Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy

[WDWJDS]

DD spent her junior year in Arezzo, where Life is Beautiful was filmed. DH and I went over towards the end of her time there. OMG- how breathtaking . Spent some time in Rome and Florence as well. So many things that I had never seen in my lifetime. Amazing. Can’t wait to return.

 

[person]

DH and I have a biking tour through Italy on our bucket list. We just need to pick the tour company, choose the region, save up the money and have my knee heal enough to ride. Right now we are daydreaming about Tuscany!

Good effort! all those hills with bikes...

 

[tinkerhon]

I'm still 2 episodes behind. But, I'd love to do a travel tour based on going to the culture and food places in his show.

Thanks. I deleted the Naples (1st episode) after watching. Then after realizing how much I love this series, I kept the other ones. I was hoping the Naples one would re-air.

My dad was born in Naples, and when he used to tell me stories about his life there as a boy, it never interested me much--- unfortunately, he passed at the age of 43, so I never had the opportunity to visit with him. I will, however, be taking my kids there, as soon as we are able !

 

[person]

My dad was born in Naples, and when he used to tell me stories about his life there as a boy, it never interested me much--- unfortunately, he passed at the age of 43, so I never had the opportunity to visit with him. I will, however, be taking my kids there, as soon as we are able !

Family memories of ancestral homelands can make all the difference, right?

 

[AppleDumpling]

I have to remember to watch this show. Visited Italy for the first time two years ago and had such a wonderful and memorable family vacation. All the food was amazing. And I love Stanley Tucci.

DH and I have a biking tour through Italy on our bucket list. We just need to pick the tour company, choose the region, save up the money and have my knee heal enough to ride. Right now we are daydreaming about Tuscany!

We did a tour on electric bikes, based in Florence. Went up into the hills, including a stop at an olive oil farm and several overlooks with beautiful views of the city. I think we booked through Viator. I would highly recommend it, especially with e-bikes, which made the uphill climbs much easier. (Another option is a Vespa scooter tour.)

 

[RUDisney]

My dad was born in Naples, and when he used to tell me stories about his life there as a boy, it never interested me much--- unfortunately, he passed at the age of 43, so I never had the opportunity to visit with him. I will, however, be taking my kids there, as soon as we are able !

My DH's cousin went to the courthouse in the town where her grandparents were born to find out if they had records on the exact address. The person helping her not only told her the address, her family was still living there, though she knew none of them. That person walked her to the house, they knocked on the door and she wound up meeting her cousins and having dinner with them.

 

[person]

I have to remember to watch this show. Visited Italy for the first time two years ago and had such a wonderful and memorable family vacation. All the food was amazing. And I love Stanley Tucci.



We did a tour on electric bikes, based in Florence. Went up into the hills, including a stop at an olive oil farm and several overlooks with beautiful views of the city. I think we booked through Viator. I would highly recommend it, especially with e-bikes, which made the uphill climbs much easier. (Another option is a Vespa scooter tour.)

Point taken about uphill climbs....

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

Because of this post and all the positive comments I've read, my husband and I have started watching and have watched the first two episodes so far. The scenery is breathtaking and, although we were already fans of Stanley Tucci, we are even more so now. Thanks for this post, OP!

 

[person]

Because of this post and all the positive comments I've read, my husband and I have started watching and have watched the first two episodes so far. The scenery is breathtaking and, although we were already fans of Stanley Tucci, we are even more so now. Thanks for this post, OP!

Sometimes it's the intense combination of scenery, history and even family associations also...

 

[izzy]

My DH's cousin went to the courthouse in the town where her grandparents were born to find out if they had records on the exact address. The person helping her not only told her the address, her family was still living there, though she knew none of them. That person walked her to the house, they knocked on the door and she wound up meeting her cousins and having dinner with them.

What a neat story!!

 

[Imzadi]

We did a tour on electric bikes, based in Florence. Went up into the hills, including a stop at an olive oil farm and several overlooks with beautiful views of the city. I think we booked through Viator. I would highly recommend it, especially with e-bikes, which made the uphill climbs much easier. (Another option is a Vespa scooter tour.)

It might be a good idea for people to rent an electric bike here first or take a lesson to familiarize yourself with it. While this may not happen to everyone, Harvey Levin of TMZ bought a new e-bike during the beginning of the pandemic. One of his first few times riding it, he fell off and broke his ankle.

Simon Cowell's accident was much worse, his first and only time riding his brand new e-bike in the courtyard of his home. Right after he got on, he couldn't control it as took off with him, faster than he realized it would. He crashed and ended up with a broken back in several places which required 6 hours of surgery and a a metal rod placed in his back. Then months of recuperation and rehab.

