Lifestyle
The Best Places to Travel and Eat in Italy with Katie and Ryan
Join Katie and Ryan as they share their unforgettable two-week adventure in Italy, exploring stunning locations and indulging in delicious cuisine. From their beloved hometown of Narano to the enchant...
The Best Places to Travel and Eat in Italy with Katie and Ryan
Lifestyle •
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Interactive Transcript
Speaker A
The following podcast is a Dear Media production. We have a fun episode today here at all on the table, Ryan and I. Well, Ryan's here. I guess I should say that first. Ryan Beagle. Welcome back. The fourth time four Timers club here.
Speaker B
Does anyone else have that?
Speaker A
Definitely not.
Speaker B
Do I get anything for it?
Speaker A
You're my only repeat guest. I love you so much. I was going to do this by myself, but then when we were on our flight back on Saturday, I thought, why should I go talk about our Italy trip alone? You should be with me.
Speaker B
How can I make this better?
Speaker A
Yeah, how can I make this better with you?
Speaker B
Bring Ryan into it.
Speaker A
So, yeah, so we just took an amazing two week trip to Italy. It was a dream trip. We've always wanted to go for an extended period of time like that, so we made it happen.
Speaker B
We'd rather hit a wall and regret going for as long as we did than leave wanting more, which is usually the opposite of how you approach things.
Speaker A
I always like to have a trip that's a little on the shorter side because I do like the feeling of wanting more when I leave instead of getting to the point where I'm like, I gotta get out of here. And I did have a couple of moments, like around day 11, where I thought, this is way too long. But then our last day was so amazing that I left feeling really, really good about it.
Speaker B
See, I hit day 11 and I'm like, I live here now.
Speaker A
You're just ready to keep going.
Speaker B
This is me.
Speaker A
And I'm like, I'm bloated, my pants are tight, my thighs are starting to rub together now.
Speaker B
My, my. My blood content is like 50% Bolognese.
Speaker A
I left thinking that it would be a long time before I'd want to have pasta again. And we were on our way here today in the Uber and I found myself strangely craving tagliatelli with. With rags.
Speaker B
What did I eat on the flight? What did I eat on the flight home?
Speaker A
I. I couldn't believe it that you had pasta.
Speaker B
Well, I should say I also dagliatelli with bolognese.
Speaker A
I got the cannelloni because I was afraid of the chicken and the beef option on the plane, so I. I had pasta. But I. I do want to say, starting this conversation out, that we do realize this is a very privileged conversation. We're very fortunate to get to take the trip that we did. And so I. I know I occasionally will get a message from somebody like you sound out of to us, but this is what we choose to spend our Money on with not buying things. It's having experiences. And we both love travel and feel like it enriches our lives so much. So this is how we choose to reward ourselves from our hard work.
Speaker B
It's also our career.
Speaker A
Yes, it's a big part of our career.
Speaker B
It's. Of course, we're there on vacation, but there is work involved.
Speaker A
Research and development.
Speaker B
Yes, of course.
Speaker A
Yes. And we did have some work stuff spread sprinkled in.
Speaker B
We actually did some legit work stuff. This isn't like legitimate taking pictures to post, but.
Speaker A
But we decided to expand the work that we were doing there. I put on my Instagram last night asking people if they had any questions about our trip. And we got more response to this question post than any other question post I've ever gotten. So it turns out people really like talking about Italy. But so many questions, just very basic of asking our itinerary, how we decided where to go, what it was like traveling with our daughter. So let's start with the itinerary first. First things first. We started off, we flew from Newark to Naples and then went to Narano, which is where we got married. The little town, Marina del Canton in Narano, if you've ever had spaghetti alla narano, that's the spaghetti with zucchini. That's the town that it came from. And we have been going there now since we met. We started going there together.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
And I had been before. So that's our happiest place there. We stay with friends and we eat every meal At Los Colio.
Speaker B
That's right.
Speaker A
Our favorite restaurant in the world.
Speaker B
I mean, usually we go to some other places, but this one in particular, we can honestly say we ate every meal.
Speaker A
Well, we've been there before for seven days and never eaten anywhere else.
Speaker B
That's not true.
Speaker A
Yes, it is. When we went when Iris was 22 months old and we took her there, we were there for seven days. We didn't eat a single meal anywhere.
Speaker B
Wow.
Speaker A
But Los Colio, wow. Yeah. Last time we went, we went to a couple different places, but this time we were only there four days. I wasn't giving us a single meal. No.
Speaker B
I didn't want to move.
Speaker A
No. And it was so fabulous because we have only been there during the height of the summer. And. Well, I went there once in May, but for the most part, we've only been there during the height of the summer when it's packed because it's gotten so popular. And being there in September, it was so quiet. It was like, what I Remember it being like 20 years ago.
