The Italy Travel Podcast - An Only A Bag Podcast

Nathaniel has had about four cups of coffee, so please bear with him as he and Darcy jump into the world of the Venice Carnavale.

I can hear you now, your questions coming to me:

What is the Carnavale? Why is it in February, one of the worst times to go to Italy (or best, if you're on a budget!)? What are the little fried pieces of Heaven called "fritelle"? And most importantly, I want a mask, where do I get one?

Well, this episode has you covered! It covers everything you need to know, and some things that are just nice to know.

Plus:

Where to buy authentic masks:

La Bauta

Atelier Marega

La Bottega Dei Mascareri

San Marco 596

Fritelle (or, Pastry Shops):

Majer

Tonolo

Rizzardini

Dal Mas

Pasticceria Toletta (Next door at the Bar all Toletta has great (and cheap) sandwiches!)

Rosa Salva

Looking for Hotels in Venice? Check out our favorites below! These are affiliate links, and if you book through them, we receive a small commission.

⁠Ai Mori d'Oriente⁠ in Cannaregio - A great area for restaurants and bars, a little quieter as well.⁠

Acca Hotel ⁠in San Polo - Convenient, between San Marco and the Santa Maria train station. ⁠

Aqua Palace⁠ in Castello - Near the Arsenale Water Show

⁠Hotel A La Commedia⁠ in San Marco - The heart of the city around Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) where the main festivities of Carnevale happen.

⁠Palazzo Veneziano⁠ in Dorsoduro - More residential with lots of great wine bars and places for small bites.

Thank you all so much for listening!

xDarcy and Nathaniel

Only A Bag

www.onlyabag.com

In this episode we unpack (pun intended) all that we learned on our recent trip to Venice. How do you avoid pickpockets? What are cicchetti? Can you really buy a glass of wine for €1.50? And some important rules to follow while visiting, like don't sit on the church steps!

Looking for Hotels in Venice? Check out our favorites below! These are affiliate links, and if you book through them, we receive a small commission.

⁠Ai Mori d'Oriente⁠ in Cannaregio - A great area for restaurants and bars, a little quieter as well.

⁠Acca Hotel ⁠in San Polo - Convenient, between San Marco and the Santa Maria train station. ⁠

Aqua Palace⁠ in Castello - Near the Arsenale Water Show⁠

Hotel A La Commedia⁠ in San Marco - The heart of the city around Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) where the main festivities of Carnevale happen.

⁠Palazzo Veneziano⁠ in Dorsoduro - More residential with lots of great wine bars and places for small bites.

Thank you all so much for listening!

xDarcy and Nathaniel

In a continuation of the mini-series on living in Italy, today brings us to the work visa, the retirement visa, and the working holiday visa.

In this episode, we dive into why the work visa isn't as easy to get as a student visa, how to apply for it, and how to apply for other types of permits that will allow you to work in Italy (such as the Blue Card). As we mention towards the end of the episode, we highly encourage you to find a recruiter or an agency that helps with this in order to increase your chances of success.

For more info, you can check out Nathaniel's article ⁠"How to Move to Italy: The Ultimate Guide for Americans"⁠ on our website.

We will also be taking a break on Wednesday, February 26th while we visit Venice for the Carnavale.

Thank you all so much for listening!

www.onlyabag.com

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/onlyabag.com

Links:

Blue Card: https://www.apply.eu/BlueCard/

Blue Card Information: https://immigration-portal.ec.europa.eu/eu-blue-card/italy_en

Work Visa Information: https://visaguide.world/europe/italy-visa/long-stay/work/

Elective Residency Information: https://visaguide.world/retirement-visa/italy/

Working Holiday Visa: https://visaguide.world/europe/italy-visa/long-stay/working-holiday/

If you're thinking about moving to Italy and studying or working here, then one of the first steps is securing housing. While this might sound dry, trying to find an apartment in Italy can be one of the most rage-inducing aspects of living here, but it can also be one of the most exciting.

