Italy

If you are planning to spend any amount of time in eastern Sicily, the presence of Mount Etna looms large. From Catania to Taormina and further, the volcano is visible from great distances.

Naturally, if you're like us, you'll want to head up it to get a closer look. For those who are the most adventurous, perhaps even take a hike on an old lava flow.

This is what we did during our journey up Mount Etna, and while you can see quite a surreal and barren landscape here, you'll do well to plan ahead before tackling any trails. Hiking on a volcano is unlike anything we've ever done!

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Thinking of picking up a rental car to drive around Piedmont on your next trip?

The good news is that driving in Piedmont is relatively easy and is something we highly recommend for all visitors. The bad news is that you are still in Italy, and common concerns with driving in Italy are present- albeit to perhaps a lesser degree here compared to other regions.

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit more about what our experience was like traveling around Piedmont with a car, and give you some tips to have the best time out with a car!

Note: An international drivers permit is required for driving in Italy if you are not local.

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Piazza Duomo in Alba, Italy, is a fine dining restaurant that has held three Michelin stars for more than a decade and is on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. With all of those accolades, we knew we had to see what all the hype is about during our recent trip to Piedmont.

It all started with us setting our alarms for 3:45AM our time in order to log on precisely when reservations opened: 10AM Italy time, 3 months ahead of time. The restaurant releases all reservations for the entire month at once, and the release dates are published on their website.

Having secured our spot, the next choice was to select the menu that we wanted to have. Piazza Duomo offers two different food tasting menus, one a 6-course option called “The Journey,” and the second a 10-course menu called simply “Barolo,” meant to pair with Barolo wines, naturally.

When we made our booking we weren't sure if we wanted to focus so laser-like on Barolo pairings, so we initially booked The Journey. However, when the restaurant reached out a few days before our visit we panicked and changed to the Barolo menu. 

We are glad we made the switch.

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Ristorante Borgo Sant'Anna is a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Barolo region of Italy. The restaurant's picturesque setting amidst the rolling hills covered with vineyards and the creative use of regional ingredients combine to make this a solid option if you're exploring Piedmont.

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