Season 5: Episode 4 | Slow Italy: Seeking Out Savorable Experiences
Episode summary
In this episode of the Bella Italy podcast, Brian and Anthony delve into the concept of slow tourism in Italy, emphasizing the importance of taking time to appreciate local experiences, cuisine, and culture. They discuss the slow food movement, the significance of understanding regional specialties, and the shift towards a more meaningful travel experience. The conversation highlights the need for travelers to slow down, engage with locals, and savor the rich diversity of Italy beyond the typical tourist hotspots.
Takeaways
Traveling slow is essential to experiencing Italy authentically.
Most tourists only see a fraction of what Italy has to offer.
Choosing wisely where to eat and what to experience is crucial.
The slow food movement promotes local and traditional cuisine.
Understanding regional differences in food is key to enjoying Italian culture.
Travelers should set realistic expectations for their trips.
Engaging with locals enhances the travel experience.
Every town in Italy has its own culinary traditions.
Savoring food and experiences leads to more memorable trips.
Slow tourism is a growing trend that benefits both travelers and local communities.
Episode Transcript
0:00
Embracing the Art of Slow Italian Travel
Hey, guys, welcome back.
You’re listening to the Bella Italy Podcast
and we are back around again.
0:15
Hey everybody, it’s Brian and Anthony.
Anthony and Brian coming at you for another episode, exciting episode of the Bella Italy Podcast.
Welcome, Anthony.
How are you doing today, Sir?
0:28
Speaker 2
Doing very well, Brian.
Looking forward to the podcast.
I think it’s the third of the series, so looking to go a little bit slower this this.
0:39
Speaker 1
You you can’t wait to get in to slow tourism.
0:43
Speaker 2
I don’t do anything slow, as you know, I don’t do anything slow.
This is a.
0:47
Speaker 1
Tough subject it is.
It is tight.
Well, you know, and we’re, we’re usually yin and Yang on things, but I find it difficult myself.
I yeah, I found it difficult myself to slow down.
We are going to talk a little bit about how to slow down and why that fits Italy, because it is slow.
1:08
Italy, like it or not, it is what it is.
And traveling slow is traveling Italian style.
So that’s what’s on the agenda for today.
1:32
Folks, if you are just joining us, welcome to the Bella Italy podcast.
Just disclaimer at the outset here, we provide this podcast free free information, free tomfoolery here between Anthony and I just because we love Italy and we we love to be.
1:54
We would love to see people come over and have a great time and really enjoy their vacation.
A lot of our experience and the knowledge base comes out of the business component, which is Italy with Bella.
So if you are thinking about going to Italy, think about going to Italy with Bella and check us out online Italy with bella.com.
2:15
To find out what we do, sign up for a free consultation with Anthony, his wife Denise.
No Ginsu knives, no strings attached, no timeshare in.
2:25
Speaker 2
Utah showing our age.
When you say Ginsu, I mean if if yeah, are you showing our?
2:31
Speaker 1
No, over here that’s the coolest thing ’cause all we see is reruns here in Italy from the 80s.
2:39
Speaker 2
Chronically, I don’t know if it’s AI, but I was actually on Facebook the other night and they had a Johnny Carson clip and he’s doing the Ginsu test now.
This is 91.
Really.
2:48
Speaker 1
7 just like.
2:50
Speaker 2
42 years ago, fantastic.
And I’m like there’s got to be some other.
I mean we’re really going after that.
We’re really going to have to have 55 and over market in the.
2:58
Speaker 1
Podcast our own demographic, old and Gray.
Oh man, no.
OK, OK, I’ll tone down the Ginsu talk, but.
3:08
Speaker 2
Leave it to Beaver references.
3:10
Speaker 1
And Mr. A that’s reaching, reaching way back.
But we, we are helping people.
Why do we do this?
We help you to forget the usual tourist traps in the overcrowded hotspots.
This is this is a special series.
3:26
And it’s your invitation to experience Italy differently.
Escape the crowds, uncover hidden gems, indulge in genuine culinary traditions.
Embrace the art of slow, meaningful travel.
So we’ve got about 3 episodes now with this one under our belt.
3:44
We’ll see how it goes.
We may have one or two more.
And on the horizon, though, I have to say this, we have a couple of great episodes coming up talking about regions and especially macro regions here in Italy.
4:00
It’s going to be fun and entertaining.
It’s also going to give you the nuts and bolts of getting into an itinerary, where to go, what to do.
But we’re laying the baseline, as we say in the music biz.
I, I’m not in the music business, but I understand that they say that I’m from Nashville, but I’m not one of the music people of Nashville.
4:21
So I, I can only you know, I’m, I’m pretending.
4:24
Speaker 2
Using all kinds of references that you have.
4:27
Speaker 1
No, no.
4:28
Speaker 2
Business probably never even owned a Ginsu knife.
4:35
Speaker 1
I think I had a cast never.
4:35
Speaker 2
Had a timeshare.
4:37
Speaker 1
In the 80s and that’s it, That’s all I’ve got.
4:40
Speaker 2
K Tel Records with Columbia Records.
4:45
Speaker 1
Oh man, my 8 track days.
4:47
Speaker 2
That’s really old there.
All right, I digress, but.