Speaker B
Night and day difference. If you have the ability to go somewhere that is known as a tourist hotspot, let's say just Italy, anywhere. If you can go outside of the season, I think that is awesome. Always a better idea. Always, Always. It doesn't matter where in the world. Whether it's the Caribbean or Mexico or Key west or anywhere. Off season, man. Always off season.
Speaker A
Well, we were shoulder season, so it was still, like, lively and fun in my mind.
Speaker B
Was off season. Yeah.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
Because you still get the benefits of the weather.
Speaker A
Prime season, the water was warm, the food was.
Speaker B
You still get the same produce. Everything is there that's in season. You. You just don't get the crowds, all.
Speaker A
The crowds, which is amazing. And I also feel like a lot of times when we go there during the summer, we just run into New Yorkers the whole time, which is my worst nightmare. I enjoy seeing people. I enjoy, like, running into friends. But then sometimes you run into people who you're like, oh, hi.
Speaker B
True, there are certain people I really enjoy seeing.
Speaker A
We've had some running into friends. But sometimes you're like, okay. I really just wanted to unplug and unwind.
Speaker B
Absolutely. Which is what we did this time.
Speaker A
Yes. It was great. We had all of our favorites, all the highlights. The spaghetti, zucchini, the yellow tomatoes, the caprese. My birthday was there. That was pretty much the greatest birthday of all time. I got to have the zupa de peche, which is my favorite.
Speaker B
What's in the zupa de peche?
Speaker A
It's got the scorpion fish, mussels, clams, squid. What else?
Speaker B
Langoustines.
Speaker A
Langoustines, that's right.
Speaker B
The shrimp just all cooked down.
Speaker A
Tomatoey broth and the crusty bread.
Speaker B
I don't know why we don't make stuff like that at home.
Speaker A
I know. Well, I make cioppino every once in a while, but it. I mean, it's not the same as that. Because when you're in a restaurant, they have the ability of making a stock that you just don't really do at home. Sure. Because they. They can keep essentially fortifying that stock with more and more shellfish shells and making this really rich stock that you're just not going to get at home.
Speaker B
And a place like that, you're watching them pull the fresh fish off of the boat every morning.
Speaker A
Right. I mean, we were standing on the jetty one day on the. Down on the dock, and the boat pulled in with that big tuna on it.
Speaker B
Yeah. Must have been 75 pound tuna.
Speaker A
Yeah. Came out, got on the boat and they pulled out in the water and he cut the head off and cut it up on the boat and then brought it back, I guess so they wouldn't make all the mess in the kitchen with all the blood.
Speaker B
Also not leaving the carcass sitting in the. The beach of the. The. The water off the beach.
Speaker A
Right. You're able to throw the head back in and eat it. So that was one of my favorite meals.
Speaker B
Simplicity. Just like a simple order. Just like really fresh ingredients. Done simply, presented simply. And it was just heaven. There was nothing fancy about it whatsoever.
Speaker A
We spent all day laying on the beach.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Would go have lunch, then go lay on the beach some more, swim and then go have aperitivo at the little bar Bartonino.
Speaker B
And what's your order?
Speaker A
I get Aperol spritz. You get Negroni always. So we left from there and drove to Umbria for the first time. Yes. Neither one of us had ever been there.
Speaker B
Highly recommend Umbria to people.
Speaker A
I loved it so much.
Speaker B
It felt like what Tuscany probably was. 30 to 40 years.
Speaker A
There was nobody there. I mean it was crowd free. The roads. We would be like the only car on the road. Basically. It was no traffic.
Speaker B
By the way, renting a car, easy to get around. Rent a car wherever you go.
Speaker A
I was usually not a rent a car person because it scares me. And I was so glad we did because we made our way around so much. So we based in Umbria. We based out of a hotel called Borgo de. Borgo de Conti. And from there we did a couple of day trips. We did Solomo, which was super cool. That was our friends at Brunello Cucinelli invited us to go that. Brunello Cucinelli bought the town of Solomo that was in ruins and rebuilt it.
Speaker B
And over the course of like 50 years now.
Speaker A
Yes. And the whole factories there, which was awesome. We did Orvieto Peria and where else did we go? That's right. Okay. So let's start with Solo. That day was really cool.
Speaker B
You know what the thing I didn't know going into it, you know, Brunello Cinelli is a luxury brand.
Speaker A
Super luxury.
Speaker B
Super luxury. Based on very high end. Cashmere was kind of the core of their business and has expanded into suits and everything else. But cashmere is still the business. And Brunello was born nearby and basically made it his mission from early on, I believe in the 70s, to basically restore the failing city of Solomeo, which is a small hilltop town in Umbria. So starting with buying, I believe, like the original villa at the top of the hill that he converted into the first factory and store. I'm probably botching this a little bit, but, like, as the company expanded and became more successful, he purchased more, but with a dedication to employing locals and teaching them a dying art of crafting cashmere clothing. Hands on approach.
Speaker A
What really got me there, seeing the way everything was made because they're extremely high price tags on all of it.
