Only A Bag - An Italy Travel Podcast

Points, Miles, Cash Back: Which is best for you? And do you really need a credit card? We finally purchased a second microphone, so this special episode mini-series might sound a little uneven while we work ou the kinks. If it sounds especially atrocious on your headphones/phone/speakers, please let us know! To support Only A Bag, you can sign up for one of the travel-oriented credit cards below....

How to convert currency, let your bank know you're traveling, and everything else you need to know before you hit the road! We finally purchased a second microphone, so this special episode mini-series might sound a little uneven while we work out the kinks. If it sounds especially atrocious in your headphones/phone/speakers, please let us know! To support Only A Bag, you can sign up for one o...

Perugia is a city of great food, and an abundance of it. It's almost impossible to find a bad restaurant, but just in case, we offer some of our favorite restaurant—especially for those of you who are getting tired of Italian food. If you'd like to support the podcast, one great way to do so is to sign up for Trusted Housesitters through our affiliate link here . Not sure what house sittin...

Perugia, a relatively unknown city in the north; a just-as-beautiful relative of Tuscany at a fraction of the price. (At some point Nathaniel mistakenly said Montepulciano is in Umbria, when it is in fact in Tuscany, so, sommelier classes aren't going so well.) As always, if you'd like to support us, you can do so by using this link to sign up for Trusted Housesitters ! We also mentioned w...

The larger-than-life stretch of towns along the Ligurian Coast with their pastel homes and craggy coves have inspired tourists for years. In this episode, we delve into what those towns are, what sets the apart, how to get there, how to walk between them, and some of our favorite food. To support us, consider signing up for Trusted Housesitters through our affiliate link—we'd deeply appreciate...

While the Palio and the Duomo are two of Siena's major draws, they're not the only reason to visit this hilltop town. In this episode we cover getting there, the history of the Palio, why the Duomo is so interestingly built, and why you should try panforte and cantucci. Plus, some of the best day trips! To support us, you can use this Trainline link to buy your bus and train tickets (for a...

Using Florence as a home-base for your Italy trip? Here are the top 17 places to visit in one-day from Florence. We're talking about places from 40 minutes one-way on the fast train to Bologna to 3 hours, for those bucket-list locations like Venice and Cinque Terre. If you'd like to support us, you can do so by purchasing your next train or bus trip through Trainline, an easy-to-use aggreg...

Sandwiches, pastries, gelato, wine to-go, and what is lampredotto? We've got you covered with a list of our favorite food in Florence. If you prefer reading, you can find our review of La Strega Nocciola, our current favorite gelateria in Florence, here ! As always, thank you for listening! If you'd like to support us, you can do with by purchasing your next train trip through Trainline, a...

Hello and welcome back! In this episode we are back to talking about Florence! Headed to Florence but short on time? We've got you covered with tips on what to see in Florence, what to skip, what's free in Florence, and what's worth the price. While we mentioned in episode 3, Florence can be a day trip, an ideal trip to Florence could be 4-6 days. Enough time to see the galleries, catc...

Benvenuti a La Settimana Infernale, or Week of Hell, named for the intense heatwave lazily moving across southern Europe. Here's an update on what's happening in Rome, what to do if you're visiting during the anticyclone causing the heatwave, and what is an anticyclone?

Hello, hello! Welcome back to Episode 3 of Season 2. In this episode, we're talking about Florence. Specifically, we are taking about how to get there (planes, trains, and automobiles (buses)), and how to get around. We're also offering a very brief history. Not necessarily of Florence, but of Italy as a whole, and how the local dialect of Florence ended up as Italy's national language...

Hello and welcome back to Episode 2! Before we get to talking about the North, Florence specifically, we wanted to very briefly go over a few points of interest about Rome that we haven't previously mentioned. In particular, we wanted to talk about how to stay cool on those heat-wave days that send Rome past the triple digits, and which day trips are feasible (and which aren't). In this ep...

Hello and welcome back! We apologize for having been gone for so long. While Only A Bag has always been on our minds, we couldn't figure out the time to sit down and finally record another episode. And then we found the time! Here's episode one of Season 2. We lightly delve into "northern" Italy vs "southern" Italy, and how it might affect your trip to Italy. At one poi...