4:51
Speaker 1
You know, here, here’s the, here’s the deal there.
4:53
Discovering Italy’s True Depth Beyond Tourist Traps
There is so much to Italy.
We said this before, we’ll say it again.
Most people come over, they see 1% of Italy and you know the, the contrary, the inverse is true.
A lot of Italians that I talked to, they’ve seen 1% of the US and they, they think they understand America and Americans.
5:14
And you just, you know, there’s so much more than the Big Apple.
I’m sorry if all of our, you know, friends and, and clients in, in Manhattan, I’m sorry.
There’s more to America than it’s, it’s a great, you know, melting pot of a lot of things that are American, but you know, you’re not, you’re not tasting it in its puretza, in its purity.
5:39
Speaker 2
Right.
Well, I like, I like to say that you’re right about that, because what it speaks to is it’s not the Americans, it’s not the Canadians, the Italians are the same way.
It’s not, it’s not like we’re in a certain culture.
I mean, every time I talk to an Italian with the New York City, I’m like, OK, what about Maine?
What about Boston?
5:55
What about Charleston?
You know what they don’t know?
You know what?
I.
6:00
Speaker 1
Mean and we talked about that, that that you’re, you’re from that macro region that you know that region, we say in the states of New England, right.
And you know, you can you can eat Tex Mex in Rhode Island, but it may not be your best experience with Tex Mex.
6:19
You know, you may want to think about Texas if you’re going to have Tex Mex, you know, and the same is.
6:25
Speaker 2
True, we have BBQ.
Yeah, you’re right.
6:27
Speaker 1
Barbecue, BBQ, but it’s like going BB.
It’s like going to Milan and having lasagna.
Well, you could I, you know, I, if you’re going to Bologna, save it for there and have lasagna in Bologna, which you just did a couple weeks ago and you said it was fantastic.
6:45
And so I think you’d agree it’s the place to do it.
It’s not the only thing to eat in Bologna, but you know, I, I think you get the point.
We’re trying to, we’re teasing out this idea of, you know, for the fact, you know, we’re about to go into the regions here in the next couple of episodes.
7:03
And I, I want to be able to tease out this, these facts of look here, you’re in this region.
This region is known for this.
This should be on your agenda if you go there.
You know, if I, if I go to New York, I’m eating Asian food, baby or Cuban, because I think they do that really well.
7:24
And I may not have a better chance, especially if my only two stops are New York and Nashville.
I’m going to eat that in New York.
You know you got to choose.
7:31
Speaker 2
Why?
7:34
Speaker 1
Where, where you and I go to Chicago for a Chicago dog.
I just do, you know, our deep, deep pan pizza, you know, that kind of thing.
Anyway, all that to say, you, you need to choose wisely and we want to help you do that.
It it may mean that you need to slow down and, and again, you know, we are the checklist era.
7:56
We’d, we’d like to, you know, have everything written out and we’re just going to mark it off.
But at the end, it ends up being being crossed off of a list and forgotten because we were never really present to have an experience.
And that’s what we want for you.
8:14
Because, you know, having lived in Italy over a decade, visited over 30 years, and I can say the best part of Italy is when you slow down and enjoy it.
You know, it’s just like your food.
You slow down and you chew your food.
And it really can be quite enjoyable if you do that.
8:31
So there you.
8:32
Speaker 2
Heard about that.
I’ve heard about that.
8:35
Speaker 1
Well, it’s.
8:35
Speaker 2
Funny, I was just in Luca and I was with some members of the team and obviously we check out certain things and I’m sitting and relaxing, enjoying this bar in Luca.
I’m like, this bar is amazing and all of a sudden we had to hop to four different bars.
8:53
It’s part of our job, but I’m like, I really don’t want to leave here.
I’m just enjoying the.
8:57
Speaker 1
Bar hopping as part of Anthony’s job, people.
8:59
Speaker 2
Oh my God, what’s going on?
So the next day, so the next day I left those people from our team and I’m like, hey, I’m going to I’m going to go back to the hotel.
It actually didn’t go back.
I went to this bar and I was the only guy there.
I sat at the bar and these two, these two younger folks from Italy, from Luca actually, and I sat there for an hour and had a cocktail until the team got out and said, hey, we’re going to get a cocktail at this other place.
9:23
But I was able to like slow down and actually mangle with the locals.
But I was acting like an American.
I’m not, I’m sorry, or any other tourist, sorry.
But I was at 4 bars the night before because we had to go check them all out.
But you know, I don’t want to see us doing.
It’s like it’s no different than going to a church or museums or something like that.
9:40
It’s the same thing.
We, you know, I just reflect on that.
I’m like, I had such a great time just sitting there talking with the local at the bar and just life in general.
And that’s what you need to do.
9:51
Speaker 1
And and you know, we’re all for planning and being strategic.
We talked about that a lot in Season 4 of this podcast and we do that a lot for our clients with Italy, with Bella, We have an app that we use.
They wake up in the morning, they look at what’s on the agenda for the day and everything is programmed.
10:09
Everything is by appointment and you go here, it’s going to take you this long, you go there, you got transit time of 30 minutes, you arrive here, it’s all written out and programmed.
But we do that so that you can just show up and enjoy.
That’s the idea.
