Season 5, Episode 12 | How NOT to Ruin Your Trip to Italy
Episode summary
In this episode of the Bella Italy Podcast, hosts Brian and Anthony discuss the importance of quality over quantity in travel, particularly when visiting Italy. They emphasize the need to slow down, absorb the culture, and avoid common tourist pitfalls. The conversation covers essential travel tips, including packing light, understanding local etiquette, and staying safe while exploring Italy. They also highlight the significance of logistics in planning a successful trip, ensuring travelers can enjoy their experience without unnecessary stress.
Takeaways
Focus on quality over quantity in your travel plans.
Avoid treating Italy like a checklist of tourist attractions.
Take time to absorb the culture and enjoy the experience.
Learn a few Italian phrases to enhance your interactions.
Traveling light can reduce stress and improve your experience.\
Be aware of common scams targeting tourists in Italy.
Plan your logistics carefully to avoid wasting time.
Respect local customs and etiquette while traveling.
Consider staying in lesser-known towns for a more authentic experience.
Slow down and savor your travel experiences instead of rushing.
Episode Transcript
0:00
Embrace Quality Over Quantity for Authentic Italian Travel
Hey guys, welcome back.
You're listening to the Bella Italy podcast.
0:16
Hey guys, welcome back around again to the Bella Italy podcast.
I am Bryan Anthony is joining me in the studio once again.
We are wrapping up Season 5.
I can't believe it it.
0:29
Speaker 2
Has.
0:32
Speaker 1
We started at the bottom, now we're here.
0:35
Speaker 2
We haven't gone very far.
0:36
Speaker 1
We haven't gone very far.
0:38
Speaker 2
They say to stop digging when you're in a.
0:40
Speaker 1
Hole, but we haven't learned 2 old coots just chit chatting about Italy and hopefully this journey has been enjoyable to you.
Thanks for joining us again.
0:55
We're as we're, as we're starting to round out and and conclude season 5.
Just give you a little recap in case this is your first time visiting us Bella Italy podcast.
We we started out with a couple of episodes talking about getting away from the bucket list, how to go beyond the bucket list, taking that list, cutting it in half and then maybe in half again so that you can truly enjoy Italy.
1:23
You're focusing on the quality of your trip over quantity, how many stops we can make and then check it off, take our little Instagram photos, post it so everybody and their mother knows that we were here and then go back home exhausted, not really having enjoyed or really even experienced Italy.
1:44
That's.
1:44
Speaker 2
The OR even absorbed it, you know, experience, you're right, experience or absorbing it and instead of checking, you know, it's a good point.
2:02
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.
And we we've talked about that.
I think even on in a different season we talked about one of the reasons we'll propose to some of our clients.
So if you're, you're wondering what clients are you guys talking about, we have Italy with Bella is our main company that the company that sends travellers clients over here to Italy.
2:24
Bella Italy podcast is an outreach of that, you could say.
And it we really have all of our knowledge base because we work with tourism.
We work with people like you coming over to Italy.
So if you're thinking about going to Italy, think about coming over to Italy with Bella, go to Italy with bella.com and check us out online anytime for a free consultation.
2:44
Just have to click a button and we'll set that up for you free, no strings attached.
But that said, one of the things we've talked about, we bring clients over a lot of times We'll try try to steer them in the right direction by saying, hey, if you're going to go to Rome, you're just getting off of a lot of travel.
3:00
A lot of times it's 1718 hours, could be 2024 hours depending on where you're coming from, the States, how many stops you've got, delays, stress, all of that.
And if you're, if you're putting your luggage down at 8:00 AM in your hotel because you can't check in yet and you put your luggage down, you're going right out on the street in Rome and doing your tour, you're probably not going to absorb very much.
3:27
You're hungry, you're tired, you're stressed, you sleep deprived, all of that.
And so we will a lot of times recommend, hey, go to Lake Braciano, spend a day or two, relax, come back to Rome, you're going to absorb so much more and enjoy so much more.
3:45
So that's why we're saying take it slow, slow it down, take, you know, your bucket list, look at that, cut it in half, make some space on it, allow for some spontaneity, limit yourself and how many bases that you're going to be staying in.
4:03
So you don't have, because what one of the things we've talked about is you, you lose so much time packing up to check out traveling.
Then you're checking in and you're unpacking and you just make it in time for dinner.
You haven't seen squat and you haven't done anything other than relocate yourself, so minimize those relocations along the way.
4:24
Speaker 2
Well, you even got the people that are like, all right, we can't go to dinner tonight or we're going to get out early.
We can't go for drinks after because I got to get back and pack.
We got to leave early tomorrow morning.
So you've already wasted that day.
You're already in, you know, so you got to you got this constant.
What do I got to do?
