ITALY TRAVELOGUE - 2025

Summary

The History Chicks – Italy Travelogue 2025 (A Women's History Podcast)

Episode Date: November 12, 2025
Hosts: Beckett & Amy (with guest voices from fellow travelers)
Episode Theme: A vivid travelogue of the History Chicks' group tour across Italy, weaving personal anecdotes, historical insights, and women’s history into an evocative retelling of their shared adventure.

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode is a lively travel diary chronicling the History Chicks’ 2025 women’s history-themed journey through Italy—Rome, Florence, Siena, Parma, Modena, and Venice. Listeners are immersed in the group’s daily discoveries: savoring regional cuisine, exploring iconic sites, venturing off the beaten path, and finding camaraderie among fellow history-lovers. The trip features exclusive experiences—like a private Vatican tour and dining in a Tuscan castle—while consistently spotlighting remarkable women and female legacies throughout Italian history.

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KEY SEGMENTS & DISCUSSION POINTS

1. Arrival in Rome: Culinary Quests & First Impressions

• [01:30] Jetlag & Palm Trees: Amy and Beckett share their exhaustion from overseas travel—and surprise at discovering palm trees in Rome.
• [01:43] Bourdain-Inspired Side Quest: The hosts track down Anthony Bourdain’s “finest cacio e pepe in Rome,” learning the art of eating like a local (i.e., restaurants that open late) and the trouble with recreating classic Italian dishes at home.
  • Memorable quote:
    • Amy: "Cacio e pepe is ... the easiest recipe in ingredients, and having tried it twice now at home, the hardest thing to make. ... You gotta go to the restaurant. I think I'm gonna give it one more try." [02:57]
  • Tiramisu Debate: Tiramisu becomes the “strudel of the trip;” Amy loves it, Beckett is unmoved.
• [04:43] Rome’s Ancient That’s-So-Old: The hosts marvel at Egyptian obelisks and the immense age of Roman sites, fighting crowds at the Trevi Fountain.
  • Beckett: "It was a pretty mind blowing situation." [04:43]
• [05:59] Hidden Gems: Fond memories of a tiny eatery with the “greatest focaccia sandwich" and friendly locals—plus the indispensable daily gelato.

2. Building Community: Travel Companions & Bonding Moments

• [09:04] First Night Friendships: Bus tour of Rome under the city lights deepens connections between travelers, even over shared headphones.
  • Dana Jacques: "It cannot be overstated how quickly you can bond with someone when turning rapidly to snap pictures ... There were some awkward moments and the beginning of a friendship that would continue for the rest of the trip." [09:04]
• [07:49] WhatsApp & Real Life: Online chats blossom into in-person connections at the kickoff cocktail party.

3. Women’s History Immersion in Rome

• [10:06] St. Peter’s Basilica & Jubilee Door: The thrill of walking through a hallowed doorway opened only on jubilee years.
• [10:44] Ancient Rome Women’s Tour: Spotlight on vestal virgins, powerful Roman women, and hidden stories unearthed by a skilled guide.
  • Chris: "We had an excellent tour guide who focused as much as she could on the history of women ... it was a beautiful day, and just knowing all that history was around us was unbelievable." [11:31]
• [12:29] Side Quests: Dining adventures, a group visit to the opera at St. Paul’s (the first non-Roman Catholic church in Rome), and sharing gratitude for jet-lag-fueled camaraderie.

4. The Private Vatican Experience

• [14:56] Exclusive Sunrise Tour: The group enjoys VIP access to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel—practically alone in the galleries, with plenty of time to soak up the art, mosaics, and ambiance, including the “Pope’s rings” and a replica of St. Peter’s boat.
  • Dana Jacques: "We were taken into a completely empty Vatican Museum while literally the Vatican staff were still arriving for work ... you can even remark on the mosaic floors which would not be appreciated for the rest of the day since so many people would be standing on them." [19:41]
  • Renee: "Walking to and through St. Peter's Basilica, which never ceases to overwhelm me because of its sheer size, exquisite sculptures, phenomenal architecture, and history ... it was a fabulous trip." [21:27]
• [22:19] Ostia Antica: A fascinating less-touristy alternative to Pompeii, where streets, shops, and public baths offer glimpses into ordinary Roman life—especially women’s daily routines. The group even enjoys a piano concert in an ancient theater.

5. Siena: Medieval Charms

• [27:08] Contrada Celebrations: Beckett’s accidental immersion in the horse-race-winning district’s festivities—flags, confetti, and the aftermath of wild celebrations.
  • Amy: "It looked like I thought all of Italy was gonna look ... The narrow streets, the steep hills, the cobblestones ..." [28:41]
• [29:21] Women’s Stories & Local Life: Tales of a hospital for abandoned babies (mostly girls), the city’s investment in girls’ futures, and memorable pasta and Duomo mosaics.

6. Florence: Renaissance and Women’s History

• [35:03] Foodie Delights: Celebrating the city with pear pasta and zucchini flowers at Il Cuatro Leone.
• [39:49] Climbing the Duomo: The physically taxing ascent and the breathtaking view, with a vow: "I'm never doing it again," jokes Chris.
• [39:49] Women of Florence Tour: The Medici matriarchs—Lucrezia, Eleonora, Marie de Medici, and Anna Maria Luisa—celebrated for their patronage and enduring legacy.
  • Susan B.: “My favorite was the Women of Florence walking tour ... [Guide] focused her passion, energy, and effort all on discussing the women of Florence ... amazing stories.” [41:27]
• [42:34] Castle Dinner: A magical private meal at Castello il Palagio—sunset, tiaras, dancing, and a feast for the senses.
  • Chris: "Dancing under the stars ... truly a magical evening." [45:23]
• [45:45] Legendary Art: The Uffizi Gallery, Pitti Palace, and Boboli Gardens—encountering artworks by Artemisia Gentileschi, Botticelli, and others. Sari shares an emotional response:
  • “Seeing her paintings in person ... made me feel calm. And I realized later it had been healing." [47:56]
• [53:23] Florence Food Tour: A deep dive into Tuscan cuisine—Papa al Pomodoro, gnudi, and learning from passionate chefs.

7. Parma & Modena: Food Heritage

• [59:09] Parmesan Factory & Ricotta: Unveiling the craft of Parmigiano-Reggiano and sampling cheeses and fresh ricotta.
  • Amy: “We walked in and learned how they make those giant wheels ... it is like a neighborhood of wheels of Parmesan.” [60:29]
  • Dana Jacques: "The peakers ... are trained to know if the cheese has internal defects based solely on the sound ... Apparently only a very small elite group ... exists for the entire country." [64:17]
• [61:53] Balsamic Vinegar: Tasting vinegars aged up to 150 years, sweetness intensifying with time, and even drizzled over ice cream.
  • Amy: “I actually bought a 35-year aged balsamic there that I’ve been doling out on ice cream just a few drops at a time.” [62:54]
• [66:17] Farm-to-Table Feast: Celebrating with a countryside lunch using the region’s parmesan and balsamic; distant views, perfect weather, and memorable pasta.

8. Venice: Waterways, History & Farewell

• [68:33] Arrival by Boat: Transferring luggage and people by water taxi—Venetian logistics in action.
• [69:56] Piazza San Marco & Women’s Spaces: St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, and the Corer Museum (including Empress Sisi’s apartments and the world’s first map).
• [70:47] Afternoon Tea at Café Florian: Prosecco, live music, and prime people-watching.
• [71:59] From High Alert to Carefree: The joy of wandering Venice’s pedestrian alleys without fear of oncoming traffic.
  • Kate: “It was nice not dodging traffic after having to dodge it in Florence. ... Venice was my favorite city on the trip.” [72:21]
• [75:45] Murano Glass: Glassblowing demonstrations on Murano; literary inspiration from “The Glassmaker” by Tracy Chevalier.
• [78:13] Food Pilgrimages & Side Quests: Hunting down Phil Rosenthal’s favorite cecchetti spot (Al Arco), enjoying impromptu cemetery visits, and off-the-itinerary concerts (Vivaldi at the Pietà Church).
• [83:06] Gondola Rides & Farewell Dinner: Dressed up for a cinematic sunset gondola experience—golden hour, serenading gondolier, canal-side sights capped by risotto at Taverna La Fenice.
  • Jamie: “We got down kind of precariously into the boat and we were off. And the sun was setting over the Venetian sky ... just one of the most dreamy moments I can remember.” [87:36]

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SPECIAL THEMES & QUOTES

Building Community & Personal Growth

• "There's not such a thing as strangers on a History Chicks trip." – Dana Jacques [9:04]
• “To go somewhere where I didn't know the language, with people I didn't know was really stepping outside my comfort zone. But the group was very welcoming. They always look out for you. It’s like having family with you.” – Jeanette [93:13]
• “It was a reconnection ... so wonderful being with all the Like Minds again this year.” – Katherine [97:58]

The Power of Women’s History

• “Our tour guide made it so real. ... She got into so much detail about vestal virgins that I was riveted.” – Amy [11:16]
• “We try to have as many activities that are focused on our women.” – Amy [39:49]
• “We all knew what a formidable woman Catherine de Medici was, but she came from a long line of strong women.” – Beckett [41:42]

Meaningful Moments & Italian Magic

• “When you see something on TV and you think, it can't possibly be that big ... Yeah, it is that big.” – Amy (St. Peter’s Basilica) [10:06]
• “We walked Roman roads where you could actually see wagon wheel ruts still embedded in the stones ... daily life was like back then.” – Danielle [24:52]
• “The castle dinner ... I will always remember dancing around with the ladies singing Pink Pony Club at the top of my lungs, which is now officially stuck in my head.” – Kate [45:01]

Food, Food, and Food

• “A gelato a day keeps ... I don’t know what it is away, but we don’t want it, whatever it is.” – Amy [07:04]
• “We had parmesan aged for 24, 36, or 48 months ... you will never taste anywhere else.” – Beckett [61:01]
• “You really have to order less than you think you should be eating, because you have to finish it. Because of their sadness.” – Beckett [85:54]

Unexpected Delights & Challenges

• Climbing the Duomo: "It was rough going, but the view at the top was spectacular ... well worth it, and I'm never doing it again." – Chris [39:19]
• “I was surprised at how tippy a gondola was.” – Amy [83:32]
• Local etiquette lesson: No lying down in the Siena piazza.

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TIMESTAMP GUIDE TO MAIN SEGMENTS

• Arrival & First Days in Rome: 00:01–09:00
• St. Peter’s Basilica & Ancient Rome Tour: 10:00–12:30
• Opera & Roman Side Quests: 12:30–14:56
• Vatican & Sistine Chapel: 14:56–22:19
• Ostia Antica: 22:19–27:08
• Siena: 27:08–33:00
• Florence—Arrival & Food: 33:00–39:49
• Duomo Climb & Women’s Tour: 39:49–42:34
• Castle Dinner: 42:34–45:45
• Florence Art & Food Tour: 45:45–54:00
• Parma/Modena (Cheese & Balsamic): 59:09–68:33
• Arrival & Days in Venice: 68:33–75:45
• Murano & Farewell in Venice: 75:45–88:00
• Final Reflections & Side Quests: 88:00–96:44

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FINAL REFLECTIONS & TAKEAWAYS

• Community: The trip blended deep research and women’s history with new friendships and personal breakthroughs. The warmth and inclusivity of the group are highlighted throughout.
• Women’s History in 3D: By framing experiences around powerful Italian women (from vestal virgins to Medici queens, to those running hospitals and glasshouses), the trip brings “herstory” off the page and into lived experience.
• Italian Magic: Every day is a feast—for the senses, mind, and heart. Whether it’s ancient ruins, modern gelato, dancing in castles, or golden sunsets on the canals, the group finds enchantment and meaning in every corner.
• Invitation to Join: The History Chicks announce future travel opportunities—Italy 2.0 and a Loire Valley trip—inviting listeners to create memories of their own.