Speaker B
Yeah. No question.
Speaker A
But understanding why and that the values there, they call it humanistic capitalism, that people who work there are getting paid what they should be getting paid instead of a small fraction while someone else.
Speaker B
Makes all of it, from my understanding after that visit, the most respect that they're deserved and that they make sure that everyone shares those beliefs, that you are to respect your fellow employees, that you are to all treat each other in the best way possible to. To basically make them want to work.
Speaker A
Yeah. I love feeling really inspired by that.
Speaker B
I'm so inspired because again, it is like investing in what is probably somewhat of a dying craft. With each generation, less and less people are wanting to learn how to knit and how to take the time to build these beautiful works of art, basically. And he is making it his company's mission to inspire a younger generation to want to carry on this legacy.
Speaker A
Are you looking for some good, clean positivity? Good. Me neither. I'm Maddie Murphy and I host the Bad Broadcast, a weekly comedy podcast dedicated to talking about everything we love to hate. I searched my whole life to find my passion. Little did I know I had been practicing my true talent every single day. Complaining. Join me every Monday wherever you listen to podcasts. And be sure to follow me on Instagram at thebad broadcast to answer our weekly questions and for a chance to be featured on the show. See you there. So let's get to the food of Brunello Cucinelli, because that was, of course, our favorite.
Speaker B
That was pretty incredible to see.
Speaker A
My favorite part was we're walking through the factory, which the factory doesn't look like a factory. It's like. No, just like if Nancy Myers made a movie of what an Italian cashmere factory would look like. Factory. Yeah.
Speaker B
Workspace.
Speaker A
Yes, workspace. They're. They're like, knitting like this fine cashmere, and there's trays of mortadella and pastries because one of the women was retiring and they were, like, having a retirement party.
Speaker B
Amazing.
Speaker A
Iris was with us. She's eating all of the little pastries they have out and I'm. All I could think was, please don't get chocolate on your fingers and then go touch.
Speaker B
They were so sweet, though.
Speaker A
It was so sweet. And then we got to go to their lunch, which we had read about. If you Google Brunello Cuccinelli lunch, you can read articles about it. But they have this cafeteria, which I would also call that cafeteria, this dining area where everybody goes for night. You get a 90 minute lunch break and you go. There were like trays and trays of beautiful antipasto. And then they bring out to the table bowls of pasta and the prosciutto and the Umbrian bread. And then we had a tagliata, which is the sliced steak. And what did we have for dessert? Oh, it was the fig cristado. Oh, my God, it was so good.
Speaker B
The cool thing is too, is that everybody lunch starts at what, 12:30 and something between 500 and 700 people descend upon this dining room. And it is like a perfectly run restaurant for 500 to 700 people.
Speaker A
And everybody sits down and has their lunch together. Okay. So the next place we went, actually that night, we went to Perugia and had one of my favorite meals, also at a restaurant called La Giustra was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.
Speaker B
Same.
Speaker A
The other thing I loved about Umbria, besides not being crowded, was that the prices have also not caught up in the bigger cities.
Speaker B
Oh, my God. No.
Speaker A
I mean, like a plate of pasta was like between like €10 and €15.
Speaker B
If that.
Speaker A
If that's. And that's at a nice price.
Speaker B
I say Most entrees were 9 to $12.
Speaker A
Yeah. Yeah. And phenomenal.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Iris got. At La Giostra, she got the buttered tagliatelle. I have to say that was one of the best pastas I'd ever had in my life.
Speaker B
That was the first night. And I will say it's because I did. You know, we realized this over the course of a couple days in Umbria, is that they're like. They're olive oil.
Speaker A
Yes.
Speaker B
They're butter.
Speaker A
Yes. There is that they're making the pasta with. The pasta was like that deep yellow from the egg yolks.
Speaker B
Rich. Everything is very, very. I mean, that was some of the best butter I'd ever had in these noodles.
Speaker A
Yes. And the wine was so tasty.
Speaker B
Again, very rich. I mean, like the sagrantino red is like a big, bold red wine.
Speaker A
We got the braised pork cheeks that were incredible. Fall apart.
Speaker B
I think I got a lamb ragu.
Speaker A
Lamb ragu. And I Got tortelloni. Tortelloni stuffed with the Umbrian sausage and cheese. That was crazy good. That place was awesome. My stomach is growling, like you might actually pick it up.
Speaker B
Mine was growling before the start, though. I'm hungry.
Speaker A
I'm so hungry, too. I'm gonna go home and make a salad.
Speaker B
I want pasta.
Speaker A
Sorry. No, we're having salad. Making a big kale salad. I already have everything prepped. Next. Then we went to Orvieto. Orvieto was like a miniature Florence. And no one there.
Speaker B
No one.
Speaker A
No one.
Speaker B
Empty.
Speaker A
Empty.
