5 Common Packing Mistakes for Italy You Might Be Making

Croce and Carol Amato share tips on avoiding 5 common packing mistakes for Italy. They’ll help you pack smarter and avoid bringing unnecessary items so you can make the most of your trip.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, is a captivating blend of ancient history, stunning natural beauty, and vibrant culture. With its rugged coastlines, picturesque towns, and delicious cuisine, Sicily offers a truly unforgettable experience.

However, suppose you’re planning a trip to Italy or contemplating a move to Sicily. In that case, packing can be one of the most challenging aspects of the process—especially for those with little experience in packing, shipping, and moving.

To ensure a smooth transition, it is essential to know how to choose the right amount of packaging materials, prepare the necessary supplies, and pay special attention to fragile items.

To help you navigate this process, join Croce and Carol Amato, seasoned travelers who have made Sicily their home, for an informative live video. They’ll address your pressing questions about relocating to this beautiful island, offering invaluable insights and personal experiences.

From understanding how to pack your luggage to knowing what to avoid and what essentials to bring, they will provide practical advice to guide you every step of the way.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge about moving to Sicily, Italy.

Tune in, ask your questions, and actively participate in discovering if this stunning island could be the next chapter in your retirement journey.

▶️Video Chapters:
00:00 5 Common Packing Mistakes for Italy
00:27 Overview of Packing Tips
01:07 General TSA Tips
02:07 Downloading Airline Apps
02:48 Medical Considerations
04:02 What Not to Pack
05:20 Packing Prescription Medications
06:37 Sudafed and Other Legal Considerations
07:11 Unnecessary Items: Hair Dryer and Food
08:36 Avoiding ‘What If’ Packing
11:42 Family Travel Anecdotes
14:07 Don’t need to bring food and spices
14:30 The Importance of Packing Light and some additional packing tips
15:44 Compression Stockings
16:32 TSA Liquid Rules
17:53 Extra Plastic Bags
19:22 Currency and Air Travel Tips
21:41 Germ Protection
24:26 Travel Adapter
26:10 Living in Sicily
33:48 Finding Churches in Sicily
35:30 Final Q&A and Tips

5 Common Packing Mistakes for Italy You Might Make

Ciao a tutti. Happy Labor Day. Yes, we are glad you joined us today.

Happy Labor Day. We are Croce and Carol Amato and today if you are excited about your upcoming trip, you have a trip planned, but you hate to pack and prepare, you’re going to love this live stream and video because we are going to share the exact rules that we follow to every time that we travel. So and also we’re going to give you our best tips that will help you to get through TSA check line without pre-check.

You’ll get through there super fast with the tips we’re going to share. So welcome everybody. Ciao a tutti, and we are going to share travel tips today as well as Q&A – everything Sicily.

Okay, let’s see here. We have the orientation. I set it for horizontal and for some unknown reason it is not, well it didn’t take, excuse me one moment.

All righty, there we go. It’s going to be really thin. All righty, I thought I set it to horizontal when I set it up.

Okay. Sorry about that guys. But we are Carol and Croce Amato. Thank you for joining us in this live stream. And you know what? Let’s see. Should I start over or no? I guess not.

Okay. We are glad you joined us today, Labor Day. We are going to be sharing packing tips that will help get you through the TSA line super quick if you’re going to Italy or whatever country because we are seasoned travelers, not experts, right? Right. We’re not experts, but we are seasoned travelers, and we’re here to help you know what not to pack as well as a few extra tips of what you can bring.

Now, I did make some bullet point notes so that we could be very streamlined. Hello, Pam. Hi, Jess.

Hi, Salvatore. Nice to see you. Thank you for joining us.

Appreciate that. Sorry about the orientation mess up. I did click horizontal, and I don’t know why it didn’t take.

Anyway, okay.

