4 takeaways from my trip to Italy

I love Italy. I grew up with a very Italian family in America, so visiting the country for the first time right after high school remains a great memory. Since then I’ve been back a few times – once while studying abroad and again with my husband in 2021. Here are three takeaways from my trip with my husband, Michael. P.S. This page may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more information.

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Research hidden gems in advance

While I was in Italy someone sent me a really cool video of a secret archaeological site hidden under the Trevi Fountain. I wish I had found it sooner because by the time I saw it we’d left Rome! So do the regular travel research, but looking up hidden spots in advance can lead to some fun adventures too.

spend time with locals

I always talk to locals when I travel, but this trip was even better because we had the unique experience of one-on-one time for hours with a local chef. I booked a cooking class for us and because of COVID, it turned out to be Michael, me, one other tourist and the chef, Marco. We spent hours chatting with Marco. He not only gave us cooking tips but also a ton of awesome recommendations for Southern and Northern Italy.

use airplane mode

Michael and I each paid for phone plans, meaning we had internet access while abroad, but mine was limited. I only had a certain amount of data per day. This turned out to be a good thing because while I wanted to keep posting to my TikTok and Instagram, I really was limited. In turn, I used airplane mode to save data and this also made me refrain from spending too much time on the internet.

I’d heart photos or videos I wanted to post later so I could really enjoy my time in the moment. And when I had downtime in the hotel room with WiFi I could post what I wanted.

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book hotels directly

I found the best bed and breakfast in Tuscany on TripAdvisor. We had homemade meals, played with chickens and watched the sunset sipping wine over the Tuscan hills. However, while I usually price compare on sites before booking things, I’d forgotten to do that this time. The owner told me it’s often cheaper to book directly through the hotel’s site rather than on Booking.com or TripAdvisor. So make sure to check.

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Ciao, those are all of my Italy takeaways for now!