Where do I got to be?
4:39
Where do I got to pack?
You know, when you can just like I'm not touching this thing for five days, you know, four days.
And I'm just going to relax and then take it in, you know, instead of constantly thinking, where do we got to be?
What are we going to do?
What do I got to pack?
When do I got to pack?
What time do we got to get up?
Where's the car going to be?
4:55
It's a constant battle.
I could do that home.
Why am I going to do it on vacation?
You know what I mean?
So it's perfectly sad is you don't want to be jumping from town to town.
You will not love Italy like we love Italy or experience it like we want you to experience it, if you're doing that.
5:11
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.
And so, you know, a lot of times we will count our trip in terms of how many nights or how many whole days that we have with no unpacking or packing going on.
5:28
You could also, if it's a short weekend, you know, then sometimes I'll count the number of meals, how many meals am I going to have in a, in a place that I go right?
Because, but think about it, I mean, if you've only got 2 nights, you've only got one whole day.
5:43
So you might have breakfast twice, dinner twice and lunch twice, right.
So you kind of like how many meals you could actually have in a, in a city.
And I mean, gosh, the, it's part of the main motivation for coming over to Italy is the food.
5:58
Come on.
Well, it's.
6:00
Speaker 2
So funny because that's an Italian thing.
My son is Brian and I always sitting at lunch and we're talking about dinner, you know?
But that's just an Italian.
6:10
Speaker 1
Yes, and they will do it here too.
It's an Italian.
6:13
Speaker 2
You go on a, you go on a week, you go on a week trip, you come back two weeks and my son's the same way.
My son's brutal and he'll talk about that last meal we had in Rome and what a waste of a day and vacation was room because that one bad meal, I mean, and most people just get it to sustain themselves.
6:32
No, we don't do that.
So I actually could eat and not see anything, to be honest.
But they always said it to customers.
Let me ask you, is it about the food or it's about the balcony?
Seaview.
Well, it's more about the Seaview.
Let me explain to them to you, Ali, in a basement and the way that could slap me across the face, you know?
6:49
Speaker 1
What I'm saying if the food's good.
6:53
Speaker 2
That way it can hit me across the back of the head.
I don't care.
No view.
I think Brian will agree, yeah.
7:00
Speaker 1
I mean it, it is a different mindset.
That's what we've talked about in this season is how to be more of a traveller.
You're traveling to these places, you're learning how it works.
You're getting in and you're absorbing, you're enjoying, you're having an experience.
You're not just a tourist who's there to consume or, you know, put the little ticks in the boxes of been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
7:23
No, you're, you're there to really savor.
And you, you know, just like your mom always told you, chew your food or you're not even going to taste it.
You're swallowing it.
OK, Slow down, chew your food and enjoy what's been prepared for you.
7:37
Discover Authentic Italy Away from the Main Tourist Circuit
Yeah, that's that's a good way of looking.
That's a good analogy, right?
Mine was always like shut your mouth when you eat but don't.
7:46
Speaker 1
Don't chill with your mouth.
Don't.
7:47
Speaker 2
Talk with your mouth full.
You're always talking.
You're there's food in your mouth, right?
7:51
Speaker 1
I can't imagine you were always talking no.
7:56
Speaker 2
No, it's good.
It's, it's good.
I I tell that anecdotal story about, you know, I travel a lot to Italy and I'm in Italy a lot, but I travel with people, whether it's Brian and the team in Italy, on my team here.
And I need a break, you know, because we, we don't, we're not laying around in piazzas drinking all that we do.
8:14
But we're actually on trains.
Yeah, we do.
We do.
But it's a long day sometimes meet, you know, visiting with partners, different hotels.
But I got to tell you the time.
I love it.
So I go to a bar or cafe and I meet them and we hit it off.
I'll hit that bar for the next 4 nights.
8:30
I'm not trying four different.
I just like the personality.
And then, you know, there's times where I'll just sit at a bar.
I won't even sit in the Piazza if they have a bar like a traditional bar in America.
And I'll sit and we'll learn so much about themselves and we laugh about culture.
8:46
We laugh about, you know, the different cities in Italy and, you know, their families, and you're learning so much more.
And I remember that.
I don't remember going to the Puccini Museum or I don't remember walking around, you know, and seeing the Vatican.
9:01
I remember that conversation at the bar that I was interacting, you know, you know, it's, it's exactly, I mean, that is, you know, and it could have been, it could have been a, a fight, another fight, but like a like an like a almost like a butting of heads.
I still remember it, you know, because it's, you know, what's the difference between American and USI mean Italy and culture.
9:22
It's still the memory of having that conversation with a local, you know, So that's something you got to do.