Overview of Packing Tips

Starting with some general tips. First of all, going through the security checkpoint at TSA, which of course TSA is Transportation Security Administration. Very important guys that you don’t joke or talk to them a lot because it’ll delay the line. But when you’re going through there, I would recommend not wearing belts.

Now, this is not the tip of what not to pack. These are just extras in advance.

General TSA Tips

Do not wear a belt because it might sound off the alarm.

Also, avoid anything metal: buckles, whether that’s shoes or clothing. Even sequins, like a sequin blouse or a sequin shawl, can set off the alarm, which will cause you to be pulled aside and all of that. So, keep it simple – wear simple clothing.

Avoid valuable jewelry. Anything that can, you know, set off the alarm, but also can be something alluring for those pickpocketers or people that want to just, you know, take advantage of travelers. So, keep it real simple.

Downloading Airline Apps

General tips, you want to go ahead and download the airline’s app so that you can be up to date. And especially the day before and the day that you travel so that you know if there are any flight delays or if you can get free curbside. Sometimes they’ll offer free curbside and that’s a really nice perk. And also, you’ll need to check the size and dimensions and weight of your carry-on item.

Just check all that before. Do your research. Write it down so that when you prepare, you will know exactly what your airline requires.

Medical Considerations

Also, if you have insulin, if you are a diabetic, that liquid is allowed, of course, because it’s your necessary medication. You don’t have to put it in the liquid bag, but you do need to inform the TSA agent that you’re carrying that through. Another thing along the lines of medical, CPAP machines – the breathing respiratory machines. If you carry a CPAP with you when you travel, it is not considered an extra bag.

So that is able to be carried in addition to your personal item bag and your carry-on luggage. So just remember that you will need to inform them that you’re carrying one. Because the hoses and all, it kind of looks like a bomb, so yeah.

And on — going back to what I said about not joking with the TSA, you definitely want to avoid joking and saying anything along the lines of terrorist or, you know, my CPAP machine looks like a bomb, but it’s not, etc. Don’t even use those words. I highly recommend you just keep chill, go through the line without talking unless you need to inform them of something that you’re carrying that is of particular note.

What Not to Pack

And then let’s see what not to pack. Do not pack your lithium batteries, chargers for your cell phone, for your laptops. Now I’m not talking about the cord, I’m talking about the actual battery part, the battery pack that is actually lithium-based. And so that is combustible. They do not want that in the checked luggage. They want it in your carry-on. They’d rather have that in the cabin of the airplane. So that’s a tip for you there.

And then something that’s really just common, but I tend to overpack and take too much, too much clothing, too many shoes. You really don’t need more than two, at the most, three pair of shoes.

One comfortable pair for walking on the cobblestone streets or wherever you’re going for hiking or whatever activity you’re going. And then casual and then possibly dressy, but I definitely would avoid anything dressy. You’re really not going to need it.

Less is definitely more, wouldn’t you say? Yes, definitely. I’ve overpacked, and we’ve got it down to one suitcase each now after so many trips. Yes, that’s plenty.

Packing Prescription Medications

Absolutely. And let’s see, another thing is prescription medications. If you are on any type of medication, make sure you pack those medicines in your personal item bag, your personal bag, not in your checked suitcase, because guess what? What happens if your luggage is lost and you need your medication and you’re overdue, you know, for the time for your dose or whatever? Not good.

It’s not a good situation. So please remember to do that. And you can make to-do lists and jot these down so that when you’re packing and getting ready, make sure you keep those.

Now, also make sure in your medication bottle, you keep the original label. If you’re going to put pills or supplements or vitamins or whatever in Ziploc baggies in your personal item bag, make sure if it’s a prescription medication to keep the original label from the bottle or from the container. And so that will easily be identified for the authorities.

They might want to, you know, know what the pill is. If it’s just a bunch of white pills, they don’t know what it is. So keep it – if you take it out and put it in Ziploc baggies, that’s okay. But you’ll definitely want to keep the original label.