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Closing sentiment:
“Gelato should be enjoyed every single day.” – Dana Jacques [97:50]

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This episode offers a rich, multi-voiced portrait of Italy—equal parts travelogue, women’s history seminar, and celebration of community, food, and curiosity. Whether you’re planning your own Italian adventure or seeking vicarious joy, it’s a delectable armchair journey with heart and depth.

Transcript

[Amy]

Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

[Beckett]

Hello and welcome to the show. Today is our travelogue from our fabulous trip all over Italy. My goodness. We went to Rome, to Venice, to Florence, to Siena, to Modena, to Parma. I mean, where didn't we go?

[Amy]

Us would be 56, six of us.

[Beckett]

There are so many voices from this new and unique journey that you will hear very little of the voices you're accustomed to. That is to say, Susan and I. So before we begin with, like, day negative one, I think is what we call it, we have an announcement for you with regard to our Chicago field trip, which is coming up in June of next year.

[Amy]

The actual field trip is now sold out. However, the dinner cruise, which will be on June 6, is now open. So anybody who's in the area or will be in Chicago on June 6th and would like to join us, go to Like Minds Travel and look for the dinner cruise. We'll link it up in our show notes too. But it is going to be a good party. They always are. That's an easy thing for me to guarantee.

[Beckett]

Yeah, sometimes there's a conga line. It gets out of control, but it's always a good time.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

Note to self, Betsy Ross house out of control. So you never know. You never know, but it's always fun. So onto our trip.

[Amy]

When we got off the plane, of course, we were really tired and we couldn't check into our hotel. So we just kind of meandered and just walked around, got the lay of the land and were astonished at the number of palm trees. I hadn't expected that.

[Beckett]

Susan and I and our plus ones always get there a couple of days ahead. We get local snacks for the gift bag, we scout some locations, and then we go on some side quests of our own. And a side quest that I had marked from a long time ago. A travel writer and chef named Anthony Bourdain, I'm sure you're familiar with him, noted a restaurant that he had, quote, the finest Cacio e Pepe in Rome. And so we made a point of going there the very first night. It was quite beautiful. It was hard to find. It was down some courtyards. And then we enjoyed the tolling of a bell.

[Amy]

And I don't even know if there was a sign to the restaurant. Like, we just kind of had. We had our apps, our directional apps open and just kind of echo located where it was because there was a restaurant there that must have been it. And it sure as Heck was when.

[Beckett]

We got there, it was completely dark and we thought, oh, no, we've hit the wrong place. Or it's been so many years it's closed. But alas, we did not realize it doesn't even open till 7:30. That's the problem. That is the situation. I won't say problem. A lot of restaurants don't actually begin service until 8 o'.

[Chris]

Clock.

[Amy]

Yeah, we made the reservation for this one and basically just said, give us your earliest seating. Cacio e pepe is basically pasta with cheese and pepper. It is the easiest recipe in ingredients, and having tried it twice now at home, the hardest thing to make. I've watched so many YouTube videos on it and I think I've got it. And then I end up with this, like, congealed mass of cheese in the middle and it's like, oh, I messed it up again. It's tasty, but you gotta go to the restaurant. I think I'm gonna give it one more try. One more try. And we had tiramisu for dessert. It was our first tiramisu in Italy, but it was not our last because tiramisu seems to be the strudel of our Italian trip. It appears everywhere. But every time it was put in front of me, I ate it and it was all delicious.

[Beckett]

And I, in contrast, have cemented my dislike of tiramisu. So I'm like. I thought I didn't like it, and now that I've had it in Italy, I can confidently say I don't like it. And that's fine. No, absolutely. I just don't. I don't care for it.

[Amy]

Yeah, well, I have taken. There's a. There's an Italian beverage called affogato, which is gelato and espresso. So it's like hot and cold. I personally am making it with gelato and Kahlua because I don't like espresso that late at night. And I found some. There's a point that I found some Oreo Tiramisu thin cookies. Tiramisu cookies from Oreo. They're delicious.

[Beckett]

I think we can confidently say you've lost the authentic nature. Oh, I've lost it with the Kahlua of a tiramisu.

[Amy]

Okay.

[Beckett]

But I'm just saying.

[Amy]

No, there's nothing authentic about it at all. Except my memory, you know.

[Beckett]

Oh, that's kind of sweet.

[Amy]

The inspiration was authentic, but, you know, the rest is. Susan in the middle of the country.

[Beckett]

I would say if you love it, that's perfectly Good. You know what I mean? Like, I. I'm. I'm actually not. I'm not mocking it. I'm not. So the day afterward, we decided to go on a little bit of an architecture tour. The Spanish Steps, the Piazza de Popolo, which has an extremely old Egyptian obelisk in it. Think about that. So it existed in Egypt for thousands of years. The Romans conquered Egypt and took it as a trophy and erected it in this square. I mean, I know that is old and that it is like, shopped at a vintage store and brought home and is again old. It was a pretty mind blowing situation. And then we saw, among hundreds of other people, the Trevi fountain.

[Amy]

Did you actually see it, though? Because all I saw was the tops of people's heads and a little.

[Beckett]

I got a great photo. Oh, you do? So I did see it. And I got a photo of my sister turning her back and throwing the coin in.

[Amy]

Nice.

[Beckett]

And then everyone nearby cheered because your coin went in. I thought that was kind of cute.

[Amy]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I got a really nice, neat picture. We have to put them in our show. Notes of just the crowd, like, silhouetted against the fountain. And I thought it looked kind of cool because you couldn't see any details in them. Just looked like a frame of people.

[Beckett]

And this day was actually my favorite dinner. And it all hinges on one thing. It was a place called Cantona de Papi. They have a sign outside that says. I mean, I'm paraphrasing a little bit, like, we don't have our restaurant license, so just come in and talk to us about what you might want to eat. And I'm so intrigued by that that we went in and we had the greatest, the greatest focaccia sandwich with ricotta marmalade and turkey. And the guy was so nice and it was so tiny. I think it had maybe five tables inside. And it was by the Trevi Fountain, but not in a busy area.

[Amy]

Yeah, And I actually, I wrote that down on my notes as the memorable things too. The number 29 sandwich, maybe the best of my lifetime. It was so good, and it was like €7. It wasn't even terribly expensive. And the people were so nice. And at the end, we were leaving and a food tour was going in. That's how good this place was.

[Beckett]

Very cool. And then we ate the first, and definitely not the last giant pistachio gelato of our trip.

[Amy]

I did differ from the pistachio sometimes. I just wanted to try different flavors. A gelato a day keeps. I don't know what it is away, but we don't want it, whatever it is.

[Beckett]

Though we walked between seven and 11 miles a day on this trip.

[Amy]

I gained zero pounds. When I came back, I was shocked because I ate so much and I didn't care what it was. Cheese, bread, more cheese. That night, we had our kickoff cocktail party for the trip. It's when everybody comes in. And although we have met air quotes on a WhatsApp group, just for the trip, it was so fun to see people face to face, you know, old friends, new friends, people who had met on the WhatsApp group and were suddenly acting like they knew each other for a lifetime because it was that deep of a connection.

[Beckett]

And on our bus tour, traditionally what we do in a new city, we saw the greatest hits. We saw the Coliseum. We saw the site of the Circus Maximus Cathedral. And after Cathedral Square, after square fountains. I will tell you the city that I live in, Kansas City, is actually known as the City of Fountains. And it has only less fountains than Rome. Otherwise, the city in the world with the most fountains. And so it was nice to see number one and all of its fountains.

[Amy]

We're number two. Hooray.

[Beckett]

But we lost to such a competitor. Yeah.

[Amy]

Oh, yeah, no kidding. I mean, Kansas City, how many years has it been around compared to Rome? Yeah, yeah. They had a head start big time.

[Beckett]

So that was great. We got lots of great pictures that in other ways I think you'd find it hard to get photos of, like from a height, in the dark, in the safety, in the middle of traffic.

[Amy]

We got some good sight lines, definitely. I. I say it all the time, but it hasn't stopped. Amazing me. It's kicking off these tours with a nighttime bus time tour because everything is lit up and you don't see any of the corners. You just see the bright lights and the fantasy element of the city and then you can color it in for the rest of the trip. Happened again.

[Dana Jacques]

Amy. I did not know anyone on the trip. However, the first night after the welcome reception, we all piled onto a double decker bus to see the sights of Rome. I found myself sitting next to Jeanette, another first timer, who, like me, had just recently been added from the wait list. When I went to plug in our headphones, we quickly discovered that only one of the jacks was working. I offered to share my headphones with each of us, Taking one earpiece and off we went. It cannot be overstated how quickly you can bond with someone when turning rapidly to snap pictures of the city from a moving bus and forgetting that you are physically connected to another person at the same time, much less someone that you just met. There were some awkward moments and the beginning of a friendship that would continue for the rest of the trip. I'm not sure there is such a thing as strangers on a history chicks trip.

[Beckett]

On day one, the first full day of our official journey, the very first.

[Amy]

Thing we did was something quintessentially Roman. We went to St. Peter's Basilica. And because it is a jubilee year, there is a door, a private door, that is actually sealed up for the rest of the time. And it is opened during the jubilee year for people to walk through. And that's the one we got to walk through. So that was very exciting. It was beautiful. It was just the first of many basilicas. But it's the biggie. You know, I think when you think of Rome, it's where the Pope gives those sermons to the crowds, and the crowd seats were right there, half set up. You know when you see something on TV and you think, it can't possibly be that big. Yeah, it is. It is that big.

[Beckett]

We went to the Forum and to the Coliseum, and I will tell you just this is not my main takeaway, but I will tell you, I did see the very first sewer that ever existed in this world. Via Cloaca. It's still there. Also, the Forum was a place that I would delightfully go again. Our Women of Ancient Rome walking tour was so informative and glorious, I would have to say. I learned so much. Our tour guide made it so real.

[Amy]

No, I agree completely. And even things like vestal virgins, I knew about them. But she got into so much detail that I was, like, riveted thinking, oh, I did not know that. And actually I came home and did some more looking it up because I was so fascinated by it.

[Chris]

My name is Sari and I was on my third History Chicks field trip to Italy, and we were in Rome at the start. My favorite memory of Rome was actually seeing the Coliseum and the Forum because we had an excellent tour guide who focused as much as she could on the history of women during the time period and just integrated it well into everything. It was a beautiful day, and just knowing all that history was around us was unbelievable. And that we had such good company of people who are interested in all these details like you are, makes it such a joy. This is Chris, and after our first full day in Rome, a group of nine of us took a side quest out to Roma Spirita, a restaurant famous for its Cacio e pepe. We were able to order many dishes to share with the entire table, get to know each other and all had a wonderful time. One of my favorite parts about these trips is getting to meet such interesting and caring people. Chin chin.