9:27
Speaker 1
And you know, and here's what we're up against, here's the the bigger battle, let's say, is that the majority of visitors that come over to Italy, the majority, we're talking more than, you know, 70%, they're only saying about 1% of Italy.
9:47
So the vast majority are only in the big cities for a limited time during the main tourist circuit and then they leave.
And that is not, if that's you, God bless you, go to Costco, get your package, come over, enjoy whatever you're going to do.
But that is not this podcast or Italy with Bella at all.
10:05
We're the antithesis of that will actually point you to lesser known, lesser famous cities so that you can slow down, have fewer stops and enjoy, you know, the the magic of Italy because as we've talked about it before, it is kind of an amusement park for adults.
10:25
But even that can become, you know, like this, this pressure of I've got to go do and see everything.
But what we're finding is even on the micro level, we've just finished a little mini series of the macro regions.
But even on the micro level of the little lesser known towns, you're going to have such an incredible experience that it's worth slowing down and yeah, chewing, chewing your food.
10:49
Navigate Italy's Pitfalls: Skip Overpriced, Unauthentic Experiences
So I want, I want to get into a couple things here on on this episode about how to not ruin your trip to Italy.
We, we, we did.
This is kind of the the anti antithesis or the the anti prequel because at the beginning of this season, we, we had a, an episode on reasons not to go to Italy.
11:15
So this is how not to ruin your trip if you're going.
So we tried to prepare you a little bit on the mind mindset and the culture and what to, you know, putting the right expectations on your trip here.
We're we're coming back around to some of that.
11:30
But avoid these pitfalls.
If you're coming over, Anthony is just put, put that out there.
Number one, you've got to slow down.
You can't treat Italy like a checklist, I'd say #2 you got to get out of that main tourist circuit, you know?
11:47
It's it's again, it's the it's Michael Scott showing up in Manhattan that wants to go to his favorite pizzeria, Manhattan Manhattan Slice.
11:57
Speaker 2
Get myself a New York slice.
11:59
Speaker 1
He's going bottle.
12:01
Speaker 2
Yeah.
12:02
Speaker 1
And he's, he's, you know, I, I stay away from the touristy stuff.
And he's he's in Times Square, you know, OK, get out of the main tourist circuit.
You know, obviously you've got to have a certain level of knowledge base to be able to do that.
12:19
That's hopefully what this podcast is helping you to do is create that knowledge base so you can come over, do a place that your cousin or your aunt or whoever didn't go to.
You didn't see it on Instagram, top 10 influencers telling you where to go.
12:36
It's something different.
It's the real slice, though, of Italy.
12:41
Speaker 2
Yeah, and you're, you're right about that.
I mean, you'll have these family friends who'll tell you about certain things and you go do it and you're like, that's not me, you know what I mean?
And you realize you just went there because they did it.
And I always tell the story.
I get on, I get online with a client or customer, future customer.
12:58
And like, why'd you pick those three cities?
You know, the major three cities?
Well, that's what my family does.
Obviously it's all over Instagram and TikTok, but I always equated to the same thing with Italians.
Italians do the same thing.
We've mentioned this before.
They go to New York, Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and Americans and the Italians are like, when the Americans come over, why do they not come see us in our town?
13:19
Why are they always in Venice?
Why are they not in Vicenza?
Why are they not in Padua?
Well, you know why?
You know what, what is that?
But it's, you know, it's, it's basically going to Times Square.
They want to go to Times Square and they don't realize when they get to Times Square, like I'm in Times Square, you know, this is the food's not as good.
13:38
I'm not getting the cultural experience, you know, and, and it's funny, 'cause I had a customer this week and I point out like, well, we like Times Square, Like, OK, I, I didn't have anywhere at all.
OK, what am I going to do?
All right.
13:50
Speaker 1
Rome, TGI Friday's.
13:52
Speaker 2
We're going to put you, I'm going to put you right up Piazza Navona, eating the Piazza, and you'll be happy, you know, so, But yeah, you know, but that's, you're right.
You're going to get more.
The best way to put it in your mind, you know what that picture is, but that picture is probably not Piazza Navona.
14:09
It's probably Piazza Garibaldi in Cortona.
You know what I mean?
More than it is in Rome.
Not that there's anything wrong with Rome.
We're going to put you in Rome.
But let's talk about Garibaldi in Cortona, all right?
Or in Umbria or something like that.
That's all.
14:23
Speaker 1
Yeah, I mean, and I get it that you you only know what you know.
And if the only thing you know about New York is Times Square, of course you're going to make a beeline.
You're going to go there and you're going to, but it's going to take you 30 seconds.
You're going to take a couple pictures.
14:38
You're going to be in somebody's way.
You're going to be run over by traffic.
A police officer is going to ask you to move along and then you leave and that's it.