Sudafed and Other Legal Considerations

And then the next on the list is also Sudafed. You know, you better check the country where you’re going, the destination. Because you need to go on and see what is legal and what is not legal. Simply because Sudafed is illegal to take to Japan and Mexico. Who would have thought, you know, cold medications would be out of bounds.

But that’s something that really surprised me when I was doing my research. I don’t take Sudafed, but I just wanted to throw that in there.

Unnecessary Items: Hair Dryer and Food

And then you really don’t need a hair dryer. I mean, most hotels and Airbnbs, every one that we’ve gone in has always had it. And I’ve had this big bulky hair dryer. Even if you take a small one, they take up space, right? And so that’s something that you would not need.

Now, if you’re going to Italy, we never take any type of food item or spices to go to Italy. When we travel to Italy, everything is better there. And all the spices are probably fresher there. I mean, Italy is so close to Africa. A lot of spices come from Africa. But anyway, you’re going to get a lot better quality food and a lot fresher food and spice items and things.

If there’s something that you have to have, if you have an allergy or something like that, that’s different. But most things are available. I am a diabetic, and even though I don’t eat regular sugar, I can find those natural sweeteners like stevia in the different stores.

And even Lidl has all of the erythritol and the stevia blends and all of that. So you can find all the health items in Europe. Depending on where you go in the world. But in Italy, I would definitely say you don’t need to pack specialty item foods unless it’s a medical reason.

Avoiding ‘What If’ Packing

And then let’s see here. Another thing that I am guilty of is definitely “What ifs.” What if I need this? What if I need that? What if it rains, and I’m going to need an umbrella? What if I have a special occasion to go to? What if one of your cousins gets married, or this or that? Well, you’re going to know a lot of that ahead of time.

And you know what? It’s fun to shop in Italy. It is so much fun. We love to go to the mall. What’s it called? Poseidon, right? Poseidon, yes., in Carini, Sicily. And the clothes are amazingly affordable and such high quality.

It is really fun. I love to go to Benetton. And the cotton is so fine and cooling and the natural fibers. It’s just a lot of fun.

We’re Carol and Croce Amato. If you’re just joining us, we’re talking about travel. We’re talking about packing tips, what to bring, what not to bring. Welcome. Hi, John.

Nice to see you. Let’s see. There is a question.

Do you like ITA? Yes, we have used ITA. Good experience so far. The flight attendants have been super friendly and helpful, and they’ve spoken English and Italian.

Yes. And let’s see. Do you prefer generic or brand? I’m not sure what that’s referring to, John.

The medicine. Oh, the medicine. I don’t know.

I mean, I only take one prescription medication. I have a bunch of vitamins and supplements though. I remember last time, remember when I had my Monday through Sunday pillbox with all my vitamins and supplements in it.

And I stored that in my big purse, which is a big leather bag that is like an overnight tote. Actually, I can fit my laptop and charger and everything in it. And I put my pillboxes in there for my supplements and vitamins.

And I put rubber bands around them thinking that’s going to be good enough. Well, it wasn’t. All the pills – and I had them divvied out. Some days I take one thing, and I skip and then do another. So they were all at the bottom of my purse.

I don’t recommend that. I recommend Ziploc baggies. Or if you do use the pill container, if I do that again, I’m going to use shipping tape and just tape them all shut until I get there, until I need them.

But it would be easier just with Ziploc baggies. Let’s see.

Any other questions? The airline. Well, we have points with American, but we’ve flown ITA. We’ve flown Delta. Right now we’re scheduled with American.

They’re all pretty good. And you have to check with the rules because they’re changing all the time. We need to check and get the app for the airline and the app for the airport.

That’s another tip for y’all. Because you’ll want the airport app simply because you’ll have maps on there that will help you find ground transportation, will help you find a rental car location area. And that’s a big help when you’re frenzied and trying to get from place to place. And if you’re really tired after a long day of travel so that’s a good tip.