10:24
Now, in reality, sometimes the, you know, those are two different things and, and we’ll talk about that in a 2nd, but a lot of times what happens is you are racing and you’re always thinking about what’s the next thing.
It’s like you’re in church on Sunday morning and you’re thinking about what’s for lunch and you’re like, hey, gosh, she’s going long today.
10:47
I wish she’d shut up so I can get home.
I got a roast in the oven.
You know, we’re always thinking about that next step.
It’s just human nature, you know?
But if there is a way for us to slow down and enjoy, it’s going to make your estimate worth it and you’re going to remember it when you get home.
11:06
And I think that’s what all of us would like.
That’s what we’re hoping all of us would like to do.
11:12
The Philosophy of Good, Clean, Fair Italian Food
And so I want to segue.
We talked a little bit about food, and I want to segue into the Slow Food movement.
So you’ve probably heard of Slow Food and you see like the little red snail.
11:28
If you’ve been over here in Italy before, at least you see a little red snail, which is the symbol for the Slow Food movement.
This is something that came out of the 80s.
It was a reaction to a lot of the fast food new chains that were cropping up that still, you know, really weren’t very prevalent here in Italy in the 80s and 90s.
11:49
Only in the last decade have we seen, you know, the viral replication of McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King and Starbucks.
Those are probably the the four or five, you know, top that are are in replication as a virus over here in Italy.
12:09
But the Slow Food movement is the antithesis of that.
And so I’m sure you’ve seen that, you’ve noticed probably a lot of the restaurants that we frequent that we like end up being Slow Food because they’re not catering to a tourist palate.
12:27
They’re going traditional and they’re staying local with their ingredients, right?
I mean, that’s something that I think all of us appreciate.
Even, you know, even in America, even in Nashville where we’re from, it’s it’s pretty prevalent.
Now when you say, I mean, give me your, your gauge on that.
12:43
You live there.
I don’t.
12:44
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think, I think it’s a term that is actually getting dated to a little bit where now it’s the 0 kilometer, you know, that’s the big one that we always talk about, right.
But Slow Food is, you know, we have partners that pride themselves.
12:57
Speaker 1
Farm to table.
12:58
Speaker 2
Maybe it’s an American term.
Yeah, exactly.
And you know, that’s something we look for even here, right?
You know, we’re looking for farm to table, 0 kilometer, whatever you want to call it.
But you know, that’s something, you know, in the past, you didn’t have to do that in Italy, you know what I mean?
You just knew it was 0 kilometer.
13:15
You knew it was farm to.
13:16
Speaker 1
Table right?
There were no other options.
No When?
13:20
Speaker 2
You think about the business, even Antico Vanilla in Florence, right, 20 years ago, 15 years ago when he started, it was probably 0 kilometer, you know, now he’s got one in France, he just opened up two in Nashville.
13:36
And you know, even the Italians are coming out of that, you know, mentality of being farm table or 0 kilometer and starting the chains, which is, you know, shocking to me, you know, so.
13:47
Speaker 1
Right.
Yeah, learning how to franchise.
And they actually use that word in Italian franchising is a, is a, is a word that’s getting thrown around or Cortana chain and, and you know, it, it goes against the grain of a slower food movement that’s looking at it.
14:06
It’s like a lot of if you’re into coffee, you, you probably, you know, want to know where the beans are sourced.
Is it, you know, fair trade, all this kind of thing.
And then it’s the same thing in the slow food movement.
Good, clean, fair food is their their motto.
And, and they’re promoting local and traditional.
14:25
And so again, that that falls right in line with a lot of what we recommend.
If you go to our website or, you know, if you’re on a call with us or you go to Italy with Bella, we’re going to recommend places like that that are trying to protect the biodiversity.
14:41
And they’re supporting the smaller, you know, family producers.
We look for those smaller family type restaurants and we want people to get educated at that.
You know, at the end of the day, the more you’re educated on something, the more you’re going to appreciate it.
The more you appreciate it, the more you enjoy.
14:59
That’s the idea.
And, and we take that approach on everything, not just food, But before we go on to other things, what, what would you say to an American?
Let’s say they have never been to Italy or maybe just once.
15:15
And, you know, they they did the the whirlwind tour and then, you know, they left and I’m never going back to Venice because it’s too busy and many people and Rome was loud and Naples was dirty.
And, you know, the usual things that they say about it’s the same stuff that Italians say when they come back from New York.
15:36
I’ll just give you that.
OK, I was nervous.
If I feel safe, OK, well, I don’t feel safe sometimes in New York, at least not until Giuliani got in.
And anyway, I want to go off on a tangent there.
But all that to say, you know, this is this has been our approach.
15:53
But what would you say to an American who’s familiar with Olive Garden and Buca di Beppo and other things when they’re coming over to Italy?
What could they expect if if they are going to have a true Italian food experience, What?
16:10
What is that like?
16:12
Speaker 2
So the first thing you need to tell them is it’s shocking to them in reality, because I think I’m Italians might think the same thing that Americans hamburgers and steaks and French fries, right?
And I think the same thing for Americans when they go there, they’re going to they’re going to land in Venice like we talked about, and I’m going to eat what I eat here, right?