OK, So you tick that off.
What else are you going to do?
And that's where the knowledge base comes in.
I mean, I'm not opposed to people taking something off of their To Do List, but if that's your trip, you're going to come back exhausted, not having really experienced anything worth experiencing.
15:02
And that's what hopefully we're, we're going to help you do because every popular attraction, coming back to the, the metaphor about the, the Disneyland, every attraction comes with a pitfall.
And that's what we're trying to help you avoid.
There's overpriced restaurants near all of the, the, the sites that you're are on your To Do List.
15:24
Unreliable guides are going to point you to what they're calling skip the line tickets and, you know, overly, you know, curated Gelato, let's call it, you know, it, it is, it's, it's, it's a spectacular, it's a, it's a show.
15:41
It's it's just a show.
And it doesn't, it may look good on Instagram, but it's not going to be great in your mouth.
15:59
And I think that's where we have to understand, OK, what are we really after here?
Because a lot of influencers are following the same patterns.
They're going by whatever blog they found or website or app or TikTok or whatever.
And they're going to come over and do the same things just to try to get on that wheel that's churning and to generate more revenue and likes and follows and everything.
16:24
But it, it is full of traps.
And it, it took them 30 minutes there and they're done and they're out.
But what else are you going to do on your trip?
And then it just becomes I got to go to point A, to point B, to Point C because I got to get, you know, my, my.
16:37
Speaker 2
And to be honest, you the pain point of that is when the Instagram and the Tik Toks keep elevating those and the Googles are elevating it.
We'll have customers that are, hey, I'm going to get on a call with you, but I've already looked at this ChatGPT layout.
Can we go over and look at it?
And I'm like, yeah, it's, it's it's the it's the it's the restaurant that has 4000 reviews.
16:55
There's only Americans go there and there's a line out the door store strap.
And then there's the Vatican and then there's, you know, Coliseum and then there's the gondola ride.
But because that's what's most popular.
So even ChatGPT is giving them a bad experience.
17:11
Now, if I get ChatGPT and I got to figure out how to, you know, change my hearing aid, then I'm going to ChatGPT.
It might help me.
But I'm not getting ChatGPT to teach me how to take a trip to Italy because it's going to be all the top rated stuff that are done by Americans and by Google.
17:27
So you're getting a trip that is like everyone.
It's, it's just one big vanilla scoop of ice cream.
That's what you're getting, you know.
17:36
Speaker 1
You know, and even in the even in the States, we we talk about, oh man, I was just in, let's bring one of our teammates back into this.
I was just in Little Rock.
Little Rock AR OK.
17:50
Speaker 2
Lord does not live in Little Rock.
She's not that metropolitan.
17:56
Speaker 1
It's not Asheville, but anyway, we we won't beat up on our friends there.
But you know, I, I was just as an example, I was just in Little Rock.
I found this little hole in the wall, whatever restaurant, OK, that becomes the thing that was the greatest part of that trip.
18:16
It's not the, the big, you know, Manya, it's that little experience that you had off of the beaten path in that neighborhood that you got lost in and you didn't even know why you were there.
But you, you met this other, you know, restaurant owner or the couple next to you or whatever, and you had this really authentic experience, you know, or it's the food market that you stumble on or the, the tickets that you got that are like real.
18:42
And, and you have a guide that was hand selected for you and you had a real authentic experience with that guide.
And they were sanctioned by the state to be a guide.
And they weren't just, you know, scamming you like the ticket scalpers outside of a concert.
18:59
You know, you have it.
It is scam friendly.
Italy has become scam friendly and so being aware of that and doing not just research on ChatGPT but talking to people who know Italy I think has become an imperative nowadays.
19:17
It it is not like it was 20 years ago.
19:20
Speaker 2
Yeah, this is funny.
I was thinking about we have partners that only have a website page.
They don't have Google reviews, you know what I mean?
It's just it's just so weird and you know, restaurants that we go to and that's what people want, but they don't know that they need it and they want it.
That's what it comes down to.
The biggest thing that Brian mentioned, you got to slow down.
19:38
You really do.
I mean, and then you're not going to, you're not going to, you're just not going to take anything in.
You know, I just, and that's the biggest thing to take away from this.
Even if you go to another, you go to Rome and you're in the middle of Rome and it is Times Square.
But guess what?
19:54
You still can find those stories.
You still can find those, you know, those restaurants, you still can find those experiences, even if it is a big city.
But if it's on a checklist of two days, I'm going to get out.
I saw the Vatican.
I took the golf cart.
I'm gone.
You know, I mean, we did Rome for a month.
20:10
It was.
It's amazing every day.
20:13
Speaker 1
Every day.
