The Italy Travel Podcast - An Only A Bag Podcast

The Cursed Mansion on the Grand Canal in Venice

In celebration of upcoming Halloween we're traveling to the Ca'Dario, the palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice allegedly cursed and perhaps haunted by prior residents.

Is Wine Healthier in Italy?

This question comes up a lot, especially for travelers from America who have either heard—or experienced first-hand—the fact that Italian wines seem to not affect them as

Trucking Protests Throughout the South—What This Means For You

Update: We recorded this on Tuesday and since then, the protests have spread as more gas stations run out of gas and grocery stores run out of food. Today we're talking

Milan in the News: Violence and Demonstrations

Today we're talking about the recent protests and violence in Milan. It caught a lot of people by surprise and its exact origins are still unclear. This is a developing s

Off the Beaten Path: Ostia Antica

While it's not wildly off the beaten path, we've found that it still manages to get forgotten on most whirlwind trips through Italy. Of course, Pompeii and Herculaneum ar

Rabies in Italy: What to Do and When to Relax

(You can jump to 17:30 to skip Nathaniel's story.) So, this is probably one of our strangest episodes, or rather, for the two of us, it feels strange because it was reco

Yankee Go Home—Do Italians Want Americans to Stay Home?

This episode is titled after the stickers you may see around Florence; black text on a yellow background reading "Yankee Go Home". In this episode we're addressing concer

"Expat" vs "Immigrant" What is the Difference?

There has been a discussion circulating on the internet about whether we should stop using the word "expat". In this episode we're talking about what these terms mean, wh

Headlines: The Political Episode—Upcoming Election, Gas Prices, and Recent Decrees

While we try not to delve too much into the political side of Italy mainly as it will rarely affect your trip to Italy, today's episode jumps right into it! Next year,

Headlines: October Strikes, Rome's Coolest Neighborhood, and Sorrento Coastline Redesign

Sorry this is late! I (Nathaniel) scheduled it for Thursday, not Wednesday! We're back for another headlines episode! So much has happened this month, so today we jump i

How to Harvest Olives in Italy

This is the time of year for harvesting lots of foods in Italy, one of the main ones being olives (primarily for making olive oil). Continuing with the theme of talking a

How to Harvest Grapes in Italy (The Vendemmia)

For something a little different than what we normally do, we wanted to talk about an experience rather than a place. Specifically, we wanted to talk about grape-picking

Off the Beaten Path: Sword in the Stone and Abbey of San Galgano

What's the point of living in Italy and having a podcast on traveling in Italy if we're never going to talk about Italian legends? That's right, today we're talking about

Off the Beaten Path: The Fourteen Towers of San Gimignano

We're coming into fall and thinking about one of the best regions to visit this season, Tuscany. Today we're talking about San Gimignano. While it's certainly no secret,

Trains! Need to Know Info and What To Do When Things Go Wrong

On some of our first train journeys in Italy, amid the cacophony of voices and stress not wanting to miss our train, we were so overwhelmed we forgot some of the standard

Trains! Trenitalia vs. Italo, How and When to Book, and Discounts

It's been about two years since we had a dedicated episode on trains in Italy, and given the fact that there have been some minor changes this year (including the fact th

Traveling in the Shoulder Season: What to See, Do, and Eat

We're continuing our discussion on traveling in the autumn shoulder season. We're talking about what to expect in terms of weather from October beach days to cozy dreary

Traveling in the Shoulder Season: Essential Tips for Fall Travel

This week we're talking about traveling in the shoulder season, specifically in the fall and a bit of winter. In this episode, we're talking about the major differences b

Headlines: New Pedestrian Law, Uffizi Restoration, Drought

Once again, headlines! And once again, it's been a light month (thankfully). We're talking about the new Uffizi restoration project which should make your next trip a lot

Headlines: Strikes in September, Rome Ticket Changes, Autolinee Toscana and More!

This week we're talking about headlines! And while it's been a pretty quiet month—most people have fled to the beaches or mountains so there's very little that's happened