Welcome back! (If you prefer to read the podcast as an article, you can find it here !) Now that you've learned all you can about getting started with house sitting, we thought we could share our favorite house sitting websites. These might not be the best, but these are the ones we've had the most luck with, or the most pleasant interactions with homeowners through. Like always, we hope y...

Welcome back to another episode of our housesitting series! If you prefer to read our advice, you can find the article on our website ! In this episode, we talk about the "house." For us, this means cleaning the house when we leave, how to treat the house when we're there, and what to do in the absolute certainty that you break something.  We hope you enjoy! Want to jump right into h...

Welcome back! If you prefer to read our advice, you can find the article on our website ! Now that we've talked about setting up your profile for various house sitting websites, in this episode we discuss our tips on how to get your first sit! We hope you enjoy! Want to jump right into house sitting? Here are some links to our favorite websites! Trusted House Sitters: Affiliate Link | Non-Affi...

(For the article version, click here . And as always, we love feedback about our website! Welcome back! In this episode of House Sitting: Miniseries, Darcy and I discuss setting up your profile, what to include and what to leave out, and sending that first message!  We hope you enjoy! Nathaniel and Darcy Want to jump right into house sitting? Here are some links to our favorite websites! Trusted H...

(For the article version, click here .) Hello and welcome back! In previous episodes, you might have heard us mention "house sitting." Well, in this episode, we discuss our introduction to house sitting, as well as some of the websites we like to use.  In the beginning of the episode, we cover some "housekeeping" items, such as our new website, Instagram page, and our new use o...

Hello all, and welcome to our "Kitchen Sink" episode for Rome. There were so many little things we wanted to mention in the last few podcasts that either didn't fit, or we weren't factually sure on. So we added them into one large podcast. A "just in case" type of thing. Some of it is also updates to prices or practices as we've experienced them We also have a website! www.onlyabag.com. We will po...

Welcome back to another episode of the Rome series!  In this episode we discuss how to navigate the used clothing markets of Italy, and the ones we like to frequent. We hope you enjoy!  If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. Towards the end we mentioned a group of vintage stores in the Monti neighborhood which are: Pifebo Vintage Shop Flamingo Vintage Shop Roma Huma...

Welcome back after our impromptu 6 month break!  To get things started, we figured we should round out the last of the food episodes talking about the thing we love best: gelato. Not only do we discuss the parts of a gelato cone, we discuss things to look for when hunting for the best gelateria in any city.  At the end, we mentioned our list of our all-time favorite gelaterie in Rome, and here it...

What's the best way to order a coffee in Rome? Do you sit down and wait for someone to come over? Or go to the bar? What is a "normal coffee?" What are those red drinks everyone is drinking around 5 o'clock? Are the water fountains in Rome potable? In this episode Darcy and I take a look into coffee and drink culture in Rome.  As always, I hope you enjoy! Nathaniel: @MellorNathaniel Darcy: @n...

Everyone tells us where to eat in Rome. Where to find the best cacio e pepe or pizza. Even Google Maps gives advice. So we wanted to tell you all how to eat at restaurants and what to expect when you do. As always, I hope you enjoy! Nathaniel on Twitter: @MellorNathaniel Darcy on Twitter: @not_mr_darcy Update July 2022: We finally have a website! It's a bit light on the content as we are writing a...

Welcome back to our episode on food! We try to lay the groundwork for any trip you might take to Rome by discussing street food, food markets, groceries, the customs around food, and what to do if you have allergies. Darcy was coming off a bit of a cold, so I did a heavy portion of the talking, sorry about that! We hope you all enjoy! Update July 2022: We finally have a website! It's a bit light o...

Hello everyone! We are so sorry for our long absence. We moved houses again, lost internet, and real life got in the way. We are now back!  In this episode we talk about getting to Rome by flying there, getting from the airport to the city, and getting around Rome once you're there.  I also mentioned a website for cheap student flights which is called www.studentuniverse.com. Some of my talkin...