[Amy]

Hi, this is Kathy and I'm calling in to tell you about our side quest to the opera in Rome, Italy.

[Beckett]

On Friday, the second day of the.

[Chris]

Trip, 14 of us went to the opera.

[Amy]

We saw la Traviata at St Paul's Cathedral.

[Chris]

The church was built in 1873 and it is an Episcopal church.

[Amy]

It was the first non Roman Catholic church in Rome and as soon as.

[Beckett]

We walked in, the first thing we.

[Amy]

Saw was this beautiful mosaic made from.

[Beckett]

Murano glass which we're going to learn more about later in the trip. We were so excited.

[Amy]

Now I've seen other opera performances and.

[Beckett]

This was my first in such a.

[Amy]

Small setting and it was incredible.

[Chris]

The performances, both the orchestra musicians and.

[Amy]

The opera singers were absolutely amazing.

[Chris]

And the acoustics in such a small.

[Amy]

Space were like nothing I've ever experienced. So I am just so grateful to my 13 closest friends that agreed to attend the opera when we were all jet lagged and exhausted. We had such a wonderful time. Thank you.

[Chris]

Foreign.

[Beckett]

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[Amy]

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[Beckett]

It's a story of people, some you know and many you don't, who risked everything to change the course of history. Their fight for independence lit a spark for freedom that still burns today.

[Amy]

George Washington called it the cause of mankind. And John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, posterity, you will never know what it costs us to preserve your freedom. With the American Revolution, Ken Burns and his team brings us a story that's vast, human and deeply relevant. A story that belongs to all of us. Check out the American Revolution.

[Beckett]

The American revolution premieres Sunday, November 16th at 8, 7 Central on PBS and the PBS app. I can't wait to watch. Day two began very early. So early in fact, that it was still dark outside. It was time for us to go within the confines of the Vatican Museum. And in order to view things privately, the tour had to begin at 7 in the morning. So we were able to see the treasures in the Vatican Museum alone with no one but our tour guide. It was quite magical. We saw so much of what is housed in the Vatican Museum. We could have stayed, I think, a lot longer. But inevitably, man, if you were ever to see the line outside at the Vatican Museum, you would know what a true coup that Laura pulled off to get us a trip alone. We actually also, once we were done, had a lovely breakfast in the courtyard. It was a delightful morning. It was a good way to start.

[Amy]

Oh, it absolutely was. And so beautiful to see sunrise over St. Peter's Basilica, you know, right behind it with the dome highlighted. It was again, magical. It was a magical moment. When we first walked in to the museum, the thing that had struck with me and walked with me. I mean, we saw so many amazing things. And some of our fellow travelers will tell you about some of those. But like the Pope's rings, all the Pope's rings were there. All kinds of art, mosaics, paintings on the ceiling. When you first walk in, before you even go up the stairs to start looking at stuff, there is a replica of St. Peter's boat, the one that he was in when he saw Jesus. And Jesus said, let me make you fishers of men. Which, if you're Christian, is like a big, big deal in Christianity. So it was just. I don't know, it just struck me that they had. It wasn't obviously the real one, but it was a replica of his boat right there. It's like, okay, you guys are in for something. There's going to be a walk through history here. I loved it.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Dana Jacques. I wanted to talk about our day in Rome where we went to the Vatican Museum. This was amazing for me because the last time I had gone was in 1996. And all I remember from the experience is being herded like cattle through the beautiful galleries to end up in the Sistine Chapel, where I couldn't see anything. And this time was a completely different experience. We were able to stop and browse and breathe and listen to our wonderful guide. And then the Sistine Chapel itself was an amazing experience. Just to see everything in full color. Being able to sit and reflect and see everything was incredible. Thank you, Laura, for making that happen.

[Amy]

Kate.

[Dana Jacques]

There were so many memorable activities on this trip, but the day I think I'll probably remember the most is the day we went to the Vatican Museums. The day started out early at 6:30am and then we got in after just a little bit and we all got a private tour of the Vatican Museums which was so much more awesome than I could have imagined. At the very end of the tour, we got into the Sistine Chapel. I had certainly read about the Sistine Chapel, I had seen photos, but it is breathtaking in person. Just getting to sit there and look up at Michelangelo's great work and just contemplate all the amazing historical things, things that had happened in that room, it was just mind boggling.

[Beckett]

Hi, it's Katherine.

[Chris]

It was Vatican Museum day this time for our sunrise private tour, which I.

[Amy]

Was looking forward to.

[Beckett]

But I had no idea how incredible.

[Amy]

It was going to be. The quietness as they opened the whole museum and we were the only groups there getting to see all of the.

[Chris]

Magnificent stuff that the museum has that.

[Amy]

I had no idea that they really had.

[Chris]

And one of the things that became a theme on the trip was the floors.

[Amy]

Walking on the floors just seemed wrong. Some of it was roped off, but other parts of the floor you could just walk on. These gorgeous mosaics. As the trip progressed, I saw those beautiful Roman mosaics in so many places.

[Chris]

So looking below, looking above was just.

[Amy]

As important as looking around.

[Dana Jacques]

Amy an early morning trip to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel was pretty spectacular. We arrived on the bus in the dark around 6:15am to a long line of people already camped out to enter. When the Vatican opened several hours later, we were taken to a separate entrance and they said, we will be right with you. We were all watching the door in front of us with anticipation when suddenly a secret door, which did not even appear to be a door, began to open from the side wall in multiple layers with multiple doors and locks and elements of disguise. After this we were taken into a completely empty Vatican Museum while literally the Vatican staff were still arriving for work. Our tour guide said it is unprecedented to give a tour when it is so empty that you can even remark on the mosaic floors which would not be appreciated for the rest of the day since so many people would be standing on them. Pretty cool. I'm not sure how I wound up in such a special tour, but I was glad to be along for the ride and share it with my fellow travelers.

[Amy]

This is Sue Lynn and I've been to Rome a couple of times and went by the Vatican Museum and there's no way I ever would have gone in with the lines as long as they were. Feel so lucky that Laura with like minds, travel and the history chicks got.

[Dana Jacques]

Us a private tour through the Vatican.

[Amy]

Museum and into the Sistine Chapel. Cannot Tell you how special it is to see Michelangelo's work live with not millions of my new best friends, and Instead it's just 50 of my new best friends. It was just magical. Bye.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Renee. The Italy trip was my second history chicks trip, and no surprise, it was just as fabulous as the first. It was great to see at least 10 chicks from the Austria trip, but also wonderful to meet new travelers and new friends. There were so many highlights as we raced through three incredible cities, including a memorable evening in the Castello Il Palagio, complete with many chicks in long dresses and tiaras. But I think my favorites were in Rome. The early morning tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, where our group were the only visitors present. And walking to and through St. Peter's Basilica, which never ceases to overwhelm me because of its sheer size, exquisite sculptures, phenomenal architecture, and history. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. I can't wait for the next opportunity to meet up with history chicks. Bye.

[Beckett]

And then on day two, we took a tour of an ancient civilization called Ostia Antica. This is a city. I mean, it's more than a town. It is a city that used to be a trading post. Very, very key hub of commerce. And gradually, as the river shifted position and started to dump silt in the harbor, Ostia Antica was abandoned over the course of several centuries and buried, leading to both its preservation and its mystery. You know, it was just gone. There is a giant, giant cathedral that only the top floor was showing, and shepherds used to call it the red house and stable their livestock in it. Well, it turns out it was. It was the buried remnant of a giant cathedral. And that's how the archaeologists and anthropologists and everybody began unearthing it. They are hard at it even now. While we were there, you could see the mosaics on the floors of the shops. The theater has been preserved. The signposts are still on the corners. It's amazing.

[Amy]

Yeah. And they only began an archeological dig there in 1989, so they haven't unearthed it all yet. I've been to Pompeii as well as Ostia Antica, and I would pick Ostia Antica any day. Not nearly as commercialized. Get an archeological tour of it and you will be blown away. You will learn so much about the lifestyles of the ancient Romans.

[Chris]

Ciao. This is Rebecca from Maryland. And one of my favorite days on this Italy field trip was the day that we went to the Vatican and then to Ostia Antica, the Vatican was terrific just because we had the whole place to ourselves and wonderful guides. But really what I was surprised by was our trip to the ancient Roman city Ostia Antica. I didn't really know what to expect, so I was really enamored with the ruins and the information about how ancient Romans lived. And being able to walk the streets and look into the buildings and better understand how Italy became what it is today was just terrific.

[Amy]

This is Danielle from Olympia, Washington. The Italy trip was extra special for me since I studied Roman history and Latin in college. And walking in the same places as people I'd only read about made things feel so much more real to me. I felt this most strongly in Ostia Antica, where archaeologists and students have been rediscovering in the ancient Roman city it first founded 2,700 years ago. Eventually, its residents moved out and the remains were buried in sand dunes. Only one third of it has been uncovered, but that's enough to really see what daily life was like back then. We walked Roman roads where you could actually see wagon wheel ruts still embedded in the stones. You could see what it was like to be an Ostian woman, to leave your apartment in the morning to visit the gorgeous baths with their intricate mosaic floors, drop off your laundry at their version of a laundromat, pick up lunch at the bakery and then visit the forum to stop by a temple or two and catch up on gossip with your friends. Men in Ostia would visit the baths after work, then maybe enjoy dinner and wine at the tavern. We got to see remains of all of these buildings. Then we really got a taste of the cultural life in Ostia when we got to sit in a theater built in the first century BCE and listen to a piano being played on a new stage erected there. I loved our day in Ostientica, and I would imagine city life scenes from it as I fell asleep most nights on the trip. Thank you again, Laura, Jamie Beckett and Susan for another amazing trip I will never forget.

[Chris]

Hi, everyone, this is Laura Hart. I'm here with my sister Jamie, also my assistant. We're sitting in the beautiful Trastevery neighborhood of Rome. It's just so adorable. Here we have the that we're drinking the Hugo Spritz, which after the Austria tour, it became the History Chicks fan favorite. So that in and of itself is a highlight, but we've had a great day. Jamie, tell them what we've done. We had an amazing private tour of the Vatican, which being alone in the Sistine Chapel, can't even be described. And then we got on the bus and went to Ostia Antica, which was such an amazing surprise for everyone. The older ruins of Rome. I just loved how quiet it was. The weather was perfect, and we had an amazing guide. And I just. I marvel at these ancient cultures, how advanced they really were. And we don't always think of their societies that way, but they truly were. But, yeah, I think that being alone in the Vatican was an absolute highlight. So seven more days to go, lots of more highlights to come, but right now, the Vatican's spot, number one. Yeah. So we'll see if that holds.

