Kimberly's Italy Travel

It's June 14th, 2023 and Florence is very crowded today. It's actually quite crowded almost every day of the entire tourist season, yet people love this gorgeous city so much, they continue to flock to it regardless of what people like me say!  Therefore, we are sharing a few alternative ideas of how you can still become a Florentine groupie / lover / fanatic of this intoxicating Tuscan city. Firs...

We are not sure that other podcasts celebrate their 100th episode, but we are! We are so grateful to all our listeners from 132 countries around the globe, that we decided to celebrate you!  We have compiled a few clips that summarizes our friendly and funny vibe, which is both enlightening and helpful. And apparently, we have started a new trend of Wednesday Date Nights with Kimberly's Italy! So...

So what if Piemonte (Piedmont) isn't on the Greatest Hits list? That alone makes it worthy of being added to your itinerary! The average global tourist goes to Venice, Florence and Rome, and while they may love it, they have no idea that the capital city of Piemonte (Torino) can rival the competition with it's rich history, architecture and cuisine. And we haven't even mentioned the vino! Piemonte...

The locals in Torino start their day with a medley of espresso, chocolate and whipped cream which is called Bicerin. Perhaps this why the Torinese are so happy! Or maybe it's because their region of Piemonte is home to the White Truffle, which allows them to end their day with truffles shaved over their hand made pasta called Tajarin. Who wouldn't want to live in Torino? The Torinese have had a lo...

The capital city of the Piemonte region offers so much culturally, architecturally, and agriculturally (think wine and cuisine) and perhaps the best thing it offers, is definitely less crowds than Venice, Florence and Rome. Torino benefited from a rich history of regal residents over the centuries that bestowed the city with a multitude of palaces, 14 of which are under Unesco status. Palazzo Real...

Our intention is not to to alarm you, but instead to help you understand what is on the horizon with AI (aka, Artificial Intelligence) when it comes to dealing with your travel to bel'Italia. It's all happening quite fast in every realm of life, but large travel conglomerates like Expedia Group and Booking Holdings are incorporating AI to make your travel planning that much more difficult, frustra...

Imagine this...since 1659, ten horses and ten riders race bareback around the perimeter of the Piazza del Campo, three times at breakneck speed, on a narrow track packed with clay. The horses are blessed beforehand, and somehow 30,000 people fit into the piazza to cheer on their team representing their contrada (neighborhood). This is Siena's most treasured event, so much so, that they do it twice...

Most people love Siena for many reasons, but I fell in love, at first sight, with Piazza del Campo. I can still visualize every single detail that lured me in on my first visit many years ago. For any artist, or art history buff, just standing in the main piazza, being physically surrounded by the color siena, while in the city of Siena, is like a dream realized! There is clearly more to Siena tha...

Spring is a refreshing time of year basically everywhere, but there is something extra special about spring in Italy. It may be partly due to the abundance of wildflowers and wisteria, but also the vivid colors that come to life in the beautiful landscapes that cover the entire country. Early spring usually has less tourists in the countryside, but the weather can be a bit cool and damp, or warm a...

2 years, 92 episodes, 3,036 minutes, 127 countries, and countless reasons why Kimberly's Italy Podcast will keep sharing our love of all things Italian! We have not suffered “Pod Fade” due to the enthusiastic feedback we get from our listeners around the globe. We decided we should celebrate this 2 year milestone with ravioli which Tommaso made from scratch, and as importantly, we invited Kitten C...

We share the story of our friend Edie's connection to the world famous Harry's Bar in Venice. We invited her to our recording studio and thought it only right to drink a Bellini while recording, since this refreshing drink was invented by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry's Bar. This understated, but world renowned bar, welcomes you as if you were part of it's rich history. It is truly one o...

From a morning ferry to the port of Napoli, then into taxi driven by a Napolitano with no regard for red stoplights or speed limits, into the chaos of the Central Train Station, dropping off our luggage hoping to see it again, and finally into the streets of old Napoli with the goal of feasting on pizza in it's birthplace, all of which we did on the last day of the festival Tutti Santi. Did I ment...