In this episode, we break down what to expect, what to look out for, what the lengths of a contract are, where to find apartments, and even how to get a codice fiscale.

For info on of all of the visa options to live in Italy, check out Nathaniel's article ⁠"How to Move to Italy: The Ultimate Guide for Americans"⁠ on our website. Don't forget to bookmark it to reference later!

In this episode, we mentioned a few of the websites that we use for finding apartments/houses which are:

immobiliare.it

idealista.it

casa.it

housinganywhere.com

And if you'd like to support Only A Bag, you can do so by using our affiliate link to sign up for Trusted Housesitters (if housesitting is something you'd like to explore!).

If you want to look at and compare the different costs of living in Italy, you can use Numbeo.

You can find us on onlyabag.com, Instagram, or BlueSky.

The 1 euro house project has been talked about in countless articles, on the news, and spread across social media. So, can you really buy a house in Italy for 1 euro? Sort of. What most people don't mention are the extra costs like taxes, fees, and renovation costs. Plus, did you know about the renovation timeline a homeowner has to adhere to? In this episode we lay out the details of buying a "1 euro house" and the alternative, buying an inexpensive house in Italy "regular style."

In this episode we mention two great resources.

Idealista article:

"1 euro houses in Italy: the villages still in the spotlight in 2025" by Flavio Di Stefano 

One Euro Houses article:

Map of 1 euro houses

The HGTV show we mention is Fixer to Fabulous (during recording Darcy mistook this show for Home Town (a cuter show in her opinion)).

If you'd like to support the podcast you can use our affiliate Booking link or Trusted Housesitters link.

Thank you so much for listening! We would absolutely appreciate it if you could follow us and rate us wherever you listen; it helps the podcast grow and it makes us feel like we're making a difference! 

You can find us at ⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@onlyabagpodcast⁠⁠. 

If you aren't related to an Italian and can't get the jus sanguinis visa, perhaps the easiest way to live in Italy is by acquiring a student visa. Can I go to college in Italy? Can I take courses taught in English? How much does it cost? In this episode we answer all of those questions and more.

For a breakdown of all the visa options for living in Italy you can check out Nathaniel's article ⁠"How to Move to Italy: The Ultimate Guide for Americans"⁠ on our website. Don't forget to bookmark it to reference later!

This episode is a part of our "How to Live in Italy" series where we dive into different visa options. It would mean so much to us to know if you liked this episode. Please check out our poll in the previous episode or contact us via email or through our website to tell us if you want to hear more on topics like this one, or if you prefer to hear about being a tourist and short term travel tips.

If you don't want to commit to a year-long visa, like a student visa, but want to visit Italy on a tourist visa, we can’t recommend housesitting enough. We use ⁠Trusted Housesitters⁠* which has a fairly steep upfront cost (a few hundred dollars) but that’s covered with a few nights of a house sit which should never cost you money. 

Thank you so much for listening! We would absolutely appreciate it if you could follow us and rate us wherever you listen; it helps the podcast grow and it makes us feel like we're making a difference! 

You can find us at ⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@onlyabagpodcast⁠⁠. 

After a trip filled with good pasta, great gelato, and a wealth of national treasures, what could be more natural than wanting to live here? At least, that was our thought!

In this episode, we look at four of the most common avenues for residency: jus sanguinis, work visa, student visa, and digital nomad visa. We will delve into each of these more in depth in later episodes (poll below, if you'd like to tell us which kind of episodes you prefer), but for now, he's a little bit of information to get that imagination started!

For more info, you can check out Nathaniel's article ⁠"How to Move to Italy: The Ultimate Guide for Americans"⁠ on our website. Don't forget to bookmark it to reference later!

And if you'd like to get your feet wet with living in Italy, we can’t recommend housesitting enough. We use Trusted Housesitters* which has a fairly steep upfront cost (a few hundred dollars) but that’s covered with a few nights of a house sit which should never cost you money. 