In case (general) you crash, (which of course you won't, ) you want it to happen here, close to home. And if you need a lesson or instructions, you may want more than someone who can only point to the brake while speaking a language foreign to you, you want instructions in a language you understand.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I like the series as I feel he is really showing what Italian food is in Italy, not Italian-American food. There is a huge difference.

Can't wait to get back to Italy! My mom was born there, my husband has dual citizenship with Italy and I have been going since I was a little girl.. Pre-Covid we were going at least two times a year. We have visited every region, except the island of Sardinia, most more than once.

Hopefully by the end of this year.

Oh my yes. And I love Italian food. DD was married in Italy. It was magical. Italians know how to do a wedding properly!

 

[AppleDumpling]

It might be a good idea to rent an electric bike here first or take a lesson to familiarize yourself with it...

...In case you crash, (which of course you won't, ) you want it to happen here, close to home. And if you need a lesson or instructions, other than someone pointing to the brake, you want it in a language you understand.

I suppose that’s true, however AFAIK they’re still not as readily available in the US as in Europe, and you may have a hard time finding a place that rents them. I remember hearing about Cowell’s unfortunate accident.

All I can tell you is we had no problems, and it was a very quick learning curve. The two main things you need to know are to power up gradually, and how to use disc brakes properly. You still pedal like a regular bike; the electric assist just gives you an extra boost when necessary. I should say that DH and I (in our late 50’s but still fairly active) own and ride bikes (not e-bikes) regularly. And DS, 22 at the time and very active, also rides regularly on a bike with disc brakes. Before heading out for our tour (which ended up being just the 3 of us with a guide who spoke perfect English), we had the opportunity to practice near the bike shop for as long as needed until we felt comfortable. Which honestly was probably only 10 or 15 minutes. We found the e-bikes easy to get used to, once you got the hang of it. YMMV

 

[tinkerhon]

Because of this post and all the positive comments I've read, my husband and I have started watching and have watched the first two episodes so far. The scenery is breathtaking and, although we were already fans of Stanley Tucci, we are even more so now. Thanks for this post, OP!

You are VERY welcome !!! Its been a nice respite for many of us !!!

 

[Imzadi]

I suppose that’s true, however AFAIK they’re still not as readily available in the US as in Europe, and you may have a hard time finding a place that rents them.

Too bad. You just reminded me, NYC actually had electric scooters for rent for about 3 months. It may have been just after the pandemic lockdown and there was still very little traffic on the streets once lock down was over. (Then NYC rent-a-bike program has been extremely successful the past few years. And it is modeled after certain bike programs in Europe.)

Unfortunately, after about 3 months, the city had to stop the scooter rentals as too many people crashed and got hurt badly. Apparently people thought they could just swipe a credit card and get on and go without any real instruction. Some people got hurt crashing into cars and stationary objects like lamp posts, and went flying over the cars, etc.

Still, I think it would be a lovely way to get around the more rural parts of Italy and at a leisurely pace.

 

[usnuzuloose]

When is the show on?

 

[tinkerhon]

When is the show on?

The new airings were on Sunday night at 9PM (EST) on CNN---- season # 1 is over, but CNN usually shows a few of the episodes on the weekend - a week or two ago, they showed episodes 2-6 one night.

 

[usnuzuloose]

The new airings were on Sunday night at 9PM (EST) on CNN---- season # 1 is over, but CNN usually shows a few of the episodes on the weekend - a week or two ago, they showed episodes 2-6 one night.

thank you

 

[Imzadi]

"Late Night" talk show hosts Pizza War!

Jimmy Fallon watched Stanley Tucci's first episode on Naples pizza and decided to demo himself attempting to make an authentic(ish) Naples pizza:

Jimmy Fallon Pizza Making video

Jimmy Kimmel, who famously hosts pizza parties all the time at his L.A. home, decided to show Fallon how making a pizza is really done:

What really hit home for me during the Naples episode is when the blonde woman who was showing Stanley around said how she doesn't know how to make pizza. No need to. Everyone just walks out their door, and gets a pizza down the street. That the first day the COVID lockdown was over, thousands of people went to get pizza.

I thought, "Yep! YEP! ME TOO!" I think the longest I've ever been without pizza was during the COVID lockdown. Normally, I can just walk down the street and pass by several NY pizza places, so I don't make any at home either. The day lockdown was over and restaurants were open for takeout, margherita pizza was the FIRST thing I went for.