[Beckett]

Day three was a travel day. We were headed to the wonderful, picturesque hilltop village of Siena. Yes, Burnt Siena is a reference to this town if you are a fan of Crayola or any kind of painting. I loved Siena. My sister and I took off away from the main square. We took off walking, and I have to tell you, we encountered something amazing every year in the town square. Siena holds two horse races, literally in the main square. And the competitors are the different districts of town called contradas. And there's great pride in having had your horse win. And this year, right before we had gotten there, it was Val di Montone. Contrada had won. We accidentally ended up in the middle of that district. And they had just the night before, had their celebratory dinner. So every street had had tables with, I mean, hundreds and hundreds of chairs. Every house had the flag flying. I have some glorious photos of this area. Everybody had slept in. I'm telling you that right now. So I think it was a great, great party. And there was glitter all over the streets. It was really neat to see, and then also really neat to, like, kind of see the behind the scenes of that celebration. It was really neat.

[Dana Jacques]

Yeah.

[Amy]

I also love Siena. It looked like I thought all of Italy was gonna look. The narrow streets, the steep hills, the cobblestones, in some places, just meandering streets, and the big piazza in the middle. It was quintessential Italy, I think, because we have our WhatsApp group and people can plan ahead for things like Siena. We did not have anything formally on our schedule, so some people planned ahead and had walking tours and opened it up to anybody in the group that wanted to join them. And they signed up ahead of time, so we'll let some of the people that were traveling with us talk about their experiences in Siena. But I think everybody loved it as much as Beckett and I did.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Dana Jacques talking about the trip to Siena. This was a beautiful city to visit. And we went on a walking tour. And one particularly impactful story was walking through the town and seeing a hospital that accepted the abandoned baby, mostly girl children, and then finding out that the city set up a bank account for them so that eventually they would be able to afford to get married and have a dowry. This was amazingly insightful and supportive of a city back in medieval times.

[Dana Jacques]

Hello, this is Chris and I would.

[Chris]

Like to talk about our travel day on Sunday from Rome to Florence. We stopped in Siena for a few hours. I was able to grab a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant with Bailey, Tammy and Danielle to try picchi, the local Sienese pasta. We also were able to grab last minute tickets to see the Sienese Duomo, which had its floors uncovered, exposing beautiful marble mosaics. It was such a great experience and a wonderful break in the day. Hi, Susan and Beckett, it's Lisa. It is Sunday, October 5th, and today was our wonderful afternoon in Siena. The weather was perfect again, not a cloud in the sky and everything was so picturesque. I walked about for hours, enjoyed pizza, the best slice I've ever had. It had no cheese on it, which was remarkable because in my family we say that cheese is our favorite food group. And at the end of our time, Patricia and I, my new good friend, decided to go back and just relax on the piazza for a little while. We sat down and I decided to lie back because I wanted to soak up the warmth of the bricks and hear the Italian chatter around me. But this was interrupted when I heard a male voice pretty aggressively yelling at me in Italian and had no idea what he said since I don't speak any. And Patricia poked me and leaned over and said, lisa, sit up. I think the modesty police is after you because your skirt is too short. And for a few seconds I actually believed her because Laura Hart had warned us that this might happen. But it turns out you're just not allowed to be horizontal in the piazza. I didn't know that, but it made for a really good laugh.

[Beckett]

Hi, this is Debbie.

[Chris]

We're on the bus from Rome to Florence today. Thinking back on one of the highlights of Rome was probably on the very first day just wandering around the streets and exploring and things. Like at the Trevi Fountain. How many people were there and how many gelato shops were surrounding that area? It was a really great time to stay awake and put in many steps on that first day. And now enjoying this bus trip for a few hours to get some rest.

[Amy]

We are on the bus from Rome to Florence. And I've moved seats around because I can't sit still. And I am asking Gordon what made him come on this trip?

[Chris]

Well, I would say, number one, there's 53 reasons why I came on this trip. But number two is I wanted to see what Suleiman did. And she had. She always came back with a big smile.

[Beckett]

Excellent. So we drove to the city of Florence on after Siena at the end of day three. One thing I will tell you, I love Florence, but the chances of getting hit by a car are very high in Florence.

[Amy]

Very true, very true. When we're driving in now, we're on a bus, but when the bus driver was trying to make a turn over a bridge, he missed the actual turn, which got him wedged into a very narrow area and he pulled. I mean, it was probably what, a 30 point turn to get back in the rail.

[Beckett]

I do not know how he navigated those streets at the best of times. It was amazing. So he did an amazing job. You should know by those two things that the streets are very narrow. The sidewalks are right next to the streets. So you really have to do some. You have to be alert in Florence. Don't get distracted by all the beauty around you. Pay attention.

[Dana Jacques]

This is Kate and It is Sunday, October 5th. Today we left beautiful Rome, but headed into Tuscany, which was just a glorious drive. We stopped in Siena for several hours. While I was in Siena, I got to see a lot of cool buildings. And while looking around, I got waved over by a couple of the other history chicks. I have been struck. This is my first trip and I have been struck by how incredibly kind and wonderful and caring and giving all the history chicks have been. After leaving Siena, we went to Florence. Our bus driver made the hardest turn I have ever seen a bus driver make. I have no idea how he did it. You don't have to be in the bus to understand how incredibly tight it was. But he did an amazing job and just thus far, been at the hotel or went out for dinner and wandered around a bit. And looking forward to the first full day in Florence. Tomorrow.

[Amy]

We are at dinner at Il Cuatro Leone, the Four Lions. And it was an amazing meal here in Florence. What was your favorite, Chris?

[Chris]

I have been here.

[Beckett]

This is the third time I've been here.

[Chris]

And I love the pear pasta, which is why I dragged everybody here. And I think it was a success. And I will follow up by saying I love the flooring pasta with a piche with the sausage.

[Beckett]

Everything was wonderful. So it's hard to decide. But the pear pasta and the zucchini flowers were amazing.

[Amy]

Those are so good.

[Chris]

That was. Sorry. This is Poppy.

[Amy]

And bring on that steak.

[Chris]

This is Debbie. The pear pasta and the zucchini flowers were delicious.

[Amy]

This is Donna.

[Chris]

I really love the company. It's been great fun.

[Amy]

I can't say anything better than that.

[Beckett]

It is time. It is time. The holiday season is officially upon us. Now, I'm not one of those ones that puts Christmas up the day after Halloween, but I am one of those ones that puts up Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, which is coming sooner than you would think. So it is time to get out the flannel sheets. It is time to get out all the platters and the dinnerware and, of course, all the holiday decor that you could ever want.

[Amy]

Wayfair is helping us out. You can get 70% off Wayfair's Black Friday sale starting October 30th. So it's going on right now. You can shop Wayfair's can't miss Black Friday deals all month long. So then you can just sit back and relax and let the holidays happen. And I always like to add a little zhuzh the holidays. Just one new thing. Maybe a doormat or a wreath or a platter or a table centerpiece, something. And Wayfair is totally helping me out there.

[Beckett]

Now, I will say, even on the big stuff, like furniture, there's fast and free shipping. So you can get everything you need for your living room or your outdoor deck or patio or balcony, anywhere you need a little, like, as Susan says, Judge, I would like somebody to spell that for me.

[Amy]

I know I, I, the closest I can get is J, Z, Z, G.

[Chris]

H.

[Beckett]

There you go. So don't miss out on early Black Friday deals. Head to Wayfair.com now to shop Wayfair's Black Friday deals for up to 70% off.

[Amy]

That's Wayfair. W a y f a I r dot com sale ends December 7th.

[Beckett]

On day four, a small group of us, including, of course, Susan and I, we decided to climb the Duomo. Now, we thought because we had climbed the Arc de Triomphe, that we knew what climbing was. We thought, we did. We guess what we did not. We did not know. There's nowhere to stop. There's great pressure from below. And then when you go up, the very last bit, which I actually tried not to think about, is very arched because you're climbing up the dome itself on some stone stairs. And it is worth it. It is worth it. The view. The 360 degree view is amazing. The breeze was delightful. Everyone was super high on adrenaline up there. So the atmosphere of like having been through it with all your fellow climbers was also very good. That said, when I got to the bottom, I realized I think that's my last big climb. My chest hurt for two hours afterward and I am in a pretty good shape.

[Amy]

My tushy was hurting the next day for sure. Yeah, it was a lot of steps and a lot of steps at a very steep angle. So if you have any claustrophobia at all, it is not the climb for you. The end. I did up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower the last time we were in Paris, and that was 680 steps. This is half of that. But it was steeper, it was harder for sure, but the view was amazing.

[Chris]

Hello, this is Chris reporting from the first full day in Florence. This morning, Beckett, Joe, Vivian and I decided to climb up to the top of the Florence Duomo, all 463 steps. It was rough going, but the view at the top was spectacular in the morning sunlight, casting beautiful shadows and letting US have a 360 degree view of the entirety of Florence. It well worth it and I'm never doing it again.

[Amy]

Part of that day, we also took a Women of Florence walking tour because we're our women's history podcast, so we try to have as many activities that are focused on our women. Just gave us a great understanding of the city of Florence, a great understanding of the roles of a lot of the Medici family. But it was a really good tour. Did you love it?

[Beckett]

I did. And some of us actually took the advice of the tour guide and went to the Medici Chapel. Amazing. Large scale, fully mosaic, in different kinds of marble. Chapel is all I can say about it. It was worth seeing. It was just around the corner from the end of our walking tour and I'm glad I went.

[Amy]

The advice I took from our tour guide was to go to Santa Maria Novella. It used to be an apothecary back in Catherine de Medici's day, and now it is basically a perfume store. I had actually been to a satellite store in Rome. Beckett and I had gone in there and found a scent that I really liked, but they didn't have it in stock. So I was able to go to the original in Florence, the original Santa Maria Novella, and purchase that perfume, which is lovely.

[Beckett]

See, that was the universe telling you, don't buy it here in Rome, go to the real place.

[Amy]

Exactly. Maybe it was such a fun experience. I actually bought some soaps when I was in Rome, because the woman that helped me was so, so understanding. She says, what do you like? And I list off things that I like. And she's got five perfumes for me to try, and if those weren't good, she'd have five more. It was fun. I was just, you know, perfume shopping for me is kind of a fun experience. So this was like, the best, I think. Yeah. Hi, this is Susan B.

[Beckett]

This Italy field trip exceeded my expectation and has given me so many great memories. It is hard to pick out just one thing that surprised me on this trip, but I will say my favorite was the Women of Florence walking tour.

[Dana Jacques]

We all knew what a formidable woman.

[Amy]

Catherine de Medici was, but she came from a long line of strong women.

[Beckett]

There was Lucrezia, wife of the first.

[Amy]

Cosimo de Medici, and Eleonora de Toledo.

[Beckett]

Wife of the Cosimo, the first. Both women were political players and supporters.

[Amy]

Of the arts during the Renaissance.

[Dana Jacques]

Marie de Medici became the second wife.

[Amy]

Of Henry IV of France. But it is the last surviving de Medici, Anna Maria Luisa, who Florence and.

[Chris]

The rest of the world gets to.

[Beckett]

Thank for using her inheritance to ensure.

[Amy]

The vast Medici art collection remained with.

[Chris]

The city of Florence.

[Beckett]

This is definitely a city I want to come back to and explore further and even venture into the picturesque Tuscan countryside.

[Amy]

Thank you, Laura, for pulling together another amazing trip.

