Little Roads Unfiltered: Italy and Beyond
Professional classical musicians, authors and travel planners Zeneba and Matt, who live and work in Italy, discuss travel tips, destinations, and slice-of-life stories, from their balcony in Soriano nel Cimino. Their chats are unfiltered, with the sounds of their little town - and sometimes their cats! - always in the background.
You can read all about Matt and Zeneba and Little Roads Europe on their website:
www.LittleRoadsEurope.com
Episodes
29 episodes
Home Improvements in Italy
In this episode we chat about our experience with home improvements with our own little house here in Italy - what we did ourselves, what work we had done, what we learned and what we screwed up. From gas to plumbing to electric to ...
Special Guest: Our Neighbor Natalie
We have a special guest with us today - Natalie Smargiassi, an Italian-American who moved to Italy a few years ago. She has a house in Gallese, a neighboring town of Soriano. We chat with Natalie about the path that led her to move ...
Our Favorite Quirky Sites in the Northern Italian Lakes
We’re currently on the road on a research trip, exploring the areas around Italy's Alpine Lakes. So today we thought we’d talk about some of the more quirky and unusual places that we’ve visited up in those areas in the past. <...
Our Favorite 2nd Hand Markets in Italy
This week's episode is about our favorite second hand shops and antique markets in Italy. Among other things, you'll hear about:-Where you can find a suit of armor -The market near one of our favorite Roman bakeries-Th...
Game of Thrones Sites in Northern Ireland
Today we’re talking about Northern Ireland and some sites there that are connected to Game of Thrones - Among other things, you’ll hear about:- where to get upscale handmade Game of Thrones jewelry- the haunted pub nea...
Real Life in Italy - March 2026
We'll talk all about our experience living and working in Italy this past month.Among other things, for this month’s episode, you’ll hear about:- A wedding;- home improvements;- and the foreskin of Jesus Christ himself.
Easter in Italy
In this episode we talk about Easter in Italy - the food, the events, and the way we've experienced it here over the years. Among other things, you’ll hear about:- what an exploding cart has to do with Easter- what was...
Exploring Lake Trasimeno
Today we’re talking about one of our favorite spots in Italy - the lake, the towns around it, the food in it, and a few unusual sights in the vicinity. We’ll discuss The local delicacy that they call “Fish Queen”; a hidden Leaning T...
Humiliating Italian Language Screw-ups
In this episode we talk about our progress as Italian language speakers. Specifically, we share a bunch of stories of the many situations in which we got things wrong – to a funny and sometimes embarrassing degree. We discuss what o...
Valentine's Day episode - Our Greatest Romantic Disasters
Though we enjoy lots of nice romantic experiences that happen spontaneously, we seem to be under a sort of curse when it comes to planning romantic events. On this special Valentine’s Day episode, we’re going to share some of our fu...
Irish Food 101
This week we talk all about what foods to look for when you visit the Emerald Isle. We list our favorite chocolate maker, tell a few stories about things that happened in Irish pubs, and share which is our favorite breakfast fish. J...
Matt's Old Friend John Visits Italy
For this week's episode, we're doing something a bit different: Zen took the night off from chatting, and instead I sit and chat with my friend John Kissingford, who’s been a friend of mine for over 4 decades – since our high school days in Lon...
The Saga of the Italian Driver's License
In this episode, we explain what it was like getting our Italian drivers' licenses, and we give our best tips to people facing this very difficult test. Lots of fun anecdotes along the way, and new music too: a parody version of the...
Beginner's Guide to Scotland
In this episode, we talk about some basics for a first-time visitor to Scotland - what to eat, how to handle driving, what to expect from visiting there, and more. We'll also tell you where you can find a stone that predicts the future, where t...
How To Choose A Home in Italy
We are contacted dozens a times a year on this topic, by people who want our advice on how to choose a region, a neighborhood, and a home. So here is our best advice! A few pointers about some potential legal issues, some tips on ho...
How Zen lost 30 lbs in 5 Months Naturally
I lost a little over 30 pounds in 5 months, and after I mentioned it on social media a while back, a listener wrote and asked “How did you do it?” So we thought we would dedicate a podcast to it, since all the changes we made were p...
Christmas in Italy
In this episode we talk all about our experiences with the Natale holidays that we've had since moving to Italy six years ago - the food, the people, the celebrations... and did we mention the food? We’ll tell you where to see nativ...
Restaurants in Italy 101
We're back for the second season of our podcast!This week, we talk about visiting restaurants in Italy: Everything you need to know, from booking your table, to the order of courses – there are lots! – to paying the bill and tipping.&nbs...
Halloween in Italy
Ever wonder what Halloween is like in Italy? We chat all about it in this, the final episode of Season One. Among other things, you’ll hear about…:- Why we give out spicy tofu- How to dress up as olives and grapes- How to s...
.jpg)
Montisola: Italy's largest lake island
In this episode, we talk about beautiful Montisola, Europe's largest lake island. We tell you the name of our favorite bakery, the "hidden" vantage point for the best view of the island, where to find a bizarre huge fish head in a jar, and reco...
Packing Smart: How To Pack for Your Trip
How you pack (and how MUCH you pack) can really make or break a trip. After 20 years traveling together, we have pretty much perfected packing, so we have everything we need, but travel very light. In this episode we tell you how to pack, name-...
Special guests Bo & Lee: The Italophiles who introduced us to Soriano
People always ask us how we found the town of Soriano nel Cimino, where we've lived since 2019. Well, the answer is: Our friends, Bo and Lee! They are our special guests on this podcast. This episode explains how Lee used a protractor to find S...
Visiting Florence
Firenze (a.k.a. Florence) is a big city by our Little Roads standards, but we do visit there from time to time. In this episode we discuss some of our favorite places to eat, drink, visit, and stay in this very touristy and crowded but undeniab...
