant, in fact, there was pictures of lots of famous Italian actors and actresses in there, but family run and we had those three pasta dishes that you mentioned small portions, oh my goodness, oh wow, delicious.
Speaker 2:Just delicious. Yeah, and of course there's way more other dishes that that Lazio and Rome are known for, but yeah, they're the. They're the three sort of most famous ones and the three that you really have to try when you're in Rome. Also, the number one rule well, my rule when I go to Italy is a gelato a day. Every day you have a gelato. That's just life's for living. Italians know about pleasure, and gelato is just one of those things that don't deny yourself people At any time of year, at any time.
Speaker 1:It was really cool when I was in Rome and seeing the mums picking the kids up from school and then getting a gelato for the kids. I saw that all the time. Every day the kids would have a different gelato and you could see and you cannot beat Italian. I mean like, oh, do you have a favourite gelateria?
Speaker 2:Oh, I like. In Rome, I like Grom, which is a small chain Actually, it might be a bigger chain now. There's several Grom gelaterias around the city and I like them because they're gelatos made with no additives, no preservatives, all natural ingredients, which is what you should look for, city, and I like them because they're gelatos made with no additives, no preservatives, all natural ingredients, which is what you should look for. A tip that I've been told is that if the gelateria has a cover over the gelato, over the ice cream in the cabinet, so it's not, you know, open to the air and piled high, then that gelato is better quality and not full of preservatives and additives and whatnot, as the ones that are in the open air which need all that other stuff in it to keep the gelato servable, malleable, what's the word?
Speaker 1:Fresh, I don't know Tasty, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And obviously you know, go for your life with flavours. They do every flavour you can imagine. The most unusual flavour I had was almond and rosemary. Oh wow, I know it was amazing. Was it good? Was?
Speaker 1:it good yeah, yeah Like.
Speaker 2:I'm still thinking about it. Like yeah, years later, yeah, it was really good.
Speaker 1:You know what? I ate so much pistachio gelato that I can't eat pistachios at the moment. And I love pistachios, but I just had so much of the best pistachio gelato I've ever had in my life Actually, the best was in Rome and it was just. I still think about it but I can't eat pistachios because I'm like, no, I need to have a break for at least about six months, I think, because I ate so much. What about drinks?
Speaker 2:What should we drink? Well, of course, prosecco, which I'm sure all your listeners know what that is. Spritz, of course, I'm sure you know. You all know what that is as well. So having a spritz Sorry, the rule, the rule, the guideline I should say, is that you have a spritz before dinner. It's an aperitivo, it's something you, it's bitter, you have it to awaken your taste buds. And what I love about having aperitivo in Italy is that in Italy is that you know, you order a spritz and an aperitivo hour is like from four till about 8pm before dinner. You know, aperitivo hours is that they serve, yeah, they serve your drink, usually with some crisps or some nuts or some snacks of some sort, and they can be quite substantial sometimes. Sometimes you can just go out and have drinks and a pet, a tv, which is the name for the snacks, and that's enough, especially if you've had lunch, so been out for lunch. So, um, definitely, and spritz not with a meal, with a meal, you know have wine, have water, have beer not.
Speaker 1:I probably committed loads of faux pas by having spritz just all the time, I think, when I was eating it before and after. Never mind. Never mind.
Speaker 2:Coffee is a big thing. Coffee is a massive thing, and coffee in Italy it's almost like fueling up a car. You go into the cafe, you order your espresso or cafe, which is an espresso, which is a shot. You can have a double shot or a long coffee or a cappuccino, and you just drink it there at the bar and then you get on with your day. If you want to sit and linger at a cafe and that is sometimes nice to do it will cost more and there'll be service, like they'll bring it to the table. But cappuccinos are a breakfast drink in Italy. I've been in Puglia, actually with friends years ago, and an English friend asked for a cappuccino after lunch and the waiter just went not, not, and she was like but I would really like a cappuccino. He said not, the machine is clean, we have this for breakfast, it is, we don't have any cappuccinos. It's like whoa, okay, I think they've chilled out a bit now. I mean, that was you know, 20 years ago.
Speaker 1:So yeah, they're probably used to tourists now asking for it after you know the wrong time, not knowing, yeah yeah, so coffee all day, all night.
Speaker 2:Italians drink it by the bucket load and it is just part of their culture.
Speaker 1:And I have to because I don't drink coffee which is probably part of their culture, and, I have to say, because I don't drink coffee, which is probably part of the reason I don't like to wear my- suit but one thing I did find discover which I, oh my goodness, honestly absolutely loved, was the hot chocolate.
Speaker 1:It's not like any hot chocolate I've ever had anywhere in the world. It was so decadent, I mean just amazing. Yes, so silky, beautiful, oh, just thick. And the cream on the top. That was my favorite in Puglia. Wherever went, I'll have a hot chocolate. Yes, please. And Florence, actually? I remember that I was looking at that. Oh no, you've also hot chocolate. Yes, we have hot chocolate. And oh, would you like the cream? Of course, I'd like the cream. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Now let's talk about budget. So when you go to Italy, I mean I tend to be a bit of a splurger. I like to splurge on my food and my drink and tours. I like my tours. And how would you recommend to maybe think about saving a bit of money when you're travelling around Italy, if you need to?
Speaker 2:Well, firstly, walk In the cities, just walk Like. The cities are quite compact, Like I'm talking Rome, florence, venice, I guess because these are the ones most first-timers to Italy will want to visit and it's really easy to get around on foot. So you'll save some money by doing that. In Rome and Florence, less so in Venice, there are free drinking water from the aqueducts everywhere and the water is really good quality. It's drinking water quality. So just don't buy bottled water, just drink free water. In Rome, bring a water bottle with you or buy one bottle of water when you get there and just keep refilling it.