And in that time, I guarantee you, you became much more of a traveler than a tourist because you were slow, you slowed it down, you frequented some of the same spots.
And you know, in a week trip, you maybe you don't have the opportunity to do that.
But what we're trying to help you do is, is to have cultivate that mindset of being a traveler.
20:32
That means, OK, you're going to think about how do they do it here?
What are the traditional dishes?
What's the right etiquette?
How do I know how to respect the place that I'm in?
20:45
Learn Etiquette and Key Phrases for a Respectful Trip
You know, I can't tell you how many times we've been in an archaeological site.
Tourists will get up on top of some, you know, fallen column or Greek, whatever, and to take that Instagrammable picture at golden hour and they get chased out by the authorities because that's so disrespectful to the culture, to the the history, the tradition, all of that.
21:09
And you know, just coming in with that mindset to grab and go doesn't fit Italy well, especially here in the South.
And so learning to respect the local rules, this is another way how to not ruin your trip.
21:27
Respect where you are, understand it.
And that's why we we push, not push.
Do we push guides and we push education.
I think more than anything we want people to understand where they are and how to enjoy it.
21:41
Speaker 2
Yeah, we push that.
And when you say the guides, the reason we push a guide is because we want you to understand a major town or major city when you come in so you're not wandering.
I didn't get much out of that town.
Well, you don't.
You'll understand the culture of the people, the city, the architecture, what it has to offer.
21:58
And then when you're done with them, I took some notes.
Now I can walk around and understand it and take it in.
But yeah.
And it's funny you say that about respect Italians overall love Americans.
Usually Americans are happy.
They spend money, they tip when they shouldn't, you know, but Italians love them, but they don't like the American, the ugly Americans that don't respect you know, you, you, you know, you don't throw you know, you don't sit on a a steps of the De Trevi fountain need a Panini, you know what I mean?
22:27
Or, you know, you know, just certain things you do and you don't do.
We help you with that.
You just, you know, that's what makes, you know, for the for the bad taste they might have for tourism is because you don't respect, you know, here I can, I can sit at a statue or what do you call it a cannon in, in downtown Franklin, TN and, you know, put my put my, you know, my Smoothie King on top of the the cannonball or whatever and do that.
22:52
But, you know, it's a little different.
It's a little different when it's 2000 years old and you know, you know, you have 200.
Yeah, exactly.
You know.
23:01
Speaker 1
What I'm saying so there's a a deeper, a deeper level of respect and and learning.
Hey, look, learning a few phrases will go a long way.
You don't have to get into a long conversation with an Italian in Italian.
They're going to know that you don't speak.
But to to say Bongiorno is so polite and arrivedeci or, you know, even even a friendly Ciao if it's if it's gone well and you've kind of made a friend say Ciao at the end, you know, but learning some of those how to be a little, they love it more respectful.
23:35
You know, you don't say Ciao when you're meeting someone for the first time.
You say salve or Bongiorno.
Bongiorno, you know, that goes, that goes so far with, with Italians and, and just says, hey, look, I, I appreciate the fact that I am in a different country.
23:55
I, I was not born here.
I, I want to try to understand where I'm at.
24:02
Reduce Stress and Avoid Lost Luggage by Packing Smart
Here's something else.
Let's talk about a different one here again, how not to ruin your trip.
I'm going to let you take this one because you are the king.
Move over Rick Steves.
Anthony is the pack light king, fitting it all in a carry on.
24:21
There is no limit to any trip.
It doesn't matter a week, a month, a year, he can do it in a carry on.
24:29
Speaker 2
I pride myself on it and Brian's really good.
I think Brian's luggage is even smaller than mine, but Brian only lives a hop scoop in an hour flight away.
Yeah, so I do go to Italy for 30 days in a carry on.
I'm I'm actually bald if you haven't seen me on video.
So I don't have a lot of hair, no hair, a lot of hair products to bring.
24:47
Speaker 1
Weighs me down.
That's why I can't.
I have so much goop and gel and whatever.
Yeah.
24:52
Speaker 2
Yeah, so he has that, but he brings his own pillow and blanket that that's what weighs him down.
He's got his Winnie the Pooh blanket, but that's beside the point.
No, but with me.
25:02
Speaker 1
Move on.
You're.
25:05
Speaker 2
Not supposed to tell people that.
So that being said, no, but honestly, it it is a it is a big stress point.
A couple of things.
Losing the luggage from the state's luggage is a big thing.
Yeah.
And especially when it gets to Italy, you might as well be in, you know, India, you know, I mean, because you're not going to find it until you get back.
25:25
You know what?
I.
25:26
Speaker 1
Mean, I will tell you this last time that I came up to Rome, known 2 times ago, came up to Rome from Catania.
It's an hour flight, right?