[Beckett]

To Beckett and Susan, thank you for creating my favorite podcast community. And to my fellow field trippers, thank.

[Amy]

You for the conversations and the laughs. I've loved traveling with all of you.

[Beckett]

And that night, we had a cinematic moment. A private dinner in a castle, like you do on the top of a hill in Tuscany. Yeah, just a little. Just a little dinner with friends. It was amazing. The courtyard was great. The views of all the vines were great. Everything had just been harvested. And the vines were just beginning to turn colors as the fall is approaching. And the mist and this sunlight and I can't even say. I can't even say enough.

[Amy]

No. We all walked in and just kind of gasped because laying in front of us was olive orchards and grape orchards and a sunset behind all of it. And in photography, there's this thing called the golden hour. It's right as the sun is setting and nobody looks bad in the golden hour. The golden hour is the optimal time to take pictures.

[Beckett]

We had a great time in the courtyard. A cocktail party before a tiny, I mean, it's no Betsy Ross level blowout, but we had a teeny, tiny, refined, as befit the circumstances, dance party at the end and we had a great time. We almost kept saying, is this real life?

[Chris]

No.

[Beckett]

Are we awake? It was great.

[Amy]

Yeah, it was. The food was amazing, the view was amazing, the castle was amazing. They let us wander the rooms and give ourselves a self guided tour of everything.

[Beckett]

The castle was called the Castello il Palagio. Also they served at the end of our dinner digestifs. We had amaro, we had limoncello. It was great. The full experience.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Dana Jacques, referring to the first day that we were in Florence. We had a fantastic walking tour with a guy that literally focused her passion, energy and effort all on discussing the women of Florence and really told some amazing stories. Then we actually went to an amazing castle for dinner. This was an incredible experience. We arrived right around sunset, so we had this beautiful expanse of countryside to look at and I really feel like that was a huge highlight of the trip. Kate Lay.

[Dana Jacques]

The castle dinner outside of Florence was a truly magical evening. I will always remember dancing around with the ladies singing Pink Pony Club at the top of my lungs, which is now officially stuck in my head. The meal was just wonderful and just dancing under the stars.

[Chris]

Just.

[Dana Jacques]

It was truly magical evening. And I want to give a shout out to Laura and our bus driver who did an amazing job getting us back home, despite drama. Somewhere there's a reference book out there. It has the phrase grace under pressure and Laura's, Laura Hart's picture right next to it.

[Beckett]

On day five, we went to some monuments of Florence. We went to the Uffizi Gallery, which Uffizi meaning office. We talked about this during the Catherine de Medici episode where a Medici turned this vast complex into his office. And that's what Uffizi means. So we went to the Uffizi Museum and then in the afternoon we went to the Pitti palace and Boboli Gardens. And the Pitti palace has so much art in it. I almost think like I could do a scavenger hunt in there. There's so much secret coolness in the Pitti Palace. I. I didn't even know. And then in the Uffizi, I turned the corner and oh, there's Catherine de Medici just like right there. No big. There she is just hanging in a corner, like on high on the wall, as if she's just anyone. But we know, we know who it is.

[Amy]

Yeah, I think we could have done a scavenger hunt in there because I also saw Queen Margot, you know, her daughter Margo's portrait at one end. And there's Artemisia Gentileschi that was why I was there. I wanted to see the Artemisia Gentileschi paintings that were there. And it was a little busy, but I elbowed my way through that crowd there because I really, really wanted to see those paintings.

[Beckett]

There's Caravaggio's there. There is a Vigue lebrun Self Portrait there also. I turned a corner and guess who was there. Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Can't believe it. Don't know how I got a great picture, but I have a picture with no other. Like, no real humans in it, only painted ones. Really one of the best captures my phone has ever made. And it was completely on the fly as I walked by. You know, you meet old friends, you almost get a little starstruck, like. Like you can't believe you're standing in front of them. I got the same feeling when I stood in front of Grant Wood's American Gothic, where you're like, I know you. I've known you my whole life.

[Amy]

And there's not in the Uffizi Gallery.

[Chris]

Just to point that out.

[Beckett]

No, no, no, that's in. Well, it's usually in Chicago.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

It was surprisingly moving to see such a familiar face.

[Chris]

This is kind of a personal story from Sari, who was on my third field trip with the history chicks. I always come back inspired from these trips because so many of your fellow travelers are such interesting women and all of history is opening up to you as well. But this time, I felt like I came back a bit healed after seeing Artemisia Gentileschi's paintings in person. It's pretty amazing to see them despite the crowded environment in the Uffizi Gallery, most of my pictures came back with the top of someone's head or arm or back in the picture. I mean, it was unbelievably crowded. But still, seeing her paintings in person and the strength in them, the liveliness, the ferocity, and knowing what she had been through in her life, because I had been through something in a small way similar that caused trauma in my younger years. And somehow seeing those works in person just made me feel calm. And I realized later it had been healing. You never know what you'll come away with on a trip like this. Hi, this is Dana Jacques. I am speaking about the second day in Florence, October 7th. And I wanted to point out the Boboli Gardens as an amazing and very restorative place to spend an entire morning. I really loved just going through the entire expanse of the gardens and just taking in all of the amazing sights and Statues and corners that were hidden. I also felt it was very interesting to see some of the things at the Uffizi Gallery. Definitely a very full day in Florence and not to be missed.

[Beckett]

One thing about Boboli Gardens that I really loved. I encountered an island of lemon trees. And, you know, every single time you see, quote, Tuscan pottery, it always has lemon trees on it. And it was a whole island full of nothing but lemon trees and a fountain, of course. So delightful to just encounter it almost in the wild. And like usual, I wonder if the people that live in those areas and see that kind of thing every day even realize among how much beauty they live, you know?

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

And they. They walk by these lemon trees, like, yep, there's the lemon trees. People in California that have a lemon tree, do you marvel that they exist, or do you get irritated that it messes up your mower? I mean, you know, perspective is everything.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

I am so tickled. There was a guy. The reason I said that is there was a guy fishing lemons out of the pond. And I'm thinking, to him, this lemon tree is an obstacle to getting to lunch. Yes. And to me, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

[Amy]

So this is Su Lynn, and I'm already home from my field trip to Italy, which was just amazing. I had so much fun at the Pitti Palace, I probably wouldn't have thought about going in there. So it was great to go and see all the works. And I was so excited. They had a fashion exhibit at the top, and I wore my coat from Paris that had Coco Chanel buttons on. So I was thrilled to see a few of Coco Chanel's pieces there, especially one of the original little black dresses. And then Schiaparelli. There was Schiaparelli right next door, and it was so much fun to see the juxtaposition between the two rivals. And just felt right to see Schiaparelli in Italy. So one of those things that happens just by circumstance. It was amazing. Ciao.

[Chris]

Hi. This is Ruth, and it's my second trip with the History Chicks. Today is Tuesday, our last day in lovely Florence.

[Amy]

After touring the Uffizi Gallery this morning.

[Chris]

With the group, I headed off on.

[Amy]

My own to see the Basilica of Santa Croce.

[Chris]

It's always been on my wish list, as it hosts a crucial scene in one of my favorite books, A room with a view.

[Amy]

The church is beautiful, and the atmosphere was hushed as everyone respected the sanctuary. I saw the tombs of Galileo and Machiavelli, frescoes by Giotto and even a.

[Chris]

Monument to Florence Nightingale.

[Amy]

But my favorite part was the cloisters. I was able to spend a peaceful.

[Chris]

Half hour just soaking in the day and listening to the birds singing Bellissimo.

[Beckett]

That night, a few of us took advantage of a food tour of Florence Number one. We went to a pretty hip area. My son and his fellow cool kids would be right at home. And it was almost like one of those progressive dinners. You know, the ones where you start out at the beginning with a little appetizer and then you move locations and you have first course, second course, whatever. And we went from place to place and sat with the owners of different restaurants and bars as we went. We learned about the history of the food, why it was made like that. For example, the fact that bread was not salted because the province that provided the salt wanted to tax them. And they're like, no, we will make bread without salt. Then how about it? And they still make it without salt to this day because of that ancient grudge. If you don't put salt in the bread, it goes bad quicker. And so they had to develop a whole range of recipes to use up two day old bread. Because you only have like two days and then you've wasted your money. Papa El Pomodoro was basically like a very thick. They called it a bread soup. I would almost say like a bread and tomato casserole. It was delicious. I ate the whole mixing bowl of it. I know.

[Amy]

Did you make it at home?

[Beckett]

I have all the ingredients. I haven't made it yet. And I know you had a different favorite on that trip.

[Amy]

There was a dish called gnudi that's giving N U D I and it's little balls of basically ricotta and spinach and some flour, a little bit of flour, a little bit of egg and you make balls and then you boil them like pasta and then cook them in a browned butter and sage like on. In a frying pan. I made it at home. I need to make it again because it tasted wonderful, but the size wasn't, you know. You know, the first time you do a recipe, it's not great.

[Beckett]

And the person that made it for us used to be, he has a Michelin star. And he left the, he left the finer things and came and opened this trattoria with his, his papa. And so it's fine. I think you're okay. He's had a lot more practice than you. I know.

[Amy]

We're going to put the information in the show notes, including what this, this tour through was through A company called Eating Europe. And it was a really wonderful tour. I would totally recommend it. But there's a photo I have of him tossing the gnudi in the fry pan just, like, all up in the air. Like, I'd have it all over my stove if I did that, but, you know, I don't have a Michelin star.

[Beckett]

That's the way Chris stirs stuff, too. He, like, yanks it, like. And do you remember when we covered Julia Child, she said that she wanted to learn that, and so she went outside in her yard with dried beans and practiced doing that, stirring like that. So if Julia Child herself has to go out for weeks at a time and practice that outside, I think, you know, just to stir it, we have no chance.

[Amy]

Yeah, I used. I used a spatula in my frying pan. Yeah, I'm like, not gonna mess with it. Not gonna mess with it. Hi. I am at the end of a food tour in Florence, and I am with our absolutely knowledgeable and adorable guide, Gabriela. Gabriella, tell us how long you've been doing this and what you like most about your job. Hi. Hi to every one of you. I'm Gabriela. I'm tour guide. Until we had a great food tour here in Florence. Actually, right now, it's been few. Even though I'm pretty young, it's been few years. I make this job, and I totally love it. You know, which other job can. You can. I mean, you are paid to drink.

[Chris]

And eat with the people, so I love it.

[Amy]

I love it. Looking for every one of you to come here in Florence and make a food tour together. A tour wherever you want in Tuscany. It was a great tour, and Gabriella was very knowledgeable. He told us that he was a chef, but then he got coy about it and said it was stuff that he learned from his mama. But as a mama who teaches her own kids how to cook, I think that's wonderful. And your mama should be proud. Absolutely.

[Dana Jacques]

She's.

[Amy]

She's absolutely super, super happy to let.

[Beckett]

You try all the.