Thank you so much for listening! We would absolutely appreciate it if you could follow us and rate us wherever you listen; it helps the podcast grow and it makes us feel like we're making a difference! 

You can find us at ⁠onlyabag.com⁠ and ⁠@onlyabagpodcast⁠. 

Planning on taking a cruise to/around Italy? Not sure what that entails? Struggling to see how it's possible given the fact many of the towns are land-locked?

After Darcy talked to her mom about an upcoming trip to Italy, we were inspired to do a little digging into cruises to, from, and around Italy. Some are massive cruise ships with multi-port journeys, water slides, and endless buffets others are, in fact, ferries with an unassuming bar and restaurant that get you from point A to B. In this episode we get into the pros and cons of it all plus touch on what the environmental impacts of various transportation might be.

If you’re planning on going to Rome in 2025, we highly recommend booking your hotels (and potentially even your flights) as soon as possible. If you’d like to help out Only A Bag, you can use our affiliate links marked with an asterisk. 

For hotels, we tend to use Booking* since we’re already a part of their member program, but Expedia* also has a robust member program with similar prices on hotel rooms. For an aggregate that seems to offer slightly better deals across the board, we recommend checking out Agoda*. 

And if you’ve always loved the idea of staying in Italy for an extended period and becoming part of the culture, we can’t recommend housesitting enough. While it does often entail taking care of someone’s pet, it can also be a gateway to seeing Italy in a totally new way. We use Trusted Housesitters* which has a fairly steep upfront cost (a few hundred dollars) but that’s covered with a few nights of a house sit which should never cost you money. 

Lastly, if you’re already looking to book flights, we like to use the airline’s website, however, some aggregates do offer better deals, so we always recommend checking Expedia* or Booking* before purchasing. 

Thank you so much for listening! We would absolutely appreciate it if you could follow us and rate us wherever you listen; it helps the podcast grow and it makes us feel like we're making a difference! 

You can find us at ⁠onlyabag.com⁠ and ⁠@onlyabagpodcast⁠. 

Why do Italian children put out their shoes on January 5th to be filled with candy? Why are there so many witches and witch-related accoutrement after Christmas? And what can you do on January 6th in Italy to celebrate (or just partake) in Epiphany? Well, free candy galore, for one! In this episode, we dive in and give you everything you need to know about Epiphany.

If you’re planning on going to Rome this year, we highly recommend booking your hotels (and potentially even your flights) as soon as possible. If you’d like to help out Only A Bag, you can use our affiliate links marked with an asterisk. 

For hotels, we tend to use Booking* since we’re already a part of their member program, but Expedia* also has a robust member program with similar prices on hotel rooms. For an aggregate that seems to offer slightly better deals across the board, we recommend checking out Agoda*. 

And if you’ve always loved the idea of staying in Italy for an extended period and becoming part of the culture, we can’t recommend housesitting enough. While it does often entail taking care of someone’s pet, it can also be a gateway to seeing Italy in a totally new way. We use Trusted Housesitters* which has a fairly steep upfront cost (a few hundred dollars) but that’s covered with a few nights of a house sit which should never cost you money. 

Lastly, if you’re already looking to book flights, we like to use the airline’s website, however, some aggregates do offer better deals, so we always recommend checking Expedia* or Booking* before purchasing. 

Thank you so much for listening! We would absolutely appreciate it if you could follow us and rate us wherever you listen; it helps the podcast grow and it makes us feel like we're making a difference! 

You can find us at ⁠onlyabag.com⁠ and ⁠@onlyabagpodcast⁠. 

This week, we take a look at some of our favorite wintertime desserts, treats, and pastries. From the popular panettone to the less-known fried chiacchiere (or, chit-chat), we take you down the sugary path of what to look forward to in Italy this time of year.

We also want to extend a huge "thank you" to everyone who listened to us this year, who followed the show, left a review, and enjoyed it. It means the world to us and we're looking forward to 2025! We hope you have a Happy New Year!

Darcy and Nathaniel

Only A Bag

www.onlyabag.com