I, I, I, they, they forced at the AT getting on board at the gate.
They forced me to release my canned baggage because I had a backpack, but they were oversold on the flight.
25:45
They didn't have enough room.
So they took my trolley.
The little, you know, carry on.
They put it down in the, in the steva, the, the checked where the checked baggage goes.
So no.
25:55
Speaker 2
Mind you, there's no connections, right?
None.
25:59
Speaker 1
From Catania Direct, one hour, I get off the plane, we've lost your luggage.
I'm like, how the heck do you do that?
So I have, I have like one of my Apple devices in in my luggage.
I'm tracking it.
I'm in.
I'm in Rome.
26:14
Speaker 2
They can't find it, but you can I'm.
26:16
Speaker 1
I'm watching my luggage go back and forth from Catania the whole time I'm in Rome.
I finally sneak into the little lost luggage area.
I grab my my bag in time for my flight back to Catania, never having opened it.
26:31
So imagine your your chance, the probability that you're going to lose a piece of luggage coming from the States after it goes through customs and all of that.
26:41
Speaker 2
We have more stories I can tell you, and I tell you one thing and it is a funny story.
A family of four.
We tell them we have a deep dive before they leave.
We go over every single day of the trip.
Please.
You're going for seven days.
It's the middle of the summer.
How heavy are your clothes?
26:56
You're not taking you.
26:58
Speaker 1
Have big scarves?
26:59
Speaker 2
Exactly sudden they call us up day one they lost our luggage.
I'm like what?
What?
Why you?
27:06
Speaker 1
Why did they have your luggage?
27:09
Speaker 2
Oh, we checked it.
Why did you check it?
Oh, because we all have 4 checked bags.
I'm like, Oh my gosh, they didn't see their luggage.
They only got back to the States nine days later or 8 days later.
It's just crazy to me.
And we can go into that.
I can go into great detail.
Obviously you can check a bag on the way back.
27:27
You've already paid for that with your flight.
Go buy a $30 piece of luggage.
When you're in Italy.
Buy a get put your dirty clothes in that your old shoes cuz you only bought you already bought some new shoes and some new clothes.
27:39
Speaker 1
Right.
27:39
Speaker 2
Carry that on and check that bags.
If it doesn't come back, who cares?
You know what I mean?
But it will come back.
But yet you I'm telling you, man, I'm more stories about people not listening about the luggage stuff.
I mean, I have a lot of stories, guys, and you'll be you'll be funny how you won't see luggage for a month and Italy will tell.
27:57
I've had stories where customers like, yeah, it's in Rome.
I had one, one customer lost it and the guy at the Rome airport goes, you'll never see that luggage again.
And then a week later, he got home, was on the front step.
I had to go get it for the customer.
It was on the front step to bring it into my house.
But you don't know what you're going to get.
28:13
It's just, it's believe me, we'll help you how to pack.
We'll teach you how to pack.
But I'm not going to get into it right now.
28:17
Speaker 1
This is a huge tip.
Limit the amount of shoes.
Shoes that you can wear with multiple different things.
Limit the amount of pants.
Take a Take a lot of shirts and underwear that you need, but think about what you could actually buy there.
28:31
Speaker 2
There.
28:32
Speaker 1
Pick it up on the way.
And then if you need to for souvenirs, gifts and the things that you've bought, put a, put a bag in, in the luggage hole, a duffel bag on your way back home.
There's, there's so many tips and tricks that we could get into, but I think it's a, it's a, it's undervalued how traveling light can really resolve a lot of stress.
29:04
Understand Scams and Safety to Enjoy Your Italian Journey
Another stressor we get asked this all the time by by folks is I hear that it's dangerous and you know, maybe in another episode we'll we'll actually get into this a little bit deeper with some of our guest episodes coming up.
But I, I want to just talk about, look, if you're going to be in one of these high touristy attraction oriented places with the monuments or the site or the, the, the lines and crowds of people, I'm thinking Rialto Bridge in Venice or, you know, yeah, some, yeah.
29:41
Any number of these places around the Coliseum, you're going to, you're going to be prone to either a scam or some kind of pickpocketing happening in that area.
There's, there's no, I, I don't feel unsafe here in Italy.
29:59
I feel unsafe if I'm in Detroit or you know, even parts of Nashville nowadays, I might feel unsafe.
A lot of it has to do with your knowledge of the area at the time of day.
You know, I really, there's not a lot of places that I feel unsafe here in Italy.
30:20
But that said there you could be more prone because as as we're saying, Italy has become more scam friendly in recent years as tourism has experienced an uptick.
And so naturally there's people trying to profit.
I was in Caserta a couple of months ago right before a concert, wasn't there for the concert, but there are people trying to sell.