Family Travel Anecdotes

So now let’s see. Well, I remember a little boy came from Italy, Sicily. We first time traveled. Huge plane, 747, which they’re not available right now. And my mom packed so many luggage. I’m thinking of four or five luggage. And I don’t know why she brings so many luggage, so many clothing, so many things. But we come a long way with the airlines.

So nowadays we have so many changes, so many restrictions. The size – charge for every little luggage. And go through the TSA and all the checkpoints and all that.

Quite a change, definitely. Yes, it has been. I remember your dad bringing so much stuff from Italy.

What would he bring sometimes on the airplane? Well, I grew up in a family with a fisherman in my dad’s family, my mom’s family, and they’re in a business of fishing. Now, did he fish or what did he do? Well, sometimes he fished, sometimes he bought the fish. And in the past, I remember several times they come over in the United States.

They bring so many different kinds of fish, like squid, octopus and all that fresh seafood. And we really enjoy it. Awesome.

Now, you can still bring seafood, right? Yes, there is no limit and there is no closing, border or anything in the ocean. It’s a one stretch, only one piece.

So no regulations as far as fish. As far as you know, from coming from Italy. What else would he bring from Italy? Well, sometimes he brings some like cheese, caciocavallo, which is a local cheese. But I’m not sure if we can bring that stuff.

Well, we’ll have to check that. We’ll have to check the caciocavallo. We love caciocavallo. We grate it and put it on pasta. So that’s a really good thing.

Don’t need to bring food and spices

All right. So you don’t need to bring food and spices with you. Because it’s much better where you’re going probably. And all the what ifs, less is more. The older I get, hopefully the wiser I get. Not sure about that, but I think less is more. You can get pretty much anything you need wherever you’re going. And in fact, you might not even need it.

The Importance of Packing Light and some additional packing tips

So all of the what ifs, what if I need that? I’m going to pack it just in case. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t.

Go lighter. You’ll love it.

And also, if you’re going to go somewhere where you’re staying in a hotel or an Airbnb without a washing machine, I do recommend those little packets, those Tide sink packets where you can wash things out in the sink and then just hang them in the shower to dry.

Those are really handy if you’re going to a hotel or just on vacation. But that’s another good tip. And let’s see.

Also, I highly recommend AirTags for Apple or any type of GPS tracking tags. We have Apple AirTags that we’re going to sync with our phone. And we’re going to put it in each luggage, my purse, our carry-on, and we will always know where our bags are. So the GPS tracking is – I wouldn’t be without it these days.

Now, we didn’t always have that. This is actually going to be our first trip with these. So I highly recommend that. And I’ll have a link in the description.

Share with us in the comments what your travel tips are, what your experiences are. We’d love to hear it.

Compression Stockings

Also, I recommend compression stockings, compression socks. Now it wouldn’t have to be the real tight medical, you know, super tight, hard-to-get-on type, just a light or medium compression helps with circulation for those long-haul flights. Now, Italy is about seven hours going and almost nine coming back.

I don’t know why it’s longer coming back, but anyway, I guess it’s different. It’s got to do with the wind direction. Okay. Yes.

The tailwinds or whatever. Okay. Well, yeah, you’re going to need help with circulation. And I definitely recommend getting up every hour or so and walking depending on availability of where your seat is.

But yeah, keep that blood flowing, keep moving and compressions hose really do help with that.

TSA Liquid Rules

I have a question. Do you still have to stick with 3 oz. bottles for fluids and small tubes of toothpaste? Yes, I believe it’s 3.4 ounces or a 100 ml, but check with TSA.

You can check with tsa.gov and then check with your airline, your individual airline as well. Because they’ll have up to date current information. You want to do this well ahead of your packing time, but that’s a good question. Thank you, Pam.

Yes. Trial size. And I would recommend, I mean, not the most expensive little containers for your 3.1 ounces, but not the cheapest either. Because the pressure, the altitude, they’re going to leak.

