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.

After our layover in London, we boarded a flight to Rome where we picked up our rental car and began our trip to Pitigliano. I had seen pictures of Pitigliano online before we left but as we turned the corner and saw the city for the first time… well… wow! Its even better than the pictures.

We were staying in a HomeExchange house, and our hosts had graciously offered to meet us there personally. Marco and Marco were so sweet. We instantly felt like friends, and I regret not getting a picture of us all. I hope one day we can host them as well. They showed us around their house which is right outside the downtown area and fabulous! Very elegantly furnished and spacious. They even had a very tasty cake for us in the fridge which I decadently ate for breakfast each morning! Lucky we were walking a lot each day too!

Besides giving us a very nice greeting, they stayed in touch throughout our visit and helped us choose sites to visit and with some last-minute purchases we needed. Truly, I recommend HomeExchange – its so much more than a place to stay.

We decided to walk into town for dinner. Because it was so late, we had missed most of the dinner reservation times, so we decided to eat at small pizzeria where we enjoyed some yummy pizza out in the piazza. We got way more than we needed, so it was nice to take home to have for lunch later in the week (another great reason to get a house rather than a hotel).

The road to and from the house to the center of town is set onto the side of a major hill (mountain?). On one side, there are garages carved into the rock. We walked in one later in the week and they appeared to be hand carved. Pitigliano is an ancient city, first inhabited during the Etruscan times (approximately the 1000 years before Christ). I doubt the garages were carved then but I also can’t find reference to when they were. On the other side, houses are perched on the side of the rock wall — quite amazing!

Overall, a great first day in Italy.

• 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