[Amy]

All the different recipes of this area of Florence, of Tuscany. You will love them. Of course, with a big, good glass of red wine. It was delicious. Grazia Mile. Hair is turning crisp. And the holidays are careening towards us at an unbelievably fast pace. And at this time of year, comfort becomes the best gift of all. Quince delivers all that in classic styles. Sweaters and outerwear and everyday essentials that feel luxurious, look timeless, and make holiday dressing and gifting effortless. Like, I was looking at quints the other day and actually Christmas shopping I found a cotton fisherman throw a blanket in their home section and I thought my blanket kid would just love that.

[Beckett]

And you know, Mr. Graham is notoriously hard to buy for. And so I found this black Napa leather toiletry case that I think is going to be spectacular. Especially since he's going back and forth to Alaska. I don't know if there's any coat on earth I can give him that's warm enough for the double digit negative temperatures he's going to face. But I can send him with the warmth of my good wishes by getting him this toiletry bag. So that's what I have chosen to do.

[Amy]

Quince's Italian wool coats. I mean, yeah, they won't cover Alaska cold, but they'll certainly cover Kansas City cold. They look like designer pieces and their quality rivals those high end pieces. But without the high end markup they.

[Beckett]

Work directly with ethical top tier factories. So Quince skips the middleman and offers prices that are 50% less than similar brands. So you can rock up to the fancy French cocktail bar at the end of your neighborhood in silk and style.

[Amy]

Step into the holiday season with layers made to feel good, look polished and last. From Quince.

[Beckett]

Perfect for gifting or keeping for yourself. Go to quince.com chicks for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

[Amy]

Now available in Canada too. That's Quince Q-U-I-N-C-E.com chicks to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

[Beckett]

Quince.com chicks Day 6 continues with the food. The food, the food. And the very first place we went was to Ordini Bio Reggiani. It's a Parmesan factory. It was amazing. We walked in and learned how they make those giant wheels of Parmesan and the intricate nature of every single step. Wait till you see this picture. It is like a neighborhood of wheels of Parmesan and also a little fun thing. While we were there, a machine was was turning all these wheels of Parmesan. You know, there's like a schedule they have to be turned upside down. And it used to be done by the young men of the village. And those young men said our tour guide used to develop great shoulders and arm muscles and were very attractive to the ladies. But that avenue of wife attractant had been cut off by this machine in this 1960s. And as she said, the neighborhood has never been the same. Oh my God.

[Amy]

I don't think any of us will a have the fake kind of Parmesan again without going, oh, this doesn't taste like it was in Italy. And being super pretentious, but I don't care because it was so much better. We had a tasting afterwards of Parmesan that was aged for 24, 36 or 48 months. We had ricotta that was made from the whey of the milk. You know, the liquid part of the milk, the curds stay in the pot, the whey becomes liquid and they make ricotta out of it. And it was so fresh, it was like what, two hours old or something?

[Beckett]

Yeah, something they actually can't sell because the expiration date is approximately 30 hours after it's made. So it is a low, very hyper local product that will never taste anywhere else. The spread was amazing, was BlackBerry compote. There was hot honey from a local vendor. There were chili peppers, There were different kinds of bread and crackers and currants and all kinds of things that they're like, don't be like shy. To pair Parmesan with an enormous amount of things. And it was a great tasting and I love a behind the scenes. Although my appearance. Woo. Was not what it could be. They had us wear surgical gowns and caps. And I have to say, yeah, we.

[Amy]

All look so pretty.

[Beckett]

It was a winning combination.

[Amy]

But everybody looked the same, so it was fine. It was fine.

[Beckett]

Everybody looked cute. We all looked cute.

[Amy]

And we, I don't want to say we spoiled our appetites because we had a kind of a quick turnaround because within a couple hours we were touring a balsamic production facility owned by a family.

[Beckett]

It's called Acetia Paltry.

[Amy]

There you go. Oh, did you want me to say?

[Beckett]

No, it's okay.

[Amy]

It was established by this family in 1845 and we got to taste different ages of balsamic, which they change drastically. I had no idea. Some of them, the earlier ones were kind of, you know, vinegary tasting, but then as they age, they became sweeter and sweeter. So much so that you could put it on ice cream. And it was amazing. We did.

[Beckett]

We have put that on our repertoire here at the house. Balsamic, actually we use balsamic glaze. That's as close as I can get to what we had there. Balsamic glaze on top of a. Like one of those yellowy French vanilla ice creams.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

Oh, amazing.

[Amy]

I actually bought it. I bought a 35 year aged balsamic there that I've been doling out on ice cream just a few drops at a time.

[Beckett]

One of our listeners bought a 150-year-old balsamic, and that actually came in a wooden velvet lined box with a crystal bottle. It was a very big deal. I think I'd be afraid to even take that on the plane with me. But it made it home. Yeah, it made it home.

[Dana Jacques]

Yay.

[Amy]

While we were there, we also had a meal, a farm to table restaurant that they have on the premises. We had a luncheon that was prepared a lot with balsamic vinegars from this company.

[Beckett]

It was so good, and I was so taken with the atmosphere there, that I bought a lego set that was very reminiscent of where we had been. I typically try to get a lego set for each trip when we get back. And the trevi fountain would have been, you know, your usual one. But I wanted something that actually spoke to me, and having been to that vineyard and, you know, balsamic production, this was. I'll have to show you a picture of it. It's. It's gonna be a nice memory.

[Amy]

Oh, I love that. I love that.

[Beckett]

That was a good day.

[Amy]

Yeah, no, it was. And we had the best weather. I mean, it was an Italian vernacular perfecto the whole time. So it was just stunning fall weather. We're eating outside. It can't be beat.

[Dana Jacques]

Amy the parmesan cheese factory. After spending several days in the bustling city of Florence, we struck a very different pace when we visited the cheese factory. The bus led us out at the end of a long road. We walked on a dirt path with pastures on each side until we reached the cheese factory. Here, they took us through the cheese making process, from meeting the cows through all stages of production. At one point, we reached a warehouse where all you could see was huge wheels of parmesan cheese stacked all the way to ceilings and as far back as you could see. It was here that we learned about the national inspectors in Italy called the peakers that come to inspect the hard cheeses. Kind of like a piano tuner, the peakers are trained to know if the cheese has internal defects based solely on the sound when the cheese wheel is struck with a small hammer like mallet. Our guide said that they used to open all the cheeses that the peakers had marked as damaged just to make sure they were right and that the cheese really was cracked or damaged in some way. However, over time, they learned that the peekers are always right, so now they don't even bother to check them anymore. He said, of course, there are fancier technologies to inspect the cheese, but they would take much longer than A peeker who knows within a few seconds by just looking and listening to the cheese. Apparently only a very small elite group of peakers exist for the entire country and I hope this skill is never lost.

[Amy]

Hi, this is Kathy and I'm calling in to tell you about the farm to table meal that we had at the Poltrinieri farm in the Tuscany countryside. This meal was the best meal I've ever tasted. The pasta was fresh and amazing, had a wonderful spinach and ricotta in it. Then we had this beautiful roast beef.

[Beckett]

Salad that was just incredible.

[Amy]

And we finished off with ice cream.

[Chris]

Topped with balsamic vinegar.

[Amy]

Could not believe how wonderful this was. We had a lot of discussion about the what the balsamic vinegar reminded us of.

[Beckett]

For me, I got kind of a.

[Chris]

Molasses taste from it.

[Amy]

Anyway, this dinner was absolutely amazing and thanks to the incredible Laura for setting this up.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Ruth.

[Amy]

My favorite parts of the tour are.

[Chris]

Always the special experiences Laura Hart finds for us. From the private tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel to dinner in a 13th century castle. I loved the day we spent in Emilia Romagna touring a Parmesan cheese factory and a balsamic vinegar producer.

[Amy]

The best part was our lunch al.

[Chris]

Fresco featuring balsamic in every dish, even dessert. My table had a window into the.

[Amy]

Kitchen where we could see the meal.

[Chris]

Being prepared, as it turns out, by.

[Amy]

The fifth generation owner himself.

[Chris]

I still dream about that pasta. Hi, this is Dana Jacques and I'm talking about October 8th, which was our transit time between Florence and Venice. And I have to say this day was really fun. We spent time at a Parmesan factory and it was just phenomenal seeing the whole technique and the explanations on what they do with Parmesan cheese. And we even got amazing samples. The other piece of it was doing a balsamic vinegar tour and we got to sample the different types of vinegars and really experience the differences. And the highlight of that was the farm to table, beautiful outdoor setting lunch that we had. I think I've never had a better preparation of pasta. The ravioli was amazing. So that definitely made the transit time between Florence and Venice much easier to handle and was a really wonderful way to spend some time more in the countryside.

[Amy]

That same day, after our delightful luncheon, we climbed back onto our bus and headed to Venice. Now, Venice does not have any obviously cars that drive on it. It's an island, only waterways. So we had to put our luggage onto one boat and our people onto another boat to get to Venice itself. And to our hotel. It was quite an operation, but, you know, they do it all the time.

[Beckett]

What was nice was you got to the hotel and, hey, presto, your suitcases are there already.

[Chris]

Hi, Beckett and Susan. It's Lisa. It's Thursday, October 9th, and we're in Venice. This is our first full day here. We arrived last night and I was enjoying the evening, strolling along the canal and having dinner. Seafood. Got back to my room and decided to sleep with the window open. And when I woke up this morning, in the distance, I heard tolling bells and heard birds chirping and thought how wonderful it was because it felt like I was waking up in an ancient village and everyone was together and hearing this at the same time. So I recorded it for you to share. And here it is.

[Beckett]

On day seven. We went to, I would say, the hub of Venice, the Piazza San Marco. There are a lot of wonderful things we experienced in that famous square. In no particular order, we went to St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's palace, and the Corer Museum that actually has the first world map ever produced in its collection. Quite amazing.

[Amy]

More impressive to members of our group, maybe, was that Empress Sissy stayed there when she went to Venice. So her apartments were there decorated, as they probably would have been during her time there. But we talked about that in the Empress Sissy episode, how she kind of had this route that she would take from Vienna to Hungary to Venice to Corfu and then back. It was like this travel loop she would make all the time. And that's where she stayed when she was in Venice.

[Beckett]

And then in the afternoon, still in the same square, we had afternoon tea in the oldest coffee house in Europe and maybe in the world, Cafe Florian.

[Chris]

Lovely.

[Amy]

Tea started with Prosecco. A lot of these meals start with Prosecco. I kind of like that.

[Beckett]

Well, we're in Prosecco country.

[Amy]

We were out on Piazza, had a formal tea, you know, with the trays and actual tea and actual Prosecco. It was beautiful. And there's music playing. Had a live quartet. Was that what that was? Yeah, playing music. It's an iconic cafe in Venice, and we were taking over a huge chunk of it, having a private tea.

[Beckett]

I think we are in thousands of tourist photos.

[Dana Jacques]

Yes.

[Beckett]

Hopefully this is the day I also found the Harley Davidson store and was able to get a Venetian Carnival Harley Davidson shirt for Mr. Graham.

[Dana Jacques]

Nice.

[Amy]

Nice. It was fun to just walk back to the hotel because Venice is not very large, so you can walk from one side to the other down these meandering Streets and alleyways really full of charm and canals.

[Beckett]

And here's the thing coming from Florence, where you had to be on high alert lest you be hit by a car to go to Venice, where there's literally no cars. It was like a word you didn't know that you had in the back of your head until you got to Venice and you're like, no, I can walk in the middle of the street if I want.