So anything that’s liquid in your checked suitcase that’s put through under the belly of the airplane, you’ll definitely want to enclose anything that’s liquid in a Ziploc bag. And make sure that it’s tight and tape it and everything else. Because sometimes they do combust and it just depends, but that’s a good question. Thank you for that.

We are Carol and Croce Amato. If you’re just now joining us, we’re talking about travel, travel tips, TSA, what to bring, what not to bring, and just chit chatting. If you have any questions, please put them in the chat. Happy Labor Day, everyone.

Extra Plastic Bags

We’re glad you joined us. And another thing is that bring along a plastic bag for dirty clothes or to keep wet towels in. If you go to the beach, it’s just a good thing to pack a couple of extra plastic bags.

Now, when you pack your shoes, that’s the bulkiest thing you have to pack probably because you’re not bringing a hairdryer, right? So you can pack your shoes separate. They don’t have to go both together. You can put one in one corner, one in the other corner.

So that’s what I do. I separate my shoes. And also the last couple of times over to Italy, I have started rolling my clothes. Talk about life-changing.

I don’t have to iron anything. It’s very rare that I have to iron or, you know, that something gets wrinkled when I roll the clothing. And they fit better, too.

It seems like I can fit a lot more into the luggage when I roll the item rather than fold it and have those creases on the corners. And I don’t use the travel packs, the compressed travel packs. I haven’t invested in all that and gotten into that whole deal.

I know a lot of people talk about that, but I just don’t really need it. I don’t have that much stuff. I’m just simplifying.

We are in our sixties, and we are preparing to retire in Sicily. And if you haven’t seen that video where we talk about that, you go to the home channel, home tab there on our channel, The Sicilian Life on YouTube, and you can see that.

Currency and Air Travel Tips

But another tip would be take along some currency for the country you are visiting. Make sure you have a coin. If you’re going to Italy, have a Euro, two Euro coin, three, have a little bit of cash so that when you get off the plane, when you’re super tired, and you don’t want to deal with anything else, you will have money for the luggage rack -for the cart to carry all your luggage.

Which we’re only going to have a bag each and a purse and then a carry-on. That’s it. And I put my electronics, my laptop. And I do transcription from home. So I will be carrying a laptop, microphone, a foot pedal, you know, chargers. Let’s see.

What else? Pedal. Yeah. I’d said the foot pedal, all that in my carry-on and it cannot be stowed away.

So make sure you get – if you have a carry-on that you don’t want the flight attendant to stow away under the belly of the plane, that you want it with you at all times with a valuable, like your livelihood, your laptop for work, you definitely want to arrive early enough.

And be in line early enough to board the plane so that the overhead bins are available for you to stow your personal bag or your – not your personal bag, but your carry-on bag. And check the lot, the size, and stuff on website because they change a little bit and the weight too. Sometimes the the airlines will give leniency on the weight.

If you have one bag under and one’s over, they’ll let you pass through. Sometimes it just depends on their mood that day, to be quite honest. Not as much as they used to be. Yeah. They’re tighter. They’re tighter now. Yeah. It’s the world’s changing, especially since COVID. Pretty fast.

Yeah. It has really changed. So I recommend the AirTags or GPS tracking. You definitely don’t want to travel without those. It’s a little bit of – I think we paid 70 something for four, but we’re covered. And they last a long time. And we’re not going to activate them and start them until about a week before we leave and put them in our bags as we’re prepping. Because the battery, it’ll keep the battery, you know, good for longer. So I definitely recommend that.

Germ Protection

Antibacterial wipes, guys. Oh, my goodness. I’m not a germaphobe. I mean, if I’m going to get sick, I’m going to get sick, but I don’t — I was in an accident when I was a child, and I don’t have a spleen. I had a spleenectomy. My spleen was removed. So I am a little bit geared toward — I have more of a propensity to get infections, but I don’t have an issue with that. I really don’t. But I recommend carrying the little travel antibacterial wipes packet.