30:43
So what we found out afterwards, because the police chased them off, but they're selling these little bracelets to get you into the concert.
But these guys, they, they come from Naples up to Caserta during the day before the concert to sell you for €10 a little bracelet that has absolutely nothing to do with the concert at all.
31:03
But they're praying on your ignorance of the place where you are.
And, and so just being mindful of the fact, hey, somebody may be trying to RIP me off.
If it looks touristy, it probably is.
31:17
Speaker 2
So the good thing about Italy with Bella, and I'm not trying to pitch us, is that we have your trip planned out.
We're going to have those tickets, We're going to have everything set for you so you're not going off Willy dilly and all this stuff.
The other thing is, is most Americans going back to the safety, right?
31:33
Most Americans, like I had a customer this week, is Rome safe?
I'm yeah, Rome's really safe.
I'd rather go to Rome at midnight and walk around than be at Waffle House in Nashville, Right.
So.
But no, I actually said that.
I said no.
I mean, and if you say it's not a violent place and you're just going to pickpocket and people like that's pickpocket, you know what, we'll watch out and protect ourselves there.
31:53
It's more about this impression.
If you're not used to being in Europe or internationally, they don't realize that it's very, very safe in Italy.
It is overall, if you're not under a bridge at 1:00 in the morning where a drug transactions going on, that's a little different.
But yeah, I mean, that's different.
But it's a not a violence place, you know it isn't.
32:12
Speaker 1
Or they see a, a protest on TV and so they equate it with American protests that that sometimes can get out of hand.
I'm just looking at it through the, the window over here along the way.
You know, I, I don't know what really happens in America anymore, but it looks like it can get out of hand sometimes over here.
32:32
I'll just I'll, I'll just say that a lot of the protests are political.
They're not they're not geared to they're not a lot of civil right type.
So it's largely political and and they're they're just trying to champion their, you know, political party, of which there are at least five major ones.
32:51
And so you you see that a lot.
It's on TVA lot but a lot of it's.
32:56
Speaker 2
Smaller than you think too.
It is smaller than you think.
32:59
Speaker 1
Yeah, and it's usually it's young people, it's a lot of young people because of their universities, they they get roped in into certain demonstrations.
33:08
Speaker 2
They get them.
They get them fired up.
Yeah.
It's very peaceful.
So I was in Rome in October with Derek and Marissa, and we heard it.
I mean, it was loud.
We were sitting in a Piazza having a cocktail.
And, like, let's go over there.
And it was like 400 people.
And we'll talk about immigrants and, you know, and, you know, the Italian dream and all of this stuff.
33:28
And it was all in Italian.
And it would come.
They had this signs up.
I never had a care in the world, you know, the little bonfire going in the middle.
But yeah, that's about it.
I mean, it's even in Greece.
I remember in Greece they had these, you know, 10 to 15 years ago, and they had the economy fail because of the unions and the pensions.
33:48
And I go to that.
I go, I'm in Athens and I'm thinking on TV, my mother's messaging me that, Oh my God, she was going.
I'm saying mom right here.
It's just, it's like literally, it's literally a little.
It's a Piazza, you know what I mean?
That's when she's watching.
34:02
Speaker 1
This three days ago.
34:03
Speaker 2
Exactly.
Oh, no, Yeah, exactly.
But it's not, as you know, what we stretch it out to be from American perspective looking at it's media, right.
So it's all it comes out.
34:12
Speaker 1
To all right, last last one here in our list, how not to ruin your trip.
34:17
Plan Smart to Minimize Stress and Maximize Your Italian Trip
The logistics, we've talked about this.
34:19
Speaker 2
Don't bring your kids.
I'm kidding.
Go ahead.
34:23
Speaker 1
If you want to relax and have a vacation, leave the kids at home you know the logistics can make or break.
34:33
Speaker 2
Your trip we've.
34:33
Speaker 1
Talked about it already, You know, the, the packing, unpacking day after day can get you have a base where you, you feel like, like you're almost like on that.
That's kind of the pitch for a cruise is you don't have to do all the packing, unpacking.
34:49
But what if you had an approach that was similar here in Italy?
You cut that, you know, To Do List your bucket list in half and you stay local.
Maybe you do the train system because Italy is very train friendly, especially in the north.
35:06
You look at buffering your time where you have that downtime and you you know where to go, where not to go with your rental car.
But all of that is building a strategy that's going to reduce your stress and help you really get the most.
35:24
Maybe you don't get as many places on that bucket list because you slowed it down, but you're really going to enjoy and be glad you did.
You're going to go back home rested and, you know, feel like you've been on a vacation and not like you've been through an amusement park.
35:43
And I think that's the that's the approach that can make or break your trip.