Speaker B
Like a hilltop. That's the cool thing about Umbria, too, is all the towns are hilltop towns, walled medieval cities. And so they all feel like old castles, basically.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
All of them have these parking garages that you park right in, take an escalator up to the top of the hill, and now you're inside this walled medieval town.
Speaker A
Yeah. No one there.
Speaker B
No one. Empty streets. And felt like, again, what you would hope a busier, more touristic town would be.
Speaker A
Actually, the manager of our hotel, we talked to him and he said, come to Umbria now, because in 10 to 15 years, it's not going to be like this anymore.
Speaker B
Yeah, I believe it.
Speaker A
And so that would be what I would encourage people to take that trip. We did get a lot of questions about, you know, finding off the beaten path places. Places that aren't as popular, aren't as crowded. So Umbria is what I would direct people to, because now it's like it used to be Sicily. Then White Lotus happened. It used to be Puglia, but that's gotten super crowded now, and umbria is only 90 minutes from Rome. Then we also did a CC which St Francis of Assisi. We went to that church.
Speaker B
Incredible.
Speaker A
Again, nobody there.
Speaker B
Assisi was one of the most beautiful places in Italy I've seen.
Speaker A
Yeah. And the beach was stunning. So from Umbria, we went to Florence. We were really excited to go there because we both studied in college in Florence. We both did our study abroad there. So we allotted five days for Florence, which I thought was too long. I thought that three days would have been enough.
Speaker B
Yeah, I could keep going.
Speaker A
No, I. You know what? I'm going to. I know you're not going to agree with me on this, but. But I didn't love Florence on this trip, and I know you did. It wasn't because I don't love Florence. It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was so crowded with people. I felt like Florence was bursting at the seams with tourists.
Speaker B
Yeah, I. I get that. I totally get that.
Speaker A
And it took away from the magic of that city because I think part of the. Part of reason that I love to travel so much is to see how other people live in a city and get the feeling like, to walk around and feel like, what would it be like to live here? And I felt like I didn't see any Florentines. It was just tourists. When you were it. I mean, the Ponte Vecchio, it's like you were like shoulder to shoulder with people.
Speaker B
It's. It's gotten to the point and it's much like, like a Venice where you almost, if you go to visit, it would benefit you to avoid any of the main attractions.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
You know what I mean? It's like it's almost become not worth it.
Speaker A
From what people there told us, November is a quiet month. And January, February. I'd rather go and risk it raining or being cold and bundle up than go and have the crowds that we had. And we weren't even there at the very height. I. I just thought it was way too crowded. And I don't think Florence is a great city for little kids.
Speaker B
Definitely not.
Speaker A
Because the sidewalks are so skinny and uneven and it's hard to navigate through that. And then Vespas are whipping by. And I was nervous the whole time with her. I will say we stayed at the Four Seasons. That could not have been nicer. I loved the Four Seasons. That was incredible and also incredible for kids. They had a kids club there, which we always like to look for places with a kids club because Iris loves a kids club. Keep in mind, we're with her off for two hours.
Speaker B
We're with her 90 of the day.
Speaker A
Well, their hours, it was like 10 to 1. And then they'd close for lunchtime and then have in the afternoon. So usually she would go from about 10 to 12:30. We'd go out and do some stuff, come back and get her, and then we'd all have lunch together and then do whatever our afternoon activity was going to be together. But as much as I didn't think that Florence was a kid friendly city, I did think everyone there was incredibly kid friendly.
Speaker B
Absolutely.
Speaker A
Every restaurant we took her to was.
Speaker B
So accommodating, which we keep in mind. We take her everywhere.
Speaker A
We didn't have a single meal without her.
Speaker B
When we're on vacation, our daughter comes with us.
Speaker A
Yes, she comes along. And everybody was accommodating everybody. Italians treat kids like kids.
Speaker B
I know. That's why it's a great Place for families.
Speaker A
It was really sweet. Like you'd go in and they'd always make a fuss over her. They'd bring her order first, which is.
Speaker B
The most important thing in the world.
Speaker A
Yeah, I think traveling with kids, when you sit down, when the waiter comes to your table the first time, put your kids in order immediately order the kids food and then wait and order yours. I had two meals there that really stood out to me. The first one was at Davugero.
Speaker B
Amazing.
Speaker A
Anybody going to Florence put that on your list.
Speaker B
Not on the tourists, not on the.
Speaker A
Tourist scene at all. And it's a little like a mile outside.
Speaker B
Just enough outside the center to get away from the tourists are but gets into a real neighborhood.
Speaker A
We were the only non Italian speaking people in that restaurant.
Speaker B
Which is always a good sign.