16:32
So that’s the first step you have to take with them is go back and say, all right, listen, like the Brian is saying on the podcast, we’re saying on the podcast, we’re going to say it to them too.
Let’s think about, all right, you’re in this region.
Let’s talk about the region, all right, region of Rome.
It’s Lazio.
We know that it’s antiquity.
16:48
We know it’s Roman, you know, the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican, all that.
We know the history, but let’s talk about the food.
You know, we’re not going to get lasagna, like you said, or steak.
And and so I think it’s an education piece where what do you like or do you like?
This is what they have in this area.
17:03
And let’s let’s teach you about what to look for, how to, you know, what, what you should expect when you go, you know, and it’s also, you’re going to realize in Rome, Romans are different than going to Venetians and they’re different.
So that’s just the food.
It’s the way they talk about the food and the way the food is and the ingredients where it comes from and all of that.
17:22
So it’s a it’s a lot of times you’re just talking just, you know, not talking about the Vatican.
You’re talking about, well, what do you like to eat?
You know why?
You know, you know, allergies come into play and all of that.
But a lot of times it’s, you know, you’re going to set the expectations of, you know, the size of the restaurant, what type of restaurants there are when it, you know, nowadays Anoteca and Chatteria and all of this.
17:44
It’s not the same as we, we knew back 25 years ago.
But a lot of it’s just education and saying, you know, this is, this is what to expect when you’re in this province, this region, this territory, and you know, and educate them.
And actually that’s what we do.
And we put in the trip, we actually put in notes for the region.
18:01
This is what you should eat.
This is your look for in a menu.
And it’s always shocking when someone comes back and we teach them that.
And they say, I had the steak and it just wasn’t good.
I’m like, why are you getting steak?
I don’t understand what is this?
18:12
Speaker 1
Were you in Florence?
No.
OK.
Why were you getting steak?
Come here, let me slap you.
18:18
Speaker 2
I ran into, so it’s funny you say that.
I always like these anecdotal stories and I’m I was with someone, I was at an Italian restaurant in Columbia, very popular here in Columbia.
I’m still trying to figure out why.
18:29
Speaker 1
Columbia of South Tennessee, Middle Tennessee.
Sorry about.
18:33
Speaker 2
That thanks for the reference and I’m sitting there and they love it and I’m like looking at him like this is really bad and you guys like it, huh.
And I’m you know me.
I don’t never met a stranger.
So I start talking to this other table and the guy goes, yeah, he goes.
I go, we just came back from Italy.
18:48
She goes, the food was awful.
This is the, this is better than any food in Italy.
I was like, Oh my.
18:52
Speaker 1
God, I was like.
18:53
Speaker 2
Oh my God, I had my three sons with me and my three sons with me like.
18:58
Speaker 1
Are just shaking their.
18:59
Speaker 2
Heads and the guy, literally the guy goes like this.
You guy goes wait, I got to say one thing that we did have a fantastic Bolognese and Ravello and I’m like, OK, and that’s when I started educating them.
It’s the problem.
First of all, if you think that was good, I mean there’s shocking, but you know, this is what happens.
19:18
It’s just what, you know, it’s same thing, like it’s not just the Americans going to Italy, it’s the Italians coming here too, you know what I mean?
I think they’d be shocked, you know, so.
19:26
Speaker 1
Yeah.
And there there are some sins, cardinal sins.
We’ll, we’ll get into that as we get into the different regions.
It’s like, you know, it’s like ordering a Chianti and you’re not in Lotzio or, you know, you’re not even in Emilio Romano.
19:42
You’re you’re in Sicily and you’re, you want to and why, why don’t they have Chianti?
I want a Chianti because you’re not, not in Tuscany, dear heart.
You know, think about where you are.
You’re you’re near Aetna.
OK, the Reds.
19:57
If you’re looking for a full bodied, you know, well-rounded red, then you know, we’re going to think about an Aetna dock.
And I mean, there’s a reason that you do certain things in certain places.
20:18
Sometimes that’s just an ignorant thing, and I don’t mean that cruelly.
It’s just level of education that hasn’t happened yet.
That’s it.
20:25
Speaker 2
But you could do that here.
Like I go out to go out with friends for wine and I’m like, well, that wine doesn’t really peer right.
And that’s why when we were in Parma two weeks ago, when we were having, you know, cheese and meats and, you know, rich food, the Lambrusco, the, you know, the sparkling red and you just say Lambrusco here.
20:41
They don’t.
Either they don’t know what it is or it was a straw.
You know, a really bad one do.
20:45
Speaker 1
You need to nice.
You know what I mean?
Ice on ice, right?
It’s nice.
Nice.
You put it on ice so that you can’t taste it.
That’s why it was so bad once.
20:59
Speaker 2
Again, a reference for everyone under over 55, not under 40.
21:04
Speaker 1
5 You could Google it, it’s still on the Internet I’m sure.
21:08
Speaker 2
Black and white no.
21:10
Speaker 1
It is, it is a, it’s a, it’s a knowledge base.
And I think that’s what we’re what we’re, you know, the scratch, we’re the itch we’re trying to scratch here is that knowledge space of, you know, where are you in Italy?
What, what are they known for?
What, what is your, your plan and itinerary when you’re there?