[Amy]

That's right.

[Chris]

That's right.

[Beckett]

I can walk in the other sidewalk.

[Chris]

That's right.

[Amy]

Throw pedestrian walkways everywhere.

[Beckett]

Everywhere you go.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Dana Jacques]

Kate Leigh Venice was my favorite city on the trip, which is saying something. I loved being on the water.

[Amy]

It.

[Dana Jacques]

Even though there were crowds, it was nice not dodging traffic after having to dodge it in Florence. Just really thought it was a beautiful city. Enjoyed it, you know, our gondola ride, and just was so grateful that we got a chance to stop in this beautiful city.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Dana Jacques. I am referring to our first day in Venice, and we had seen a lot actually that day. But the highlight for me was the Carrer Museum, which apparently was a place that Empress Sisi stayed while she was in Venice. And though her apartments were amazing and definitely a highlight of the museum, there was so much more because it had both Greek and Roman statues, Renaissance paintings, a whole exhibit on Marco Polo with ancient maps. And just the museum was set up in such a way that it was not crowded and you could really get up close and personal with all of the artifacts. I felt that this was extremely worthwhile, and I'm really glad that Laura found this and put it as a part of our tour. Hi, this is Janet. I greatly enjoyed our time in Italy, especially as it had been 50 years since my last visit there. This is my fifth history chicks trip, so it's almost like a family reunion spiced up with some fun new faces. Unexpectedly, my favorite city was Venice. The crowds seemed a bit less intense and the weather was lovely. I am particularly fascinated by a place that was able to survive for 1300 years with a continuous, peaceful transfer of power from one doge to another. Maybe we can learn something from them. I also enjoyed the little side trip I did with a few ladies to the Jewish ghetto. It's interesting to see how history affects different groups in different ways. And finding more stumbling stones of those taken in the Holocaust was a haunting reminder of our Vienna, Austria trip. Thanks for wonderful time to Susan Beckett and Laura, and I hope to be with you again soon. This is Lisette and I'm going to be talking about my experience on October 9th, which was our first day in Venice. The memory I will have of this trip is my return to Venice, which I visited many, many years ago. And it was just as lovely and as magical as it was all those years ago. The thing that was absolutely magical for me was a side trip that was organized by Paula Nelson to the Vivaldi concert at the Pieda Church, which was Vivaldi's original church. The musicians were incredibly talented and enthusiastic, and the acoustics of the site were excellent. A number of us went and we were treated to a selection of Vivaldi music that I, some of which I had never heard before. It was truly magical. And it capped off a day when we visited all the major sites in Venice and we had tea in the square and it was really a wonderful day.

[Amy]

On day eight, we finished up our Venice adventure by going to Murano. We had to take a boat taxi ride, which, if you know anything about me, I'm all about the boat rides. I'll do anyone, anywhere, anytime. This one was lovely. To the island of Murano, which is known for its glassmaking. A number of us had read a book called the Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier, and it's kind of a time travel historical fiction novel about a glassmaker, a female glassmaker in Murano. So it was kind of fun to go there. We went to a glassmaking demonstration in a building that just reminded me of what was described in that novel. But there was no female glass blowers. Kind of disappointing.

[Beckett]

You can't have everything. Look. Look at how spoiled she is. But, like, oh, they didn't have any female.

[Amy]

I know there were all men who have patriarchy, but Mirana was beautiful. I would have loved to stay there a little bit longer.

[Beckett]

My sister and I and a listener named Chris had something on our bucket list that we really. It came down to this day. We are fans of a show called Somebody Feed Phil. Delightful. Phil Rosenthal, who actually was writer and producer of a show called Everybody Loves Raymond, among other things, has this delightful travel show. He is so positive. I've seen him live at a theater. He loved this place called Al Arco in Venice. And it is a place where you could get cecchetti, which are little bites on bread with different toppings, all fresh, served in the teeniest, tiniest place. So we decided we were going to go try to find it. Well, on the way, we caught the water taxi. And on the way, the next stop was called Cimitero. And Chris and I looked at each other and we said, we're going to get off this bus. It's a water bus. We got off at that stop and took a tour of the cemetery on our way back. I am a sucker for a cemetery. This one, however, is still a working cemetery in addition to being a historical one. So no photos allowed, which I totally respected. And so we drank it all in only with our eyes, which is sometimes what you have to do, and I'm trying to increasingly do that on my trips, is be less focused on aesthetically pleasing photos and more. Maybe I might snap. Like, okay, for memory's sake. This is where I was when I thought this snapped type of thing.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

However, we did get to Al Arco. My goodness, Was it a maze? A rabbit warren of turnings and smaller and smaller aisles. You get there and you tell the man, even if you don't speak Italian. It's just how it goes for everyone. You say the number of the things you want out loud. Trey, cuatro. And then you literally point with your finger at the three you want. He puts them in a little thing. The next guy pours your drink, and then you're out of there. There's not tables. There's 30 to 40 people in all the alleys surrounding it perching their wine and their little plates, and it's basically a giant cocktail party.

[Amy]

Wow. Wonderful.

[Beckett]

It's part of Cecchetti culture. If we were to follow the true Cecchetti like pathway, we would then decamp to another one for another drink and another set of Cecchetti. But we had plans with the group, so we kept our Cecchetti to one location.

[Chris]

This is Chris on the last full day in Venice.

[Amy]

Yes.

[Chris]

Today Beckett, Joe, and I took a side quest to Bal Al Arco. Famous from Somebody Feeds Phil. The next flick show, it's Cecchetti Restaurant, where we each tried a few pieces.

[Dana Jacques]

Had some drinks, and we're on our way.

[Beckett]

Hi, this is Bailey. This was my second History Chicks field.

[Chris]

Trip, and this time I brought my mom. We love wandering the streets of Siena and Venmo.

[Beckett]

One of our favorite things we found.

[Chris]

In Venice was Scala Contraini del Bovolo. This was a small old brick building with a staircase on the side that was just high enough to provide one.

[Beckett]

Of the best views in Venice without.

[Chris]

Any of the crowds.

[Beckett]

This was my mom's first time traveling.

[Chris]

Outside the US and we both appreciated how friendly and welcoming every person was on this trip. Thank you to Laura and Jamie, Susan and Beckett for making this trip possible.

[Beckett]

We both had such an amazing time. I am juggling a lot of things. You might even say I have a large hat closet. Yes. And Hungry Root has been a game changer for me. I can do my weekly food shopping there. And Hungryroot also plans all my meals for the week, shops for me, and delivers groceries that fit my health goals and my budget.

[Amy]

Hungryroot helps you eat well and reach those goals, whether you're gluten free or dairy free or high protein focused, maybe on gut health or anything else. Just take a smart quiz. And their smart cart technology recommends groceries and recipes tailored to your taste and needs. And I went on Hungryroot today to place my order and their recommended list for me looked just like things I would put in my grocery cart if I went to the grocery store. But these are delivered to my house.

[Beckett]

It learns all about you. And unlike other food delivery companies, Hungryroot now has over 50,000 chef crafted recipes to choose from.

[Amy]

Many of those recipes are ready in just 15 minutes or less. But they're not just meals, they're groceries too. You know, just simple things like salads. And there was chorizo breakfast sandwiches on my list, which I thought, well, that sounds pretty good.

[Beckett]

Well, Hungry Root, this is important to me, holds all of its food to high standards. It screens out 200 additives, including high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives. And they source only high quality meat and seafood with no hormones or antibiotics.

[Amy]

And now that it's the holiday season, it is extra busy. You need to get a Santa Claus hat for your closet.

[Beckett]

Oh, my goodness. I know.

[Amy]

Take advantage of our exclusive offer. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box. Plus get a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com chicks and use code chicks. That's hungryroot.com chicks. Code chicks. To get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. Finally, it was the end. But we had to end it in a big way. So we all got dressed up and we went on gondola rides. Five people to a gondola with our gondoliers in the back, just like in the movies. But again, it was sunset in Venice at the golden hour. There's not a bad picture that was taken.

[Beckett]

And we asked our gondolier to sing. We said, we know, we know it as a stereotype, A stereotype or whatever, but like, you know, we're cool. You're cool. Can you sing? And he did, right at the end.

[Amy]

Yeah, it Was adorable.

[Beckett]

He was really cute.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

He looked like Harry Potter. Like, stretched Harry Potter. Looked like Harry Potter, yeah. He knew, though. He knew he looked like Harry Potter because he chose those round glasses.

[Amy]

Right. I was surprised at how tippy a gondola was. I mean, we didn't go over. I mean, it's not a wide boat. I guess I should have thought about it, but it was tippier than, like, a dinghy and not much wider, but it was long. I don't know.

[Beckett]

Well, I thought, you know, my thought was, well, if we go over, I think I have had my tetanus shot. We did pass a hotel, like a hotel dock, where a man was emptying what looked like a gallon of water out of somebody's handbag. So I don't know what the story is there. I'm sure she didn't just pour a drink into it. I'm sure it was canal water. But I don't know the story and no one would tell us. So we don't know what happened.

[Amy]

We just had to make it up. Big fight. They ended up in the water. Her purse went down. He dove down to get it. She still lost her phone. Yes, they were in Venice. It was romantic, but they never got on a gondola again.

[Beckett]

Oh, I loved it. Our farewell dinner was held at Taverna La Fenice, like, right by the opera house. A couple of us, I would say, did we break in? I don't know. We went in through the gift shop like normal people, and then we just kept walking and no one stopped us. So I, you know, are we infiltrators?

[Amy]

Perhaps.

[Beckett]

But no one was dismayed. Luckily, this was a listener who had worked for opera companies for years. So it was particularly special that we got to see, however illicitly, the inside of the opera house right before dinner. And then we had a cocktail party in the courtyard while we were waiting. And that dinner was delightful.

[Amy]

I know. I don't think I had a bad plate of risotto the whole time. All of it was amazing. I didn't, thank you very much, lick my plate, but I wanted to.

[Beckett]

You know, here's the thing. This is the good thing about Italian restaurants. There is a tradition called la scarpetta. It means a little shoe or little slipper. In Italy, unlike other places, it is 100% culturally appropriate to take that piece of bread and mop your plate to get the sauce. Here's something else I've noticed in Italy, if you don't finish your plate, and this is, without exception, your server Will look at you with sad puppy dog eyes and say some variation of, oh, you didn't like it. We didn't do a good job. You really have to order less than you think you should be eating.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Beckett]

Because you have to finish it. Because of their sadness. I don't want to make them sad. I know, I know.

[Amy]

I agree.

[Chris]

Hi, this is Dana Jacques and I'm speaking about our last day of the tour. This was a perfect cap off to a phenomenal trip. We went to Murano, which I had been wanting to do for a very long time, especially after reading the Glass Maker by the suggestion of other history chicks. And we were able to see a great demonstration and then go exploring in all of the shops to buy our own treasures. And we then in the evening had an amazing gondola ride that took us through all of the back ways in Venice. And it was great to be able to appreciate the city from the canal side of things as opposed to just walking through the streets, which in itself was really fun. And our farewell dinner at Taverna La Finis was great and it provided an opportunity for us to just relax and enjoy the company of all of our fellow travelers. Hello, this is Jamie.