Speaker A
Yes. And it was packed. We got there at 7:30. We were the first table. We're always the first table, even in the US always. And by the time we left, every table was full. It was lively, bustling. That food was so good. That's a couple people asked me. I'd posted the tortellini ambroto, that's where that was from. And I got the piposo, which I had never had before. I had to google to find out what piposo was when we were sitting there. And I can't wait to recreate this recipe. It's a very typical Tuscan beef stew that's heavy, heavy on black pepper. I'm not usually a black pepper girl. Like, I like it a little on the lighter side for black pepper, but this is like tons of pepper. And what happens is, because I was reading about how to make it, you grind the black pepper, freshly grind it and then you fry it in the oil. And then it braises with the meat for a couple of hours. And the long cook of the pepper mellows it out and makes it not as spicy and takes away like that punch that black pepper gives and makes it a little fruitier. And I, I just loved, I, I love braised meat.
Speaker B
The thing that I liked most about that though is oftentimes braised meat is soft meat and it doesn't have a good char before it gets braised. And this had like a black crust on it.
Speaker A
Yeah, it was nicely brown. I'm totally making that dish.
Speaker B
It was a caramelized crust and it.
Speaker A
Says that the only ingredients in it are the beef, black pepper, red wine, garlic and olive oil.
Speaker B
That's it.
Speaker A
And that's it. So I'm going to get to work on trying to make that recipe. And the other meal that really stood out to me was Soanza, which I had been there before. And I was so excited to take you there.
Speaker B
Stanza. It's been there for 150 years and the kitchen has not really changed much. They're cooking things over coals like an ancient stove. And it's a pretty streamlined menu and was traditionally a very working class lunch trattoria. And it's six tables.
Speaker A
Seven tables.
Speaker B
Like six or seven tables in the whole place.
Speaker A
It's small. And make a reservation. Make a reservation at both of those places.
Speaker B
The thing that's interesting about that, that I was. I don't want to say skeptical, but I was interested about prior to going there, is that their namesake dish is not something you would typically associate butter chicken, even Italian food in general.
Speaker A
And it's not butter chicken like Indian butter chicken. It's chicken cooked in butter.
Speaker B
It's chicken as like a shit ton of butter. Chicken breasts, too. These aren't bone in pieces of chicken. This is chicken breasts that are seared and then thrown into a small pot with a ton of butter.
Speaker A
A ton of butter. And then they squeeze lemon on it at the end.
Speaker B
That's it.
Speaker A
So we got that. We got the pasta with meat sauce. They call it pasta al sugo. With a house sauce.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Which kind of to me tastes like Jim's spaghetti sauce from West Virginia.
Speaker B
That's where they got it from.
Speaker A
And then what else do we get there?
Speaker B
Ste Fiorentina.
Speaker A
The steak of Fiorentina.
Speaker B
So a huge T bone steak.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
For lunch. Just to round it out.
Speaker A
Sorry, lunch. We did go out to dinner that night later.
Speaker B
We did. And what else do we get? Probably more meat sauce and meat.
Speaker A
Okay. Then from Florence we went to. Remember we took the train and we were only in Rome one night because we wanted to get the direct flight home from Rome. I'm. That's also a tip for traveling with kids. Get a direct flight whenever you can. So we spent the one night in Rome and I really wish that we had had two nights. I've been to Rome many times, but there was something about Rome was like really a great energy level this time. It was.
Speaker B
I agree.
Speaker A
It was different from when I'd been there in the past. And maybe it's because it wasn't summertime.
Speaker B
It was still pretty busy.
Speaker A
I was packed.
Speaker B
Still pretty packed.
Speaker A
But Rome is so big. There's more spaces for people to go.
Speaker B
Yeah. The sights are spread out.
Speaker A
And we took a tuk tuk tour.
Speaker B
This was a Brilliant idea.
Speaker A
My idea. Thank you.
Speaker B
Oh, really?
Speaker A
Yeah. It was my idea to take that tour. No.
Speaker B
If you are in a town that has tours like this and you don't have a lot of time doing like an open air car, a double decker bus. Double decker bus.
Speaker A
I love a double decker bus tour.
Speaker B
This was a tuk tuk slash golf cart type situation.
Speaker A
It was so much fun.
Speaker B
And it was an hour and a half, basically. Greatest hits tour.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
Of Rome, plus a bunch of places we'd never been before. Like.
Speaker A
Yeah. He took us to a lot of.
Speaker B
Nench neighborhoods and stuff that we'd never been to and a bunch of sites that you would show up and there'd be no one there.
Speaker A
If you're traveling with a small child or if you're somebody who has a hard time walking around or maybe an older person, that's the best way because you get to see everything and you're seated.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
I had so much fun at that. When we first got to Rome, we put our bags down. We were staying at La Minerva, the new Orient Express hotel, which was so beautiful. We put our bags down. We basically ran to lunch because we had a reservation at Armando del Pantheon, which is super hard to get into. But we got that reservation. We were so we were not gonna miss it. We walk in the restaurant. The first person I see is Jeffrey Zakarian, sister in law Deborah, sitting at.
Speaker B
The table right next to us.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
What are the odds?
Speaker A
What are the odds Staying at our hotel too. But we had wanted to go to that restaurant forever. The amatriciana there, which is what I ordered. I had never had a better matric.