21:28
What are you going to eat and drink that’s representative of the region that you’re in?
That’s, that’s part of their 0 kilometer.
You know, if you’re, you’re not going to find 0 kilometer, Chianti in Sicily doesn’t exist.
People does not exist because it’s, it’s like 500 kilometers away, you know, to where you can find it.
21:50
And so the, the, the point is learning to slow down and appreciate.
21:55
Discovering Italy’s Rich Diversity Through Local Connections
Well, there’s also, you know, slow tourism, OK.
And this is, this is another growing trend getting out of and we have, we have actually a couple of team members on the Italy with Bella team that are really enthusiastic about this.
They, they like the unplug and, and they’re even younger and that’s surprising, but they like to unplug, they like to do off the grid.
22:19
You know, you put your cell phones in a box and, and you do the hiking and you do the E bikes and you, you get out in nature and, you know, you look for the, the more sustainable modes of transportation and tourism so that it’s not depleting the environment where you find yourself.
22:36
And so there’s this, you know, different off the beaten path and you’re still doing historical, traditional, but it may not be where all of the tourists flock because the tour buses can’t get in there.
That’s what I really like.
I want to know where can the tour buses not get to?
22:53
That’s where I’m going.
22:54
Speaker 2
Amazing, though.
They go everywhere.
You’d be shocked.
Whatever.
If you’re on the other coast, you’re like, oh, right, they can go anywhere.
Yeah.
23:02
Speaker 1
The stories we’ve heard, one of our team members actually used to drive these big buses all over Europe and they are amazing.
They go places that I would not go in a 2 door Fiat.
That’s incredible.
23:17
But, but it is, it is about connecting and, and it’s not just for people.
I don’t want to say this and it’s just for people that have Italian roots.
No, it’s about connecting with the local people, understanding the culture and understanding the diversity.
23:33
One of the incredible things about Italy, you know, is the diversity that we have here.
I live in a little town on Aetna, 2 1/2 kilometers away is a different town that I don’t like at all and nobody from my town likes.
23:48
But it, it’s completely, it was born in completely different times, like, you know, over hundreds and hundreds of years different times historically.
They have a different vibe.
They have a different dialect.
You, you can have some, I’ll be in, in a bar having a coffee in the morning and somebody will walk in from this other town 2 kilometers.
24:11
That’s, that’s, you know, what is it?
3 1/2 miles is 5 kilometers.
So OK, 2 kilometers is, you know, not not very far.
I think I got that backwards. 5 kilometers is 3 miles, something like that.
24:27
So we’re, we’re talking, you know, maybe a mile and a half away or less and somebody walk in and they talk differently and it’s noticeable to the people behind the counter that they’re not from their town.
24:42
It’s incredible.
They have different cuisine.
They have different things that they, we eat horse meat here in El Paso, in Paterno, they have frogs because they’re in a valley near two rivers.
And so frogs are on the menu and they don’t like horse meat.
24:58
And so, you know, it’s just this kind of thing.
You would not imagine that in the United States.
You go from, you know, Franklin to Columbia and you can, you hear the difference in the, in the, you know, the cadence or the, you know, you just don’t, you don’t see, you don’t notice those things.
25:15
You know, Walmart, it’s still Walmart and McDonald’s is still McDonald.
We’ve done great at homogenizing America, but that is what is so special about Italy and it’s taken for granted if you’re not going to slow down and appreciate.
25:31
And I think that’s what we want to impress.
25:34
Speaker 2
It’s funny to say about homogenization.
So I think my wife’s always like, let’s go here and let’s go here in the United States because, you know, living in Italy, having a home in Italy and going Italy a lot, You know, my wife’s like, let’s try America a little bit.
It’s homogenized.
Only thing of difference is I see a different palm tree, you know what I mean?
Or a different tree.
25:49
I mean, I’m, I’m in Arizona.
I don’t get in the food’s the same, you know what I mean?
We’re not really changing a lot.
You may get some better, you might get some better Mexican.
Don’t get me wrong you.
25:56
Speaker 1
Still have Olive Garden in Arizona.
26:02
Speaker 2
I think, I think the hit on that a little bit and especially Rome, in certain cities we don’t do enough food walking tours.
And I think if you really want to learn the food, the local, you know what they eat, you do a food walking tour.
Even in Lazio, even in Rome, we don’t do enough to be honest with you, because I think people think Rome history, Rome museums and churches.
26:25
But the food, you know, and that’s something you really want to understand 0 kilometer, you really want to stand the culture and understand the history.
The food is the history too, right?
And that’s the thing, you’ll get a lot of that, you know, so.
26:38
Speaker 1
It absolutely.
Yeah, you’re absolutely spot on there.
This, the food is an is an actual indicator of the culture, just like the language is an indicator or the dialect is an indicator of the culture.
All of those things kind of stream in like tributaries and create a river of culture that’s moving and changing and progressing, you know, over time.
26:58
But those tributaries contribute to what you see and feel and hear here when you’re on the ground in a certain place.
And so, you know, what I, what I like to do when I’m traveling around is understand, OK, what is this place known for?
What’s their traditional foods?
27:15
Oh, that’s where that came from.
I didn’t know that.
I mean, it’s like having a pizza in Naples.
