Custom Italian Travel Planning for Unforgettable Moments

Ciao!

 

Sooooo - the Conclave didn't wait for me to arrive before they selected the new Pope. How rude!  Just kidding.  It was still amazing to be in Rome with all the buzz around the 1st American Pope.  Catch up on my trip with these two Instagram Highlights: Rome and the Italian Open.

 

In other news - let's talk about another one of my Italian obsessions.  Autogrills.

 

The rest stops on American highways are depressing: fast food chains and junk snacks. Now, picture the exact opposite: excellent espresso, fresh paninis and steaming bowls of pasta.

 

This is the Italian Autogrill—proof that Italians refuse to compromise on good food and a proper caffè, even when they're just making a quick pit stop.

 

But it's not just the food.  It's the impressive selection of regional products—vacuum-packed local cheeses, wines, and specialty items that make perfect gifts or souvenirs. The spotlessly clean and typically free bathrooms (a rarity in Europe). The shop that sells everything from limoncello to emergency phone chargers to Italian designer sunglasses you forgot to pack to the giant Chupa Chups your kids will beg for. Some locations even have full-service restaurants upstairs with highway views where you can enjoy a proper sit-down meal.

 

My only complaint? Autogrills do not sell branded merch. I would proudly sport an Autogrill t-shirt or coffee mug back home.  Lucky for me, even though most Italians don't understand my obsession, they support it.  One of my hotel partners in Verona surprised me with a resuable Autogrill shopping bag when we visited her property in January.  Do I look excited?

 

So, next time you're road-tripping through Italy, if you spot an Autogrill, pull over and experience it for yourself.  But if I'm planning your road trip itinerary, you can guarantee a stop will already be included!

Want to start planning YOUR next Italian vacation?

All Instagram links today because… they're fun and funny

 

🪇Things you might shake: your money maker, your head, it off.  What about your amaro?

 

💺Newark Airport…GET IT TOGETHER!

 

🚧 I feel like this is a thing everywhere EXCEPT the US.

 

🅰️ More proof that Autogrills are amazing HERE, HERE and HERE! Sometimes you have to see it to believe it.

Speaking of Chupa Chups, I was just telling a client on a call this week that Chupa Chups make excellent bribes when in Italy to get children to:

They are widely available in Italy, but probably cheaper to buy in bulk.  Then you can use them in the airport and on the plane too. Just sayin'

Imagine sleeping in ancient limestone caves where people have sheltered for 9,000 years—except now those caves feature rainfall showers, freestanding bathtubs, and impossibly romantic candlelit corners. 

 

Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita transforms Matera's sassi dwellings into a hotel experience that's equal parts history lesson and luxury retreat. With minimalist furnishings that don't compete with the dramatic stone architecture and views over the rugged Gravina gorge, this is the rare hotel that actually lives up to its Instagram promise. 

 

Fair warning: after falling asleep to the flicker of candlelight against millennia-old cave walls, regular hotel rooms might forever feel just a bit... ordinary.