Speaker B
Yeah, I don't think so.
Speaker A
That took the guancali was like crunchy but juicy. It wasn't like dried out. It was so good. And it had just like this wonderful luscious pork fat taste and texture. With the tomatoes, Iris got caught you a pepe with light on the pepe. I ended up eating half of hers as well. You got a sandwich with chicken liver, heart and lungs.
Speaker B
I'm blanking on the name of it, but it is a small roll with lamb lung, heart and kidneys, sauteed, braised and piled onto a.
Speaker A
You do you, babe? Not for me.
Speaker B
With. I think. What was it like? Sauteed black kale.
Speaker A
Yeah, you loved it. It's just not.
Speaker B
If you like that stuff.
Speaker A
I'm not a.
Speaker B
If you do like organ meats, Rome, fantastic.
Speaker A
Yeah, not for me. Then that evening we went and had drinks on the roof of our hotel, which they just Opened that new Gigi restaurant there that is perfect for aperitivo. The sun was setting.
Speaker B
I don't think I've seen a better.
Speaker A
Pantheon was right there. You were so close to everything. It was stunning. And then we went and had dinner at El Morro.
Speaker B
Another classic.
Speaker A
Another classic trattoria that was so great. Ryan really hit it off with our waiter there. I think we'll remember him forever.
Speaker B
That guy was, like, out of a sitcom.
Speaker A
I looked over at one point, Ryan's looking at him and the waiter across the room, across the room mouthing to him, vino rosso.
Speaker B
I had asked for some of the house red, and I was like, oh, he's on the other side of the room. I was like, I feel like a dick doing this, but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway. And I kind of just, like, mouthed to him, hoping that he would know what I'm saying. And he knew exactly what I was saying. And he looked back at me and he goes, vino rosso. I was like, God, I love this guy. I would eat here all the time if I lived here.
Speaker A
And I got grilled langoustines there. My favorite. I had had too much pasta at that point.
Speaker B
I had not. I had more carbo light.
Speaker A
Light seafood, but it was great. And that was our. Our last meal in Italy. We.
Speaker B
We did forget one meal that I had outside of you in Florence, where I bang, banged two lamprodotto sandwiches back.
Speaker A
To back, which is cow stomach tripe.
Speaker B
It's the fourth stomach of the cow is lampardotto, which is a. I feel.
Speaker A
Like I have four stomachs after that.
Speaker B
Trip, which is a very classic street food in Florence.
Speaker A
Ryan went for a run.
Speaker B
I went for a run in the morning, and I knew that my only opportunity was if I ran to the two spots that I wanted to go to that were across town from each other. So I went on a jog to one of them, ate the cow stomach sandwich, and then jogged a mile and a half to the other one and ate a cow stomach sandwich.
Speaker A
Do you know what would happen to me if I ran after eating a cow stomach sandwich? I would be re eating the cow stomach sandwich for the rest of the day.
Speaker B
You know, it did hit me after eating the second one that I was like. And I was kind of jogging back to the hotel is like, is it. Is there something wrong with me that I feel fine after eating two organ meat sandwiches and I'm still just, like, happy and jogging around town?
Speaker A
That boy is like.
Speaker B
I was like, I could probably Bang out a third one if there was one nearby.
Speaker A
I've never met anyone who can eat like you. All right, we have gone on and on. We have a few minutes left. Let's do some questions. We got a lot of the same questions over and over again, so those are the ones that I pulled together. It's funny, you talking about the cow stomach sandwiches. One question that stood out to me was, do you ever experience indigestion?
Speaker B
Not really, no. But you know what I take. I take a lot of precautions.
Speaker A
By precautions, you mean Metamucil.
Speaker B
This is where we're going to get there. So there's two different things. Most mornings, I take a small packet of Metamucil, which kind of scrapes the gut clean, gets it going, gets things going, but it also gets all the bad stuff out, too. And then also, I pop a Pepto pill every morning.
Speaker A
I didn't know that you knew that. Pepcid or Pepto Bismol? You take Pepto Bismol every day that we're on vacation?
Speaker B
Not every day, but, like, I'll take one pill most mornings just to kind of prime the stomach and get ready for the.
Speaker A
Well, no, wait a second. Because the Pepto kind of stops you up so you don't poop, and the Metamucil makes you poop.
Speaker B
Is that true?
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
Am I doing things wrong?
Speaker A
I don't think you should be taking Pepto Bismol.
Speaker B
Oh, man.
Speaker A
I think Pepcid might make sense for indigestion.
Speaker B
Have I been meaning to take Pepcid for years.
Speaker A
Yes.
Speaker B
I'm taking the wrong thing.
Speaker A
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker B
Oh, man.
Speaker A
But I will say, like, you plug your ears up for this part. I do think. I do think staying regular on vacation does make you have a better trip.
Speaker B
So no one wants me on trip with, like, flaming diarrhea.