You, you want to do that because historically that’s where they had the best tradition developed for pizza culture, you know, or lasagna or, you know, risotto in, in Lombardia, in.
27:34
Speaker 2
Artichokes in Rome, you know, there’s a big star artichokes.
Why?
Why do you get artichokes?
You know so.
27:40
Speaker 1
And, and you know, you can find artichokes in lots of different places all over.
And we, we roast them on, they have on, on the street on the weekends, they’re roasting them, but they’re going to do them different than the Romans do it.
And I love artichokes in Rome, but I love artichokes here.
27:56
But it, it’s, it’s about the idea of it’s named Roman artichoke, you know, for a reason.
It has some, some tie to the culture that is worth educating yourself on and experiencing and enjoying when you come over.
28:12
And so, you know, a, a lot of this goes into just what we’re saying about having to slow down.
If you don’t slow down, you will not notice these things.
And it you know, you’re going to be ignorant, you’re, you’re going to just blow in and blow out and not remember because you didn’t enjoy.
28:33
And we’ve said this 100 times.
A lot of times what people come over with a checklist, what they remember about their trip is that conversation that they had at a table because they actually slowed down and thought about where they were and what they were doing.
28:49
And I, I, you know, another 80s reference, it sounds like Yoda talking to young Skywalker, you know, never your mind on where you are, what you’re doing, you know, but there’s so, OK, maybe that’s really Zen or whatever, but I haven’t worked in a Star Wars reference in a while, so I’m going to throw that out there.
29:07
But it’s true.
If you can’t focus on where you are and what you’re doing, you’re not enjoying, you’re just not, you’re not enjoying it.
Why are you going to spend all this time and money to come over here and, and you know, investment to do this and not enjoy it?
29:23
That’s just stupid.
Yeah.
And we had a customer.
Is that?
29:26
Speaker 2
Rude.
No.
No.
29:27
Speaker 1
It’s not stupid.
29:28
Speaker 2
Strong, but you know, it’s short sighted.
Sorry.
How’s that Short sighted?
OK, All right, all right.
We grew up in.
29:35
Speaker 1
The 80s, we’re not sensitive.
29:36
Speaker 2
People, thank you for toning me down.
29:39
Prioritizing Meaningful Experiences Over Rushed Itineraries
So I had a.
29:40
Speaker 2
Customer yesterday I want this podcast to be a.
29:42
Speaker 1
Safe place for everybody.
You’re a bunch of idiots.
No kidding.
No.
29:47
Speaker 2
Kidding.
We can edit that edit.
So yeah, that’s funny.
All right, so we had a customer on the phone on the Zoom call yesterday, second time with Bella, and the first thing they said is we want to slow down this trip.
30:02
And I remember having that conversation with them the last trip and like, you’re really going to do Rome?
Yeah, we’re going to come up from Amalfi, we’re going to stop in Rome, we’ll do the golf cart tour, and then we’re going to go up to Florence.
I’m like, that’s not the way to see it.
So first thing they say is we liked Rome so much, even for that half a day on the golf cart.
30:20
We really want to do longer time in Rome.
But they realize it, thankfully they have the money.
They have the time to do another trip to Italy, right?
To do that and realize that, let’s tweak.
A lot of people don’t have that ability to go to Italy.
30:37
This is, you know how many times they got on a call and it’s like we’ve saved up.
I’ve wanted to do this my whole life.
I’ve dreamt about this.
This is a bucket list, but this is the biggest thing on my bucket list.
I’ll spend extra money.
I really want to do it right.
And a lot of times I’m still pushing back, you know, slow down.
30:55
But they don’t know when they come back.
So it’s it’s that.
But this customer obviously was blessed.
They can go twice in two years with us.
But the first thing they said is, yeah, we need to take it in more.
And we can’t hop around.
Now they’re doing 12 days, three cities, 4 cities a day, four cities for through all days.
31:11
That’s fine.
You know, they’ll they’ll get in and they’re not going to the big cities either.
You know, they’re going to smaller places now because when they did a small place, what do they realize?
That’s what I really like, you know, I like, I like taking it in and slowing down.
So it’s interesting to hear it when you have the chance to see it, you know.
31:28
Yeah, I think a.
31:29
Speaker 1
Second or a third timer gets they probably if they’re listening to this podcast, they totally get it.
If it’s your first time or you never been, it’s probably a harder.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow because you know it, you you can go back to it wasn’t an episode, but we put it on.
31:49
I think it’s on YouTube.
We did our our top 10 reasons not to go to Italy and we talked about FOMO.
Don’t come if it’s just FOMO that your fear of missing out.
You know, your cousin ever has a picture on Instagram and they were holding up the leaning tower of Pisa and you’ve got to go do the same stupid thing.
32:11
Sorry, the word stupid again, the same dumb thing and have the same picture on your Instagram so you feel better about yourself because you felt like you missed out and you got to keep up with the Joneses and all and all that kind of thing.
I think sometimes you just got to get it out of your system.
32:27
So, you know, come over to Italy, go to Costco, have a nice footlong hot dog, look up at the wall, pick your trip, come over with your group, do all this stupid stuff, get it out of your system.
Then come to Italy with Bella for a real Italian experience when you’re ready to slow down because sometimes you just got to get it out, you know, you got to get it out of your system.
