Depriving yourself of one of the best cuisine based travel destinations because they've only been using tomatoes for a couple hundred years might be your best take yet.
Well, he did mention the people as well, which I think is valid.
Best cuisine is a joke. I don't go to Italian restaurants because I can make the exact same thing at home for about $0.87/dish. Pasta with sauce is the easiest thing in the world. And bread? Oh wow, thanks for the "free" bread, Italians. How generous of you to give me a square of butter and a dinner roll and expect me to be grateful after you charge through the nose for some Catelli pasta and Ragu you grabbed at Safeway.
I don't even know what Emilia-Romagna is, but it sounds obnoxious.
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Fun fact, Conan went to the town I lived in on this trip. Cortona! Pretty sure that he's walking on it's main street in the opening shot of this video of him going to Olive Garden lol.
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Best cuisine is a joke. I don't go to Italian restaurants because I can make the exact same thing at home for about $0.87/dish. Pasta with sauce is the easiest thing in the world. And bread? Oh wow, thanks for the "free" bread, Italians. How generous of you to give me a square of butter and a dinner roll and expect me to be grateful after you charge through the nose for some Catelli pasta and Ragu you grabbed at Safeway.
I don't even know what Emilia-Romagna is, but it sounds obnoxious.
I agree Ragu and Catelli is garbage. Can't stand it. You have to go to a good place like Luca. I don't even order the pasta. Giuseppe di Gennaro places in Calgary are insane. I know that name will annoy you as well. I will take you for F sake.
And now I am getting terrible tomato sauce ads at the bottom. Get out of here Rao.
I thought Florence was an interesting city and the Tuscany region was quite nice..at least 30 years ago it was when I was 19.
I find their leader Meloni to be quite fascinating. Her facial expressions leave the impression that she's about to fall asleep and that she is surrounded by inferior fool all the time. I really want to know what would get a rise out of her and if she can go 5 minutes without rolling her eyes like she just heard the most asinine idea ever. Although in today's world...that could just be her reality. Or is she such a far right but job that rational thought are meant with that level of contempt?
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I thought Florence was an interesting city and the Tuscany region was quite nice..at least 30 years ago it was when I was 19.
I find their leader Miloni to be quite fascinating. Her facial expressions leave the impression that she's about to fall asleep and that she is surrounded by inferior fool all the time. I really want to know what would get a rise out of her and if she can go 5 minutes without rolling her eyes like she just heard the most asinine idea ever. Although in today's world...that could just be her reality.
Interesting?
I've been through most of Italy and, despite never having been to Venice, Florence was by far my favourite City. Florence is amazing.
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I asked my friend Giuseppe about Italy, and he said "It's-a not so bad, it's-a nice-a place."
When I mentioned Sliver saying the food wasn't so good, he said "Ah shaddap-a you face!" so I think I might have offended him.
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Originally Posted by Azure
Typical dumb take.
Last edited by TorqueDog; 01-22-2026 at 10:53 AM.
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I asked my friend Giuseppe about Italy, and he said "It's-a not so bad, it's-a nice-a place."
When I mentioned Sliver saying the good wasn't so good, he said "Ah shaddap-a you face!" so I think I might have offended him.
I've been through most of Italy and, despite never having been to Venice, Florence was by far my favourite City. Florence is amazing.
I was 19 and trying to survive on s $30 a day budget! I didn't exactly get to experience the finer things. I chose going to the Ufuzi museum over eating dinner one day type of thing. But that museum was amazing.
I have been to Venice which itself was pretty cool. But I can't fathom how crowded it would be these days.
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A couple of suggestions. When you're in Rome, plan your days out by quadrants and get ready to walk. Taxis are crazy and you can out pace them by foot. Lots to see, and do and eat along the way. If the menu is in English...walk away. If it's multiple languages...run. Do a few good googles for places to eat around you. look for short lines....no lines - bad, long lines? who has the patience? Instagram et al has made some places too popular but excellent places may just be around the corner.
As for Pompeii et al....it's big, there are lots of people and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've always been a history buff and walking there is like stepping back (literally) into history. Herculaneum is amazing too but buried much hotter. I've been to the area a number of times and always stayed at Sorrento. smaller but walkable compared to Naples. I couldn't muster the courage to do Naples yet - I will, eventually. I love the tradition of ordering grappa or lemoncello and having the whole homemade bottle come to the table. Careful though. Sorrento is the launch point for Capri and the Amalfi coast. take a tour. If you don't want to stay down there, you can reach Pompeii via fast train from Rome. We did it in one day in May - on our way back the new pope was elected.
In 10 days you can fit something else too. My favourite place is Umbria. Assisi is fantastic, Orvieto is amazing and Perugia is a fantastic city with ruins interwoven in their modern walkway system. Try the porchetta.
For accommodation - we have loved staying at Agrotourismos. basically farms where they were encouraged to build cottages or rooms to rent out. Our favourite was Poggio Alloro near San Giminagno. They have them all over the country. We found that the prices were as good or better than ABB and we had the added benefit of eating with the locals. When my nephew told the grandfather that the liked Grappa, he had a friend for life. Again...the food was amazing.
Italian cuisine is most definitely the best in the world - especially when you're there. Have a coffee and cornetto at a stand up bar with a number of local priests. Order a sandwich and sit in the sun. Again...try the porchetta. Enjoy.
Last edited by Terradude; 01-21-2026 at 05:54 PM.
Reason: typo
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Best cuisine is a joke. I don't go to Italian restaurants because I can make the exact same thing at home for about $0.87/dish. Pasta with sauce is the easiest thing in the world. And bread? Oh wow, thanks for the "free" bread, Italians. How generous of you to give me a square of butter and a dinner roll and expect me to be grateful after you charge through the nose for some Catelli pasta and Ragu you grabbed at Safeway.
I don't even know what Emilia-Romagna is, but it sounds obnoxious.
If your reference point is Safeway pasta and jarred sauce, I get why Italian food feels overrated.
Emilia-Romagna (region that includes Bologna, Parma, Modena) isn’t "pasta night," it’s Parmigiano, prosciutto, balsamic, gelato, and techniques people copy globally and pretend they invented.
You don’t have to like it, but it’s probably worth knowing what it actually is first.