Speaker A
No.
Speaker B
But a week straight.
Speaker A
I'm not talking about diarrhea. If you can't go to the bathroom if you're constipated, it's hard to enjoy your trip.
Speaker B
It's hard to enjoy your trip if you do have indigestion. So what I'm saying is, I think you need to take the proper precautions because you still want to be able to indulge and eat what you want to eat.
Speaker A
I usually don't have, because coffee gets me going.
Speaker B
This is already going off the rails. I don't want to hear.
Speaker A
I take stool softeners. And so for the first three days, take a stool softener, and then you'll be fine. Because being on an airplane actually does compress and makes you constipated. Okay.
Speaker B
I've never heard you talk about this before. Well, some things are better left.
Speaker A
I told you to plug your ears.
Speaker B
Let's move on.
Speaker A
Let's move on. We have somehow made it into poop talk on an Italy podcast.
Speaker B
But you wanna know what I will say? Some people's stomachs are not suited for like acidic tomatoes.
Speaker A
You should pack though the chewable pepto with you so if you do have a problem.
Speaker B
We don't have that problem.
Speaker A
Okay. All right, moving on.
Speaker B
I just want to make sure that you know that my bowel movements are totally regular, especially when we're traveling.
Speaker A
I know. Okay. We got asked multiple times. Did you feel safe? And we don't even need to expand on this.
Speaker B
Don't even need to talk about it.
Speaker A
Of course.
Speaker B
It's ridiculous.
Speaker A
Everywhere, Everywhere, no matter what. So safe.
Speaker B
And yeah, that's a non question.
Speaker A
And many times. Does the language barrier make it hard to get around order food, etc? No, no. Everyone speaks English. And you can also look up words like when you're looking at a menu, like I did at Da Ruggero, which didn't have an English menu. I just looked up what things were. You should not let language be a barrier to travel. No, I got multiple times. Can you talk a little bit about what it looks like to take a vacation with iris? Meal time, etc. Do you take a nanny? We do not take a nanny.
Speaker B
Take a nanny.
Speaker A
Like I said, we love to find somewhere with a kids club. Wherever we're traveling, not always possible. I mean, the only place we had it on this trip was Florence. But Iris really likes a kids club. I know not all kids like that. She really does. We don't bring a nanny. We have traveled before and brought your parents and we have had work trips before where we've brought a babysitter with us. Right when both of us have to be working on something. But for the most part, we like being with our kid. We only have one, so it's easy to get around with her. I'd say the most important thing when traveling with a kid is just being flexible and. And knowing that not everything's going to go exactly the way that you want it to. And throw your schedule out the window.
Speaker B
Out the window.
Speaker A
I usually am pretty strict about sleep schedule when we're at home. When we are on a trip, if she stays up late, it's not the end of the world. We'll sleep later the next day. We'll rest in the afternoon, whatever. I'd rather her be up having fun, having the experience and us having a good time too. So most nights she stayed up till 10 o' clock at night and slept the next day until eight, nine, sometimes even ten o' clock in the morning. And so just being flexible and with.
Speaker B
Their diet too, I didn't freak out.
Speaker A
That she ate buttered pasta for most of her meal.
Speaker B
If she wants, you know, pizza every day, or if she wants pasta every day or a piece of chicken, let her have it.
Speaker A
She ate a lot of bread baskets.
Speaker B
Like, it's not that we're home, the.
Speaker A
Reckoning'S happening and, and she has to go back to eating, let everybody have a good time. And if she wants to watch bluey at the table, it's not the end of the world. Keep the volume off.
Speaker B
Yes.
Speaker A
I can't stand when people have the volume on in a restaurant. That drives me crazy. Ryan, this is a good question for you because you do most of this for us. How to find the most authentic restaurants without doing a ton of research. I think you have to do a ton of research, right?
Speaker B
I, I do do a ton of research. You know, my, my job is literally to do a ton of research to find great restaurants for my show. A lot of times people like cross reference lists, you know, and I consult lists when I travel and when I work. But it, at a certain point, all of the these lists end up just feeding off of each other.
Speaker A
Yes.
Speaker B
People end up being like, well, that restaurant's been on that list, so it must be good. And instead of like revisiting and sometimes you'll find somebody who's actually like trying to keep up with the times. And like, we'll revisit restaurants and be like, they're not as good anymore.
Speaker A
I also thought in Florence, some of the classic restaurants that have been around a long time were not as good as they probably used to be. I think not because they weren't taking pride in what they were doing. I think it just was like a case of there's just so many people trying to eat in these places now.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
That it's hard to keep up the quality.
Speaker B
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker A
Advice for budget. My advice would be decide what your budget is and then decide what's important to you. If a great hotel is important to you, then spend more on that. Or if having day trips is important to you, spend on that. Or if the food is what's really important, spend on that. So it kind of, that makes a difference for what it is you really Want to get out of the trip. And that's for any budget.