You’ll want to wipe down your tray table, your seatbelt buckle, and your whole area before you even sit down. If you can, if it’s not people hurrying you and pushing you. But when you get into your little row, go ahead and wipe that all down. Have it out while you’re in line.

You’ll have plenty of time while you’re in line with people trying to get on the plane, board, and wipe down your area. And then you’ll feel good about touching things. Because they don’t have time to clean before these – well, maybe they do for long flights. I don’t know, but I don’t trust the cleanliness.

So that’s something that you really should invest in. And they’re not expensive. You can get Clorox or antibacterial wipes for the tray table, seat buckle, and the whole area, the armrest, and the lock and the pushback thing to put your seat back.

Oh my, I definitely always do that. Yes. All right.

Let’s check on – let’s see. Have you ever seen a small pet in a small kennel ride in the cabin with a passenger? Yes. We have, and I feel sorry for them because they’ve been on long flights, and they do, they give them water and everything, but they’re not allowed out.

Well, I don’t – you know, they can’t use the ‘restroom’ unless they have like a potty pad in the little kennel, which I guess they could there. But they usually don’t in their own personal space. But yeah, we have seen that. We have seen that; cute little dogs, but okay. I believe small pets are allowed if the carrier fits underneath the seat. Yes.

Yes. Thank you for that tip, Jess. Yes. If it can fit under the seat, the really tiny ones, the dimensions are pretty small. So we’re talking lap dog, not any medium sized dog or large, of course not. Now they, the other pets, you’ll have to pay for them and they are stowed away in the belly of the plane. And they are taken care of, you know, they have water and everything, but yeah, they’re stored in the belly of the plane. But that’s a good question.

Any other questions? Just put them in the, in the chat, but thank you for coming. We’re Croce and Carol Amato. We really appreciate you coming along with us.

Travel Adapter

Let’s see if I have everything. Oh, I forgot to mention, you definitely need a travel adapter, a world travel adapter. My favorite is this little one we got, and it’s in a little zipper container, little zipper case. And it comes – let’s see, there’s three different plugs.

There’s 110 volt, and it’s not a converter. It’s not a voltage converter. This is an adapter, but anyway, it’s got the plug here.

It’s got European, it’s got Asian. Let’s see. There’s European, push the button, it comes in handy for all over the world. This one comes out, and you push this button to bring it in. And then it’s got USB ports right here. Then let’s see, USB right here, USC right here for C and B. There’s four B’s and one C and then three different plugs plus a receptacle right here.

Where’d you get it from? Amazon. I got it from Amazon. The name brand is Epica, and it’s listed in the description as well.

I just, if it’s something that we love and use, things we use, we just put a link in the description. If you buy, we make a small commission at no extra charge to you. If you don’t, that’s fine, but yeah, we definitely go with the adapter.

Now that’s not a converter, that’s just an adapter. Yes. So awesome.

Living in Sicily

Are you shipping any household goods from U.S. to Italy? Can you offer any advice? Thanks, from Seattle. Thank you, Doug Stewart for the question. We are not.

We are going to a place that is fully furnished in Carini, Sicily we have rented. Well, we haven’t paid yet. We have an agreement with people that we know over there, and it’s going to be a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment.

It’s actually on top of a villa, and we have a sea view and everything. But it’s fully furnished and it even has a kitchen. I mean, usually over in Italy, everything is furnished. Yes. In Italy, you can rent a place even without a kitchen, and you’ll have to go and buy a kitchen and have it installed.

To me, it’s just a different culture and that’s what they do over there. Now, a lot of places do have kitchens, but then some places are fully furnished with furnishings.

Now, this place that we’re going to even has the coffee maker and everything. Everything: dishes, knives, forks. Dishes, towels, knife and forks, silverware, glasses, everything you can, you need it for the household pretty much. Yeah, linens, the beds are made up and everything.