This island deserved the honor of being named the Italian Capitol of Culture in 2022. They could have added Hospitality, Generosity, Kindness and Happiness to the title in my opinion! We had the most perfect stay with the striking views from our terraces, the colorful palette of the island's architecture and the sound of fishing boats leaving the harbor at first light. The friendly locals and the...

Arriving to the village of Amalfi by boat, allows you to see the majestic beauty of the entire Amalfi Coastline. Once we arrived to our sweet accommodations, a glass of wine on the terrazza was just what we needed to confirm that this is indeed one of the most stunning landscapes on the planet. As one should do, we ate pizza under lemon trees, sipped on limoncello like you've never had before (unl...

The most intoxicating part about Capri for me, is the geography. The jagged coastline and grottos formed by the sea and time, make for a stunning landscape. Yet, in addition there is tropical flora, cactus, azure water and the bluest of skies, which all makes for a captivating visual treat. In this episode we talk about 2 of the 7 main hiking trails on the island, and why they are such a treasure,...

If you can only visit Capri during the high season, you can still find quiet places to stay and stroll the piazzetta at night, when the day trippers are long gone. However, if you can go the end of October, do so! We were the only tourists in the restaurants, shared the beach at Marina Piccola with five Italians, and had the Arco Naturale hiking path to ourselves. The tropical foliage and the isla...

We have received multiple requests for another pasta recipe, which we promised to do over a year ago! To make it up to you, we are sharing Sugo di Roma, a very tasty tomato based sauce from a friend of a friend in Rome, via Milano. This happens to be (one of) Tommaso's favorite sauces, due to the distinct taste that results from the yummy combination of ingredients that simmer on the stove top for...

This episode details the last few days of our time in Milano during our three week trip to Copenhagen and Italy over the holidays. We were thrilled to see the exhibition in Milano that highlighted the history of the patronage of the arts in Italy, from the Renaissance to 20th century. We also went back to the “scene of the crime” where Tommaso ordered a second cappuccino at the most iconic of all...

Who would have known that that one event in a grand hotel in Milan, changed the way the world listened to music, and remote recording in general. Tommaso and I were lucky enough to see the room where this took place in 1902, and then we recorded our own podcast episode in another room, in the same hotel in 2023! The first remote recording of music is just one of the many historic events that took...

January 1st was filled with our favorite things... cappuccino, gawking at Italian architecture, a second cappuccino, multiple church visits for Kimberly, pizza and Peroni with the locals at a tiny, yet perfect place, fulfilling our bookstore obsession, a late afternoon gelato treat, etc... The unique and charming city of Lucca delivered for us on our short, but sweet visit. It's history is apparen...

We arrived in Lucca in time for the tastiest last lunch of the year! Being that it was Tommaso's first time in Lucca, we fit in a lot. We walked a little over a mile and a half of the wall after lunch, took in every inch of Piazza Napoleone, same goes for Piazza San Michele, and just about every little random street we came upon. Lucca is the perfect place to never worry about getting lost, since...

Can you ever tire of hearing about the Italian cuisine in Bologna? We share the tasty details of our last few meals in the birthplace of ragu, and the very interesting story of a certain Pope who invented the Gregorian calendar from his beautiful palazzo in Bologna. This small city begs you to stroll it's many little streets, and loose your way, which just leads to unexpected treats like the Pope'...

We just returned from several days in this intoxicating capitol of the Emilia-Romagna region. There is so much to keep you intrigued – between the university's stunning Library and Anatomical Theatre, the interior of Basilica San Petronio, the endless porticos, salumerias, etc... you have to force yourself to stop for lunch. And then you can't wait for dinner to compare the ragu from one family re...

We share a bit more of our time on Lake Como in the festive time frame of post-Christmas and pre-New Years Eve. We took several boat rides up the lake in the warm and sunny weather, enjoyed a few Aperol Spritzs outside and eventually took a train to Bologna. This was Tommaso’s most anticipated visit since he was finally in the birthplace of Ragu!!! It did not disappoint! Bologna has more than just...

We spent 6 festive days in Copenhagen experiencing Danish Hyyge before heading to Italy. It was filled with Christmas traditions that the Danes have passed down over the years, and naturally a lot of bread, cheese and beer was consumed by all! We arrived in Lake Como the day after Buon Natale to find the village of Cernobbio in full holiday mode with the entire village covered in lights. Listen to...