Speaker B
We generally do not spend a lot of money on excursions, I guess. You know what I mean?
Speaker A
Yeah, I spend on hotels. I love a great hotel.
Speaker B
You love a good hotel.
Speaker A
You don't care about that so much.
Speaker B
But I do not care about it.
Speaker A
But I love a hotel. To me, that's part of the trip.
Speaker B
We don't go to fancy meals. No, I don't like fancy, pretty traditional meals wherever we go, because that's what we love. We like eating that way.
Speaker A
Here's an easy one. What's your favorite gelato flavor?
Speaker B
I don't have a single one. I mean, if, like, I had to choose right now, it'd be pistachio, but.
Speaker A
Oh, wait. What was the name of the gelato place in Florence? La Carrera. La Carraya Correa. C A R R A I A. So I ate there every single day in college. That was my corner gelato spot. And now it's, like, known as one of the. I mean, maybe it was known back then as one of the best gelato places.
Speaker B
I had zero expectations for that because I was like, of course I know.
Speaker A
You were living in college.
Speaker B
The place that you'd go to every. Every day. I can. I can say without question, that was the best gelato I've ever had.
Speaker A
Best gelato ever.
Speaker B
Yeah, we went back, like, four times.
Speaker A
Yeah, we went twice in one day.
Speaker B
What I also appreciated about them was that they were doing unique flavor combinations, too.
Speaker A
Yes. My order was normally a scoop of chocolate, a scoop of banana, but. But they had salty peanut, and I thought, why has no one done salty peanut before? Peanut butter is always my favorite.
Speaker B
Planner's peanut butter with, like, the best peanut butter gelato you've ever had.
Speaker A
It was so good.
Speaker B
The eclair one I got.
Speaker A
Oh, that was great.
Speaker B
It was like a Boston cream pie, gelato, everything.
Speaker A
One last question.
Speaker B
Okay, One more question about bowel movements.
Speaker A
Yeah, one. One more question about n poop on vacation. Okay. Tips for first timers.
Speaker B
Have an open mind. Go with the flow. Don't feel like you need to cram everything into every single day. But, like, be open to new experiences. And follow your nose. And if something looks good and you, like, don't be like, well, that's not the restaurant that I wanted to go to. Just.
Speaker A
I'd also say, don't be afraid of being a tourist. Like, be confident, be curious, be inquisitive, and be respectful. Yes. Listen, if you're wanting to get into a Restaurant without a reservation. A lot of these places have long lines. The crowded. Whatever. Instead of just wearing like a ratty T shirt and some cut off sweatshirts, put on a polo and a pair of khaki shorts. You know, like, dress maybe a little bit nicer than usual. And you're looking at me like, huh, what? No, I don't.
Speaker B
I don't disagree. I just. I think I wouldn't like, that wouldn't be on my list of recommendations to someone.
Speaker A
No, I think if you're trying to get into a place, like, present yourself with your best foot forward. You don't have to get dressed up, but it's like going to the airport. Like when you see people at the airport in their pajamas.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Like, just make an effort. Yeah, it's like the slightest bit of effort. Like iron your T shirt in the hotel room and then put it on.
Speaker B
Unless you're going to eat to get a cow stomach sandwich. Then you can just be in, like your running clothes.
Speaker A
You're on your own.
Speaker B
You're fine.
Speaker A
Last question. What's your favorite hotel you've stayed at in Italy?
Speaker B
I would say probably the Belmont San Andrea.
Speaker A
Same in Italy. That. That hotel is bonkers. I love that. Belmont, San Andrea. Belmond, Venice. We like Belmont. We love Belmonds. Belmond, if you're listening, we sponsor Belmond.
Speaker B
We would love a free night. Mr. Belmond, are you. Listen.
Speaker A
Are you a listener in Four Seasons? Florence. Well, I would also say Hotel Russi in Rome.
Speaker B
We're missing one of our favorites, Mezzatory.
Speaker A
Oh, how did I forget?
Speaker B
That might be number one, actually. Yeah, I think that's actually number one. Yeah.
Speaker A
In Ischia. All right, I've had enough of this. I gotta go home and make a kale salad and a bowel movement. Yeah, well, you know, we got home and the first thing I did was order a kale salad and take a stool softener.
Speaker B
Okay, this is all getting cut.
Speaker A
No, it's not. Thanks for coming on again, Ryan. You all DM us if you have any Italy questions. I'm gonna put it all in my newsletter. You can Sign up@katieleebeagle.com. follow us both. I'm at Katie Lee Beagle. Ryan is at Ryan Beagle. And you can send us your. Your questions. Ciao, y'.
Speaker B
All. Ciao, y'. All.
Speaker A
Thanks so much. Make sure to follow so you don't miss a morsel of deliciousness. If you like it, leave me a rating and review. Send me a DM on Instagram atieleebeagle. If you have any questions you want answered on the podcast or anything else you want to share with me. Ciao, y'. All. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.