It’s like an Airbnb, but it’s a regular rental. We know the folks. We stayed there the first time we went to Italy in 2022.

We rented a two-bedroom, one-bath place, beautiful little apartment in Sopra Carini, which is above Carini. It’s still in Carini, but it’s the upper part of the town with a beautiful view looking out over the ocean. Of course, the ocean’s in the distance, but it’s still very pretty.

We rented that little place and then we found a bigger place that we wanted with a veranda and cooking outside and all of that. We moved over to there. And we did the home tour video on that. If y’all haven’t seen that, you can check out our videos.

It’s called, let’s see, Rent in Sicily, The True Cost of Renting in Sicily Home Tour. You can see all through our home and we describe what we paid and everything that first time. The second one, it’s three bedrooms, two baths, same thing, but it has an ocean view as well, and it’s higher up.

We’re really looking forward to that. We’re not shipping anything to answer your question, Doug, from the U.S. We’re basically selling everything. Croce is getting ready to retire.

He’s worked a long time, and he is totally ready. We are taking one suitcase each, a carry-on bag, and my purse. That’s it.

We are storing several bins. I don’t know how many, four or five maybe. I’m not sure, but we are definitely storing a few bins with family keepsakes, pictures, of course.

We will never get rid of our pictures. Any gifts or presents that my family has given me that are precious to me, any personal mementos, we are keeping in about four or five bins. And we’re going to store those in our adult kids houses, one or two. I’m not sure. And then everything else is going to be sold or given away and that we are going completely free.

We’re basically starting over over there in our 60s. So, yep, nothing. We’re not shipping anything.

Yes, Pam, thank you for the question. We will have a balcony, and I’m not sure if it wraps around. Does it wrap around? No, I think it’s just on the front side where in the distance we’ll see the sea.

We’ll see the town before us, all the view of this little town of Carini, which is about, what, 37,000 people? Just about, yes. Just about. And then the sea in the distance, the Tyrannian Sea.

We’re not on the Med side. We’re up. Carini is right outside of Palermo, which is the capital, about 20-25 minutes from Palermo, and we’re on the Tyrannian Sea side. So, we’ll see the town in our view from the balcony and then beyond the town is the sea.

So, I look forward to watching the sunset from there after dinner or maybe before dinner. Because we eat a lot later there. You know, I was thinking about that too. As Americans, we eat a lot earlier here, but think about it.

Over there, they have their midday meal, which is really a big meal. It’s always several courses, you know, antipasto, whether it’s cold or hot, then you have a first dish, a primo, or you know, pasta, or rice, or something like that. And then your main dish was a meat or fish or veggies and salad, or whatever. And then you have fruit, or dessert, and coffee.

And then you take a long nap after you clean up the kitchen. So, no wonder, you know, people eat late is because they’re sitting around the table around 1, you know, 1:15, they start. An hour-and-a-half later, they’re done. So, that’s 2:30, you know, 2:30 or so. Clean up the kitchen, and then they rest. And get up around 4:00, 4:30. And then everything reopens because everything closes down midday. And so, no wonder they eat at 8:30.

They start around 8:30. We went to – what’s that place in – let’s see, La Torre, La Torre, Villagrazia. We went there with your uncle, Zio Pietro. And I think we arrived at 7:30, 7:45, and nobody was there.

No, I mean, the doors were open, but nobody was there. We were the first ones there, and it was an odd feeling. Yeah. So, if you are used to eating a big meal midday, which the older we get, we don’t want all the courses.

Yes, it’s culturally what they do, but for us, digestion-wise, and how we feel, and we just don’t want to overeat, and all of that. We typically don’t eat the antipasto, the first, the second, and the fruits, and the desserts. We’ll usually have either the first OR the second with fruit and coffee.

And so, in fact, in the summertime, when it’s hot, your favorite thing, just when it’s really super hot, is to just make an antipasto for dinner, like cold cuts, and meats, and good cheeses.