32:53
I don’t know.
32:55
Speaker 2
I mean the mentality is, I think, you know, it’s we got to see what we got to see and I don’t I they can listen to 3DS podcast and I could guarantee they’re like, all right, I’ll take a little bit into consideration.
I had a day here, I had a day, But you know, obviously, you know, we’re going to we’re going to preach from our our pulpit and we’re going to tell you what we feel.
33:14
But you know, you guys travel the way they travel, you know, there’s certain things that you guys going to check boxes.
We had a customer come back, family of 12 and we’re like how I’m not going to mention, but you remember they were doing little dinner at 10:30 at night, 10 O clock at night doing 2 tours.
33:30
And I’m like, Oh my gosh.
But they were happy.
They were totally happy with Bella, totally happy what they have for her food and tours and experience.
But it’s not the way I would recommend travelling.
That’s all and and and I’d.
33:42
Speaker 1
Venture to say coming back over without that bigger group and they’re ready to slow down.
This would totally make sense What we’re what we’re saying.
You know, you come over, most people do Rome, Florence, Venice, maybe one or two other stops.
33:58
Amalfi, you know, you got you got your top five, whatever that you’re going to do, you get that out of your system.
You come back over and you spend time in the Tuscan countryside away from the bigger cities and the bigger crowds.
And you’re doing E bikes through vineyards and you know, you’re doing the hots, you know, the thermal springs, you’re, you’re doing Brunello, you know, because you’re, you’re in an area that you know, caters to slow movement and slow tourism and slow food and you, you slow down.
34:30
And I guarantee you if you put those two trips side by side, they are radically different experiences.
And what you remember is radically different and how you feel when you touch down in the USA again, you’re, it’s totally, you’re exhausted and drained and tired.
34:47
But wow, it was a great experience.
You know, I don’t remember half of it on the first trip.
And then you get off and you go.
I can’t wait to go back to Italy.
I had so much fun.
The people we met, the things we saw, the things we did because we we took it in stride and we learned the cadence, we learned the, the pace of life over.
35:07
I mean, that’s why we called it La Dolce Vita, because it’s slower than in the States and you know, coming over here, you have to learn that and you have to get in March and rhythm with it.
35:22
So that’s where we’d like to take people as we get into these itineraries coming up.
But it’s hard to convince, right?
I mean, I think you’re seeing that all the week.
Yeah, I think every week.
Graphics.
35:36
Speaker 2
Demographics are a little different, which does help, but we do have an Instagram page.
We have a social presence, right, Just for the sake of having it.
We don’t see a lot of our customers coming from the Instagram and tick tocks of the world.
But you know, it is quite frustrating when someone is not a customers.
35:53
But it’s quite frustrating when you go to Instagram and you see say A tag of Roman tours.
Here is a 10 day trip to Italy.
I just came back on one day in Venice.
Come down to Bologna, have a sandwich.
You know, next day stopping Bologna to stock your luggage.
36:08
Do this.
Then go to Florence for a day and a half and then ten days are in 5-6 different cities and, and some people like wow, because the sandwich is there, the the canals are there, the gondola ride and this and this and this.
And it’s tough to fight against.
You fight with me.
You and I fight against the tide, right?
36:24
That’s what we do social, social media.
36:26
Speaker 1
Influencer.
We’re fighting as the tide.
We’re totally.
36:28
Speaker 2
Different so if we would put on put on a Instagram, a 10 day trip for us customer like what the heck is this?
I’m hanging around Rome for I got a free day in Rome.
What am I going to do with a free day in Rome?
They’re walking around.
What am I going to do?
I’m going to spend money on Gelato.
36:43
What am I supposed to do?
And there is a lot to do.
But you know, a lot of times when they look at a 10 day trip in Instagram, it’s something to do every day and every hour, you know what I mean?
And and I mentality is because it’s on Instagram because of TikTok.
I think that’s the way people think.
36:59
That’s the way you’re supposed to travel, you know?
37:00
Discovering Authentic Italy Through Festivals and Local Traditions
So yeah, OK, I’ll tell you what I what I.
37:03
Speaker 1
Love is when we see folks come over that are interested in doing operas, they’re interested in doing a festival.
There are plenty of festivals, soccer, they’re they’re interested in doing some cultural experience or culinary experience that’s not just eat so I can get to it.
37:26
Reminds me of this Jim Gaffigan.
He’s talking about being at, you know, Disney or whatever with the kids and, and, and then we’re going to stop at the at the little stand and have something to eat so that we can go over here and, and passing by this, we’re going to get something to eat and then we’re going to get something to eat.
37:42
And, you know, a lot of our itineraries are food because Italy is incredible for food.
I’m not, you know, dissing that, but you know, thinking beyond just eating in order to eat something, but actually having an experience around it.
38:00
I mean, I love it when somebody’s thinking that way.
It it says they’re ready to slow down and enjoy what they’re putting in their mouth.
And I’m like, oh man, we can work with that.
Let’s let’s, you know, see the time of year that they’re wanting to come over what’s available, you know, chocolate festival in in Perugia or going to, you know, in the north.