Speaker 2:I would say lunch can be quite a cheap affair if you, you know, or dinner, I don't know, tracy, like at sort of my age now, and I'm, you know, in my in a sprightly fifth decade, that I don't want to eat two massive meals and just feel heavy and bloated all day. So if you're going out for lunch, then for dinner you can just have a pet, a TV and drinks, or you know. Or for lunch, just have a panini which is a sandwich and, you know, water, or, or, or a soft drink, or something, and then, yeah, and it's really, it's really easy to eat cheaply in Italy. One thing I would say don't go to any restaurants where there's A-frame signs out the front with pictures of the food, like it's just, that's a dead giveaway. It's a tourist trap.
Speaker 2:Look for restaurants where the Italians are eating, which might mean you have to walk for an extra two minutes or take a turn down the laneway. But you know, walk past if they look like Italians and you'll be able to tell, because they'll be waving their arms around, all speaking Italian. It's true, it's not the stereotype, it is true it is. Then you know, the chances are it's going to serve good food. If the restaurant's full of tourists, that should just be a warning sign to keep walking and go eat somewhere else.
Speaker 2:You know, the only exception I would make is if the restaurant or cafe or whatnot is in a really beautiful location and you want to sit there because you've got a view of the Colosseum or you've got a view of St Mark's Square or something like that in Venice. So they would be kind of my only exceptions to that. And then, and those restaurants too are often way cheaper than the tourist traps anyway, and getting out of the big cities and going into the small towns, oh that's where Italy is just amazing and you can just eat so cheaply in those small places. Like yeah, in Puglia, just trying to think, the cheapest plate of pasta we had was probably €5.50. Like, come on, I mean, you can't even buy the ingredients for that, it's just yeah.
Speaker 1:And so good. Yeah, I mean honestly, I think I probably ate my body weight in Puglia with just really good food. It was fantastic and not, as you say, not expensive. We went to this Shelley took me to this fantastic pizza restaurant and it was packed every night. I think we went on a Thursday and the whole waiting area was packed. Everybody was Italian, so you know that you're going to a really good place when you go to that. What about cultural norms and etiquette tips? What do I need to know so that I don't put my foot in it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, not ordering a cappuccino after lunch would be one, but going to churches is just dressing appropriately, like covering your shoulders, covering your knees, yeah, just being respectful, like you would in, like if you were visiting someone's house, like you're in someone else's country so yeah, you know, it's quite Western Italy, like there's not a lot of you know cultural things. But in churches as well, I guess, is that if there's people there praying, don't walk in front of them with your camera getting photos. I've got maybe a dozen photos of inside a church out of all of the trips and all of the times I've been to Italy, because sometimes you're just better off to absorb the moment, etch it in your memory of how beautiful that place is. Buy a postcard, buy a book, buy a souvenir, so if you want to remember what it looks like, yeah, so taking photos is they allow it in some churches, but I still think it's a personal thing, I don't like to do it.
Speaker 1:Okay, perfect, right, so I always end the podcast. I can't believe to do it. Yeah, okay, perfect Right, so I always end the podcast. I can't believe you've been chatting for about 40 minutes already. Oh well, I always end the podcast with the same question. On both my UK travel plan and this podcast, I always ask the same question, so everybody expects it. It's really funny. I get asked this all the time. It's like we wait, or I get people tell me we wait, we know we're going to get that last question. What was want to know what the person's going to say? So what would be the one tip that you would say absolutely categorically for somebody visiting italy for the first time?
Speaker 2:oh, I can't say one, I can't choose one, but if you're making me, if you're making me, I'm making you diane because I've already said light, so my other one would be try not to jam pack too much in.
Speaker 2:Part of the beauty of being in Italy is just being and you know the Italians are famous for doing nothing and enjoying life Like dolce far niente means the sweet art of doing nothing. So you just want to allow time to walk around La passeggiata. The walk before dinner is a ritual that a lot of Italians do. To do that people watch. The people watching in Italy is fantastic. So just allow your time to just be, rather than a schedule of be here, be this and ticking things off, because it doesn't matter if you don't see every single church or every single museum or every single monument. It's just a great excuse to go back another time. So that's, take your time, put the map away, walk, get lost and enjoy your surrounds.
Speaker 1:Perfect, I'm planning your next trip because, honestly, I just don't think it's possible to visit Italy once.
Speaker 2:Gosh, I've been I don't want to say 40 times, maybe it has been a lot Like I've been a lot and there's still regions I haven't been to. There's still cities I haven't, like in Puglia. I've been to Puglia three times and spent three weeks travelling around there just recently. That I haven't like in Puglia. And I've been to Puglia three times and spent three weeks travelling around there just recently. That I haven't. So you know there's so much in that little peninsula it's just packed. You're going to love it. Like plan a trip to Italy now. Like just you can't go wrong, honestly.
Speaker 1:No, you can't, Absolutely, you definitely can't. So you're going to be on an episode in a few weeks' time talking about Amalfi Coast, but for this episode, diane, thank you so much for joining us on the Global Travel Plan podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much, and if people want to hear more from me and if they like Formula One they can listen to and Away we Go F1 podcast, which is a new podcast that I've just launched, where we talk about travel, but mostly Formula One.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's brilliant. Thanks again, diane. It's been great to chat with you this week. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planning Podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes at globaltravelplanningcom. Remember, if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favourite podcast app, because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts, just like you. Anyway, that leaves me to say, as always, happy global travel planning.