Fresh mozzarella. Yes. Caprese, insalata Caprese, with fresh mozzarella and tomato, and olive oil, and basil. And then, let’s see, boiled eggs, and then some good fresh salami, mortadella, and just have a spread of things like that. And, oh, my goodness, that is so enjoyable and tasty, and it’s light. And it’s perfect for a summer evening.

So oftentimes, instead of having that, those things as an antipasto to one meal, as one course, we’ll just make it a meal. So as we’ve gotten older, we’ve kind of gotten away from the traditional, full – all the courses, and just done what’s to our liking. And that’s our prerogative, so we can do whatever we want to do.

But when we get together with friends, whenever we have people over, we always have courses. Definitely, when we have a company, we always do that. Yes. Different courses. Yes, we always do that.

Yes, keep tradition when we have people over, which is often over there. I love to cook. Yes, I love to cook over there.

Finding Churches in Sicily

Let’s see, any churches in Sicily that preach the gospel in English? Yes, there are.

That will be beautiful, Pam said.

Yes, yes, there are. There is, I believe, one in Cinisi. And what’s the other one in Palermo and what’s the name? Chiesa Battista.

Chiesa Battista. Chiesa Battista in Palermo, and what’s, I forget what street it’s on. Anyway, Joshua Lieb is the pastor.

We have gone there. They’re wonderful people, so yes, and that’s like 20 minutes away, 25 minutes away. It’s in the city.

It’s in downtown Palermo, and it’s a lot of traffic on Sunday morning, so if you’re fine driving or, you know, fine going over there, but it depends where you are. But there are Christian churches. And Croce grew up Catholic, didn’t you? Right, I did. There is quite a few missionaries from the U.S. all over in Italy, and they have a church in Italian and in English as well.

Yes, and Sigonella as well in Sicily. Yes. There are churches over there, but Sicily is a big island, but you know what?

Final Q&A and Tips

Land-wise, it’s huge, but there are less than 5 million people. The population is less than 5 million, and there are I think nine provinces in Sicily. And we’re in Palermo, Provincia Palermo, up in the upper west corner, and there are nine provinces, and we’re in the province of Palermo. And we know of a couple. So yeah, there are. Thank you for the question.

That’s a good question. Will you have – let’s see, I answered that one.

Are you in America? We are in Texas right now, coming to you from Dallas, Texas.

We are retiring in Sicily in a few months’ time here. We’re preparing, getting ready for our trip, and we wanted to cover some travel tips. We already went through everything.

Let me make sure I have my list all done to make sure I covered everything. I think I did. Adapter, coins for your luggage cart, plastic bag, CPAP.

Yep, I covered everything. If you have any questions, let us know. If not, we’ll let you get on with your Labor Day.

I knew it was going to be a little shorter today. Just wanted to come and come bring these tips that we’ve learned, and if it works for you, that’s not specifically to Italy. A few of the tips we gave were specifically to Italy, but they are really, you know, adaptable for anywhere you would travel.

Yes. Where do you get the Italian money here in the U.S.? At your local bank. They’ll exchange it for you, but I don’t know if that’s — that’s Euro now with the European Union. It’s no more ‘Italian’ money. Right, right. Oh, right, and I recommend to get small change.

Coins, like five dollars, a euro, ten euro. I wouldn’t recommend big bills when you travel, especially going to a destination – an airport, and you want to go for a cup of coffee or pastry, just have available small bills. Yes, and when we arrive in Milano, we definitely need money for my Caffè Milanese.

Right. As soon as I touch down, we’re gonna find a bar and get that coffee. Because I love that coffee that they make at that airport. It’s so good, and plus you’re so tired, you just want to pick-me-up anyway, so that’s a good one.

All righty, guys, I believe that is it. We appreciate you taking time and spending time with us today. Thank you so much for coming, and happy Labor Day.

We will see you the next time. Take care. Thank you.

Arrivederci. Bye-bye.