38:23
Places like Montva are off the beaten path, but they have a literary festival every year, book fairs, all these kinds of things that, you know, are are not why your cousin went to Italy, but you certainly could.
38:39
And, you know, if you find what makes you know, what interests you, what makes you tick, and you come over and you match that up, you’re set up for some really incredible experiences that are unique.
And you go back and you tell your cousin, oh, yeah.
38:55
But I did this and it was.
It’s shocking.
I can tell you all the times I’ve been.
39:00
Speaker 2
To Florence OR even in Umbria and I’m just sitting around and things just happen, you know that like a pop up.
I’m like, you know, all right, what’s going on here?
There’s a Fiat, there’s 200 fiats coming through the the, you know, or there’s a pasta.
There’s every town, as you know, every town nearly has a pasta, right?
39:17
And they have this celebration.
I don’t know what they call it, but they have a day where the all town folks come out and everyone gets to eat this pasta.
The old lady.
Exactly.
39:26
Speaker 1
And it was just.
39:27
Speaker 2
It’s wonderful if you can find out when each town has it.
It’s amazing and it’s like tables are set up in the street and everyone in the city’s eating there.
But there’s nothing better.
Nothing.
Nothing better if you want to feel like a local, but you’re not going to get that if you get up in the morning, don’t know about it and go run to the Pisa and come back and you missed it, you know, So there’s, there’s so much cultural things on the food side of things that we don’t even hit on, you know?
39:49
Right, Right.
Yeah.
Just some.
39:50
Speaker 1
Examples in my town, they have fika the India, which is, they call them Italian Indian figs, which are the, the little prickly pear cactus buds, you know, the, the fruit part.
And they, they have a whole culinary tradition around that.
40:06
In Catania nearby.
It’s, you know, the, it’s the traditional plate with you got, you got your red sauce, you have your Aberdeen or your eggplant and you’ve got salty ricotta.
On this plate, it’s very different in a couple towns over in Messina or or Palermo.
40:23
But like you’re saying, every town has its tradition, has its specialty, has something that comes from there.
And why wouldn’t you slow down to find out what that is and to taste it and not just order what you would order at, you know, Olive Garden back home.
40:40
Yeah.
And so.
40:42
Speaker 2
This is, yeah.
40:43
Speaker 1
I, I think these are some good examples of how to slow down.
It is about educating, it is about understanding, it’s about appreciating, it’s about enjoying.
And that’s what we would love for you.
So I think we’ve hammered this nail as deep.
41:02
It’ll it’ll go for today.
Listen, thank you for joining us on on this adventure through Italy’s less travelled paths.
This is not your cousin’s experience.
This is the the road less travelled if if the series has motivated you to explore beyond the usual tourist spots and uncover what we’re saying is more the true essence of of Italy.
41:29
Look, we encourage you to connect, go online, sign up for a free consultation.
It’s just a phone call.
Maybe you don’t end up coming to Italy with Bella.
It’s fine.
Maybe you do and you’re going to have a great time.
I think our our reviews speak for itself.
41:45
If you look us up, you’ll see us on Google or whatever.
But hey, help somebody else find this podcast, share it with a friend, leave a thumbs up or a, you know, a five star review.
Leave a comment, send us your questions.
We’re about to take a tour in the next couple of episodes.
42:03
We’re going to start, we’re going to take a tour of the macro regions in Italy and we’re going to dive into the exact same stuff that we’re telling you guys to do.
So how to slow down, how to appreciate where you are.
We’re going to, we’re going to tease all of that out of the regions that we’re talking about as we go through them.
42:20
That’s why we’re spending all this time on the front end kind of laying the baseline again so that you can enjoy when you come over for your next trip.
But check us out online if you’d like and stay tuned for the next couple of episodes because I think it’s going to get to something that we’ve been trying to get to for a couple of seasons here.
42:44
And I’m really excited about integrating this approach, this mindset, you know, of how to do Italy, how to travel well.
And we’re going to start matching that up with itineraries that are going to make it, you know, it’s going to put it in perfect focus and and bring some clarity there for your next trip to Italy.
43:04
Anyway, there we go.
I love it, I think.
43:07
Speaker 2
Right now we’re the water is boiling and we’re to throw the pasta in, right.
So I think I think you’ve been watching the water boil for the last three episodes.
So I think the next episode we throw the pasta and we start making something right.
And so we start making itinerary.
It’s going to be exciting and we go back to a Bryant St. guys, get on a Zoom call with us.
43:24
We do it several times.
If you don’t just need insight and help, please.
We love, love doing that.
I mean, my team just loves getting on a Zoom call and just walking through some of the questions you might have.
And you know, we’d love to have you as a customer slash partner, whatever, but it’s more important to make sure you do Italy well.
43:41
So I really appreciate that.
Yep.
And if you just.
43:44
Speaker 1
Want to listen to the podcast?
You’re welcome to, if you have a question and you want to know something about a certain region or macro region, an area that we’re about to cover in the next couple of weeks, send us a a question podcast at Italy with bella.com and we will take that into consideration.
44:02
Try to weave it into our episodes that we’re coming up with very, very soon.
All that to say, thank you guys for joining us and hopefully savoring every episode just like you’re going to savor things over here in Italy and truly enjoy it.
44:20
We will talk to you next time and see you very soon.
