This series is about our trip to Italy we took in September of 2026. We rented a car and traveled the “road less traveled”. Other pages in the series listed at the bottom of this page and will have links as I write them.

There are so many things I earned while in Italy, but I wrote down a few of them while I was traveling. In no particular order and certainly not a comprehensive list but here you go!

  • People. I have to start with this one. The people we met were so welcoming and friendly. Even when we didn’t speak the same language, they tried to help us. Our hosts at the homes we stayed, were wonderful ambassadors for their nation and recommended restaurants, itineraries, left us sweet treats to eat, and even helped us purchase an emergency swimsuit to replace one we forgot. Italy has many attributes but the best ones are the people.
  • Driving. There were much less cars on the road than I anticipated. We were told it was not a good idea to rent a car, and it would be difficult to drive but I don’t think that is true. Yes – the roads are tight and can be scary — more about that in a different post! Many people don’t own a car and stay in their respective villages, leaving the roads less congested. We’ve been in Rome before though and I would NOT want to drive there. Much more congested and crazy driving. The main roads are well maintained and marked well and in the mountainous areas, many of them go MANY miles under the mountains in tunnels, making the drive much shorter and easier. There are restricted areas in each centro (downtown) that you need to watch for or you will receive heavy fines for. Park outside the towns in mostly free parking lots and walk into the center of town.
  • Parking. Parking spots with white lines mean free to park. Blue lines mean you need to pay. Pink lines mean it is reserved for pregnant and new moms. Parking can usually be paid via a meter or through an app you can download on your phone. Its easy to find parking lots via Google Maps. (Get a data plan! It’s worth it for the ability to find things.)
  • Pull cord in showers. It is a law in Italy that all showers in homes or hotels (including airbnb), need to have a pull cord to pull in case of an emergency. Its up so high though that if you fell, you would not be able to reach it and from what I understand, so many people pull it that most hotels just ignore the alarm (or the alarm doesn’t work). But don’t pull it to test the theory! It’s also a law that every home must have at least one bidet. I had to try because (when in Rome!) and I get the concept and why but don’t think its worth a whole other fixture in a bathroom. However, I do understand culture differences and what you grow up with is what you want and truly do need. That’s what makes travel so great — getting so see how others live so you have a better understanding of one another.
  • Bathrooms. When we went to major cities in Italy on a prior trip, public bathrooms required a euro or two to use. If you read travel blogs, they suggest that is an Italian thing. It’s not. Its a city thing. In the countryside and smaller towns, its easy to find a public restroom but I do suggest using one at each place you stop to eat just in case. And yes, some don’t have seats but most do.
  • Fast food is nearly non-existent and with that, the trash on the side of the roads is also nearly non-existent. I didn’t realize how much of road side trash is generated by our fast food society. Its not just bad for your heath but also our environment.
  • Gas Mileage. Italian cars get GREAT gas mileage. We rented a BMW x2 diesel car and it got such great gas mileage a couple days into our trip after driving many miles (or kms in this case), we were worried the gauge was broken because it was still showing full. Gas is expensive at about 2.33 euros per liter (about $10 per gallon) but because of better fuel efficiency, it may be cheaper to drive there.
  • Getting Gas. This took us a bit to figure out. All the gas stations would not take our credit card which is apparently common for them not to take foreign credit cards. So you have to use cash and there is no “fill it up” feature. You put in some cash, fill it to that amount, turn on the car, check the gauge and add some more if needed. Many stations don’t have an attendant but have self-serve stations that are open even when they look closed. The ability to fill up the tank concerned us when it came to returning the rental car until I read our agreement and it said the cost to fill the tank with them was 2.30 a liter (less than it was outside the airport). That may be true of every rental agreement, but it was for us. There are not nearly the number of gas stations we have in the US and some run out of gas so fill up when you have the opportunity.
  • Want free housing? One way is through HomeExchange which I’ll write about in another post. The other way is to volunteer at an olive farm during harvest. Many farms are looking for help in October. You help pick olives in the day and then at night everyone gathers for a communal meal and wine and fun. The Agritourismo we stayed was one place that did that and was a wonderful friendly place (although we just stayed one night and paid for our stay).
  • Pasta, Pasta, Pasta. I LOVE pasta. I really love Italian pasta that is the perfect al dente and so flavorful. Near the beginning of our trip, one of our hosts mentioned that Italian food could be boring because it was not that varied. I looked at her in shock because how could it be boring when it was THAT good! By the end of the trip, I understood. I still love pasta but there is not that much variety in the restaurants you visit. Some variety based on region but the mainstay is pasta and a meat course. I was craving some variety by the time we left.
  • Learn Italian. I did about 225 days of DuoLingo before I left which gave me a decent vocabulary but still put me in the very basic speaking skills category. I could introduce myself, ask for a table at a restaurant and understand a bit. Not much! But it did allow me to be polite and greet people and say thank you. Although it was not much, I felt it was important to at least try and considered it part of being a good guest in a beautiful and welcoming country.
  • What I Learned in Italy
  • What to Pack
  • The Joys of Home Exchange
  • Day 1 – Flight from Washington DC to London
  • Day 2 – Flight from London to Rome and travel to Pitigliano, Italy
  • Day 3 – Discover Pitigliano
  • Day 4 – Thermal Baths, Agritourismo Olive Farm Dinner
  • Day 5 – Sorano and surrounding area, grocery shopping, dinner in Pitigliano
  • Day 6 – Maria Delle Grazie church, Tyrrhenian Sea, unconventional lunch, reunion with foreign exchange student.
  • Day 7 – Siena, Carpi
  • Day 8 – Peschiera del Garda, Lonato del Garda, Salo, San Felice del Banaco
  • Day 9 – Lake Garda Ferry to Limone, dinner in Salo
  • Day 10 – McDonalds, Big Bench, and dinner at home
  • Day 11 – Sanctuario di Montecastello
  • Day 12 – Lake Idro, dinner in Portese and walk on boardwalk
  • Day 13 – Lonato del Garda mass and flea market
  • Day 14 – swim in Lake Garda and shopping in Salo
  • Day 15 – Agritourismo Dandelion and town of Pieve
  • Day 16 – Drive to Rome hotel
  • Day 17 – Return home