I've been wanting to create a series for a long time. I know my podcast is listened to, so I thought I would target new travelers to Florence specifically.
So I decided to team up with an equally Italy obsessed friend from Urban Yolk, Giulia Nigrini. She and I have been friends since around 2010, 2011, we aren't quite sure. We just remember that we met while teaching at the London School in Florence. We discussed our first meeting and what we remember about our friendship that was broken up by 10 years of being relocated to our home countries from 2013-2022. Episode 47 of Florence & Me was dedicated to us rekindling our friendship this year, our first hug in over 10 years in florence this september and our new Travel Tip series.
Here's an awesome video her husband and Giulia made about our first meeting after 10 years.
Aren't we cute??
Our intention for this series is to cover cultural aspects of visiting Italy having to do with culture shock. Cultural norms are the one thing that most tourists are not aware of until they actually enter the country. A majority of travelers don't research the destination they are visiting. Why? Perhaps it's because they have hired tour guides or they just want to say they've been to Florence, seen the David, etc. What I like to call "bucket list travelers".
Our first episode will be about Wine Culture. Wine is such an important part of the culture in Italy. As most of you know, vineyards are found all over Italy and the most famous region in Tuscany is the Chianti region. Where Montefioralle and Altiero winery are located, among the rolling hills of gorgeous Tuscany.
Our second episode will be on Coffee Culture. Another important beverage in Italy. Do not ask if there's a Starbucks, please. Coffee is more than a drink you have in the morning. It is a meeting place, an excuse to meet a friend, a daily activity to your neighborhood bar, it's where you get your news of the community. Different types of coffee are accepted to be drank at certain times during the day. For example, the most famous one, you should never have a cappuccino after lunch. Just no milk in your coffee after lunch. Period.
Our third episode might change, but right now we decided on talking about How to Travel through Italy. Rules of the road, if you are renting a car, how to ride the train, bus, tram. This one is probably the one most people either stay away from because they are uncertain on how it works. But if you listen to our advice this might save you a lot of money on taxis and private cars.
More episodes to come as we let these next few weeks flow into the next. If you have a topic you'd like us to tackle about traveling to Italy, please email me trulyitalytours@gmail.com
We're so excited to share more of my knowledge I learned living abroad to help you on your next trip to Italy.