[Dana Jacques]

I work with Laura at Like Minds Travel.

[Chris]

And this obviously was a trip of so many highlights, but one that stands out for me was the gondola ride on the very last night in Venice. And a gondola ride is something you.

[Dana Jacques]

See in movies and, and it always.

[Chris]

Seems like the cliche tourist thing to.

[Dana Jacques]

Do, but I loved every minute of it.

[Chris]

We got down kind of precariously into the boat and we were off. And the sun was setting over the Venetian sky and it kind of lent this pink tint to everything. And it was just one of the most dreamy moments I can remember.

[Dana Jacques]

So we went down, we were able.

[Chris]

To see into the canals, into different places in Venice. We passed thousand year old buildings. The gondoliers are just masters. We came within inches of walls and other boats and people and it was so magical. It seemed like a Disney ride. The only drawback was our guide was not wearing a striped shirt, but other than that, it was picture perfect. So once again, thank you, Lara Susan Beckett, for creating this amazing community and for allowing this group to come together.

[Amy]

We do have what we call sidequests and people go off on and do things during our free time, which is booked into just about every day. Some of those we've kind of weaved into the calls previously, but here's a few more side quests that were taken.

[Dana Jacques]

In Italy, a lot of the group took side trip cooking classes to learn pasta making while in Rome and Florence. While I did not get to do this, I fully expect to be invited to many pasta dinners by my fellow travelers on the trip. Anyone?

[Chris]

Hi, this is Laurie. Once again, Laura Hart planned an outstanding trip. I mean, who has a private tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and dinner in a 13th century Tuscan castle? As usual, we had so many special activities to add to our Italian experience. My friend Cynthia organized several side quests. We went to pasta cooking classes in Rome and Florence and on a street food tour in Rome where I enjoyed the residential neighborhood. We went on walking tours in Siena and Florence. A trip to Florence just isn't complete without gawking at the immense wonder of the statue of David. I drank several spritzes Aperol Hugo and the Venetian Special Hugo's were my favorite and we had to have a gelato every day. We did lots of walking, so much that my watch kept telling me I was setting new workout goals. We had adventures on the bus. The driver spoke no English and on a few occasions he had to maneuver through some very tight spots. At one point he was chained into a parking lot at the castle. One of my highlights was visiting the Isle of Murano where we were able to see a glass glowing demonstration. I planned to purchase a large piece, but found they were way out of my budget. So I went home with a beautiful necklace and a glass horse. Thanks again, Laura, for all you do. And to Susan and Beckett for being the best podcast hosts and wonderful traveling companions. Hi, this is Dana Gack. I went on a wonderful little side quest with Kathy where we tracked down the Capuchin Monk Crypt Museum. The walk there itself was a bit of a workout, but well worth it. And the museum was astounding and really gave one some time to reflect on the sacrifices these monks gave physically, emotionally and mentally, and then gave their bodies up to make something beautiful to give us to appreciate and understand life after death. I felt that this was a really great experience and was something that I hadn't intended to do. But Rome is full of surprises.

[Beckett]

The next day, everyone was filtering away. A lot of people were going on to other cities in Europe. Europe or in one case, Asia. So there's that happening. My sister and I and Laura and Jamie took a water taxi at three in the morning and I was alarmed to see the number of gentlemen coming home from the bars and weaving next to the canals. And I think, oh my gosh, a statistic. I Don't wish to look up right now. As far as I know, they all made it home. I didn't hear a splash that was interesting. And then we made so many friends in the British Airways line at the Venice airport that I have business cards and people emailing me from that line. Such is the friendliness that will, that will cover you like a blanket while you're in Italy. People are genuinely friendly and interested in other people. And unlike some other places, they are interested in small talk the way that Midwesterners are. So I loved that that I had the similar experience.

[Amy]

I was one of those people that went off my friend and I went down to southern Italy for a couple days. But I had exactly that same experience in the Rome airport when I was leaving. I got cards. I passed out cards. I never do that in an airport.

[Beckett]

On my way back, speaking of airports, in Heathrow I had fish and chips and cider. Yes I did. Oh, and in the Chicago airport, guess what? I had a Chicago dog. Nice poppy seed bun, sport pepper, neon relish and all. It was delightful. I ate the food of my people in one and the food of London in another one. I thought that was a nice little wrap up. And then if only I had had barbecue in Kansas City, I would have completed the trifecta. But I was all done food and laid down literally on my face. And I think I slept for 24 hours after I got back.

[Chris]

Hello, this is Chris, this is Kate, this is Joanna and we're at the.

[Dana Jacques]

Airport and we've had a wonderful time.

[Chris]

So far this morning.

[Amy]

We're spending time with some great people.

[Chris]

And it's just been an excellent trip. Thanks so much to Laura Beckett and Susan for putting this all together. Jeanette from New York here. History Chicks Italy trip was my first venture outside of the continent of North America. To go somewhere where I didn't know the language with people I didn't know was really stepping outside my comfort zone. But the group was very welcoming. They always look out for you. It's like having family with you. And we saw amazing things. Italy was just so full of history in Rome and Venice was such a unique experience of a city that like none I've ever seen or been to. I would highly recommend a History Chicks field trip. It was wonderful.

[Dana Jacques]

Hi, this is Heather and Joe, one.

[Chris]

Of the mother daughter duos on our third international History Chicks tour. We're the ones that left the ring in the the off the bus in Rome. But anyway, it was just wonderful. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of our trips but There was something just truly.

[Dana Jacques]

Magical about this one.

[Chris]

Moving from city to city was a bit cumbersome, I'll admit, but it was spectacular every single time.

[Dana Jacques]

Just new sights and adventures and learning.

[Chris]

And I'm so grateful to Laura and Becca and Susan.

[Beckett]

So thrilling to have you with us, as usual.

[Chris]

But one of the most wonderful thing is that we were able to reconnect with people that we had spent time with in London and in Paris.

[Amy]

And it made the trip even extra special.

[Chris]

Imagine being the only people to go into the Vatican, seeing the Sistine Chapel. Unbelievable. It was a dream come true the entire trip.

[Amy]

Ciao, bella. This is Sue Lynn, and I'm home from my third History Chicks field trip. Went to Italy, and my husband actually went, too, so that was kind of exciting. And it was great because everybody was so welcoming. He ended up chatting up people and went through certain parts of museums that I didn't want to. And I never felt like I had to babysit him because everybody was open and talkative. And again, that's one of the reasons I love going on History Chick field trips. Everybody has something to offer. I had tips on how to improve my sewing, how to improve my knitting. I learned about how to do the tango and how to design dresses if you wanted to have your own fabrics put together and have a professional seamstress make it. It's just so much fun to be with women who are comfortable in their skin and are passionate about history. And, of course, it's always fun to share experiences like Italy with them and gelato and wine and Aperol and Hugo Spritz, which I still never found a Hugo Spritz, So I have to go back to get a Hugo Spritz. But it was fantastic. And I can't decide which history tricks field trip I'm going to go on next.

[Dana Jacques]

I want to go on them all.

[Amy]

Well, Sue Lynn and anybody else who's interested, we do have two more trips to announce for 2026. This rounds out our trips for the year. We have London, which is sold out. Chicago, which is sold out. And opening soon will be the Loire valley in September. September 5th through the 13th for me. I'm calling it hello, Chateau.

[Beckett]

Oh, there you go. But I don't know if we have.

[Amy]

An official name for it, but that itinerary should be out soon. And if this travel log has made you think, oh, I wish I had gone, guess what? We're doing it again next October. October 4th through the 13th, we'll be doing Italy 2.0. Basically the same itinerary again that will be listed on Like Minds Travel in the very near future. So you can sign up for the.

[Beckett]

That that will do it for Susan and I on this travelog and we are going to let some of our friends take you out with their after trip thoughts. So thank you so much for listening. Thank you to the travelers that came with us. Thanks to all the travelers who've ever come with us, of course. And always thanks to Laura Hart of Like Minds Travel for her creativity, her absolute calm, and for her amazing ability to get us backstage and behind all the velvet rop. And to Jamie for keeping us from getting lost and being the best travel companion anyone could ever have. And thank you so much for listening.

[Dana Jacques]

Bye Amy what I learned in Italy is that gelato should be enjoyed every single day.

[Amy]

Hi, this is Katherine. Last year was my first History Chicks trip and then I walked into a group of strangers on the first day. But it didn't stay that way very long. This year it was a reunion. It was a reconnection.

[Chris]

Some from last year, some from people I'd seen online and new connections. And it was so wonderful being with.

[Amy]

All the Like Minds again this year.

[Chris]

For such a wonderful trip. Hi, this is Patty and this was my third field trip with the History Chicks. You cannot go wrong with taking one of these trips. Laura of Like Minds Travel and Becca and Susan always have at least one thing that will make your jaw drop or your eyes tear up. Whether it's a private showing of the Sistine Chapel in Italy, Versailles After Hours in France or the Crown Jewels in London. There were many awesome things about this trip as I am sure others have discussed. Dinner at the Castle, Parmigiano production balsamic vinegar tasting and lunch the Gondola ride. Plus the amazing art we saw throughout this tour along with the wonderful tour guides at the Colosseum, Ostia Antica and women in Florence. However, what I really appreciated was the free time to do or see what may not be in the tour with other history chicks that I met on a previous trip or a new friend that I made on this one. The Spaghetti and Spritz class with nine other history chicks will always bring a smile. Joanna Sorry for the long way to get there. Plus the pasta was amazing. The Vespa Sidecar Tour yes, we were really silly enough to be in Rome. Traffic on a Vespa with a sidecar. Thank you Ruth for the suggestion. A food tour in Rome or Venice, Dinner in Florence or at a Michelin restaurant in Venice. It was so fun to visit with History Chicks from previous tours and catch up on what's been happening. Hi, this is Renee. The Italy trip was my second history chicks trip and no surprise, it was just as fabulous as the first. It was great to see at least 10 chicks from the Austria church trip, but also wonderful to meet new travelers and new friends. There were so many highlights as we raced through three incredible cities, including a memorable evening in the Castello il Palagio, complete with many chicks in long dresses and tiaras. But I think my favorites were in Rome, the early morning tour of the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, where our group were the only visitors present and walking to and through St. Peter's Basilica, which never ceases to overwhelm me because of its sheer size, exquisite sculptures, phenomenal architecture and history. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. I can't wait for the next opportunity to meet up with history chicks. Bye.

[Amy]

Ciao. Bye.

[Chris]

Bye.

[Amy]

Ciao. Ciao. Bye.

[Beckett]

Echo in me ok.

[Chris]

I'm giving you all my love.

[Amy]

My darling, my angel.

[Chris]

My dove if ever you you would leave me I think I would lay down and die O.

[Amy]

Me O.

[Chris]

Now.

[Amy]

Tell me your heart is mine.

[Chris]

Sam sa with her you feel like years said to me la she amore.

[Dana Jacques]

I.

[Chris]

Die in a river of tears I wish I had more to offer you know I'd give you the stars up above O echo me according angelomi O my dove I give you my heart and my life.