35:48
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think it also, it's funny and if you look at it, we, we have potential new clients fill out a form, customers fill out a form and well, we say what is your trigger?
Well, the trigger to them is 90% of the time they're saying logistics A to B, being late, missing a train, you know, well, obviously that's the plan.
36:07
You know, we try to plan or you should try to plan.
You know, what is the logistics look like?
The good thing for us is me and you, we go to Parma.
I know where the train station is.
Why, why do I need a car service to bring me?
I'm going to walk there.
So we, the good thing for the company is we know every train station.
36:22
We know logistically what's best.
But that's a lot of planning.
And then you got to plan when the strikes logistically, right?
That's the other thing is people don't remember that there's obviously it's not just train strikes.
This plane strikes, this baggage strikes, this taxi strikes, you know, So there's that for the logistics you have to figure out also.
36:41
But yeah, Italy's pretty easy to get around if you know logistically how to get around, whether it's trains, when not to take them, the car services, obviously even flights, you know, we had a customer yesterday, they don't want to take trains.
We're going to take a flight from Venice, Delta Bari, Delta Puglia because it's easier than taking multiple trains and multiple cars.
37:01
But it's that's something you got to figure out.
But you have to plan that really well because that will soak up time.
You have customers that come on.
I'm sorry, I'm rambling over here.
You have customers that come on and they want to go from A to B and they're only there seven days, but B is 6 hours on a train and well, that's why go to that town.
37:18
Why you going to waste the day getting to that town.
You're going to be there for two days.
So these are the things you have to look at when you build a trip.
37:24
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.
And there are so many unknowns with travelling.
I mean, trains are, are pretty reliable unless there's a strike.
But even on days that there aren't strikes, I've been on, I don't know how many trains and there's an hour delay, hour and a half delay.
37:41
It happens.
There's something messed up on the line we had.
37:45
Speaker 2
Protests.
I had a protest on one of our lines.
It was like we it was an hour and a half because they were protesting on the train tracks.
37:50
Speaker 1
I mean, by and large, they're pretty reliable, but you are going to experience.
And so if you've, if you haven't buffered any time in there, you're missing that tour, you're missing that meal, you're missing that next opportunity.
And that's one less experience that you get to savor because you didn't have.
38:11
We, we build it in on, you know, especially boats.
We, we usually, not always, but usually we'll put in a free day before or after we've booked a day for a boat excursion because inevitably the captain's going to call us and say the waves are rough today, can we move it?
38:31
And if we don't have any kind of buffer, we don't have the ability to save that experience for the client, they lose it.
And so that, that's what we're saying, this kind of strategy goes a long way.
It can, again, it can really make or break, it can save your your trip, but it can also radically reduce stress.
38:54
Looking Ahead to More Expert Italian Travel Advice
So again, some helful things here.
I think I'm looking forward to next season, season 6 of the Bella Italy podcast.
We're going to get into the nitty gritty of how to be a real traveler, how to travel well, and we're going to get into more topics like this with experts who know some of our guests and partners coming on to help us navigate Italy like a true traveler and even like a local would suggest.
39:25
So that's exciting to me.
I'm looking forward to it, man.
It's been a it's been a great ride and it keeps going.
So here we are.
I'll.
39:34
Speaker 2
See you next week, brother.
You're going to be here in Nashville for our client appreciation.
39:38
Speaker 1
Coming back to Nashville, we're going to have some partners with us.
If we can bang out a couple of partner episodes, we'll we'll tack that on to Season 5 as some bonus content.
Excited about the possibility of doing that.
39:53
Speaker 2
Yeah, we have great feedback every time I get on a call that from a podcast listener or someone had already signed up and then they realized we had a podcast and they listen and prepares themselves for the call with us.
They love our partner call.
Our partner podcast is, you know, top of the list and they want to meet that person.
40:09
So we're excited to see some new partners come out to Nashville and do some podcasts that recordings with them.
40:14
Speaker 1
It's going to be fun.
So guys, thanks again for listening.
And if you're thinking about going to Italy, think about going to Italy with Bella.
Hit us up any anytime online and send us some of your feedback podcast at Italy with bella.com.
40:30
Let us know what you're thinking, what you'd like to hear more of in the next season, and we will work that content in.
That's it.
40:37
Speaker 2
Also, if you could guys please send us a five star review, a review of any sort, that'd be nice, but a five star review would be particularly real great for us.
We'd love to hear from you like Brian said, but a review would be good for us too so more listeners can hear to hear about the The Bella Italy podcast.
40:55
Speaker 1
Perfect, perfect.
That's it.
All right, guys, we will talk to you soon.
See you on the next episode.
Ciao for.
41:02
Speaker 2
Now flip side.
Ciao, Ciao.
Good.
Have a good one.
