Curious Appetite

14/06/2026

And there are always exceptions to the “rules!” Plus some are meant to be broken 😉

Above all- don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. I’ve been living and traveling in Italy for over 20 years and I STILL make rookie mistakes. It takes a lifetime to learn a culture steeped in centuries but also it’d be neat if some of y’all eased up on the judginess 🙄

Still, there are guidelines which serve as a way of at least trying to show respect to the place you are a guest in.

Learn the nuances of dining si and no-nos on one of our food tours led by certified experts and by reading our newsletter

A bonus don’t is to stop panini snacking in the streets- my friends in Rome are throwing even more shade at Florence for spreading this street panini craze 🫠 And I can appreciate this isn’t very cutesy especially when wrappers are littered around!

Instead- DO sit down and relax at an eatery with enough decency to provide seating, bins and a WC. Otherwise, snack standing (not walking!) at a proper street food stand 🥲

Any thoughts/quips/corrections you’d add to this “don’t make that rookie tourist mistake” round-up?

Buona domenica a tutti 😉

09/06/2026

Into cocktails and visiting Italy? Bologna’s cocktail scene keeps getting interesting…

After a day of exploring the city’s gardens, eating tortellini on our food tour 😉, visiting museums and cooling off with gelato under the porticos - grab something beyond the basic spritz in the city home to Amaro Montenegro!

Click the link in the bio to “Travel Tips” and find the our guide to cocktails in Bologna with 2026 updates!

Questions or thoughts about Bologna? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

28/05/2026

Suggestions for eating well around Florence

(In no particular/ranking)

Fried steak and gasp worthy desserts

Seafood delights ’s Bar Berni + during a pop-up with

Exceptional sushi and gourmet Japanese .firenze (the triglia with roe and Wagyu soba in particular 🤯)

Breaking from fancy for honest street offal with fresh spring favas at the lampredotto stand in Via Gioberti

Social dining from palace charcuterie and bistecca alla Fiorentina on our Progressive Dining Crawl at some of Florence’s best tables (tickets via bio under food tours)

Aperitivo moments with .drinks (you coming to the launch next week? Details on the grid)

Sea urchin orecchiette in Florence’s outskirts

Fragoline dress, rugs that tie the room together and matching dessert

Looking for more Florence food tips, experiences and curated guides? Head to the link tree in bio

Let me know if you have any specific curiosities in the comments!

27/05/2026

Mark your calendars! I’m excited to invite you to meet my latest project: Ernesto!

ICYMI: Ernesto is Florence’s 1st bottled low-abv earnest Negroni built with 13.5%. The same strength as a glass of wine and half the alcohol of a typical Negroni.

And in a ready-to-pour bottled format for picnics, travel-friendly nightcaps, thoughtful favors, hangover-free gatherings and more.

This little dream came to fruition thanks to a group of craft distillers in Florence and laser focused artists 🥳

Curious to meet, taste and learn more? Come to Ernesto’s launch aperitivo in Florence, get to know the Negroni’s legacy & my favorite Italian culinary drink ritual which inspired this project ❤️🇮🇹

Details are as follows:
When: Thursday June 4th 2026 from 7pm-9pm
Where: in Piazza degli Strozzi (Florence)
Cost: 18€ including Ernesto and themed-aperitivo bites

RSVP appreciated via DM .drinks on IG or e-mail via bio 🙏
Any other curiosity we left out? Comment below and we’ll do our best to answer. Looking forward to seeing you there!

22/05/2026

Latest mini-guide to Florence restaurants on substack via link in bio ✨

The most genuine food in Florence is unglamorous and unfit for television. Or I guess these days “the social media grid.” And that’s exactly how we love it.

Italians do their traditional food excellently, and the real stuff served at more earnest establishments rarely makes it to the viral lists. I’m starting to wonder if aesthetics are more important than substance.

I personally think you can have both, but ultimately for me the quality of the food and the intention behind dish ingredients is far more important than anything else.

If you agree, you may find my latest substack post of value. Thanks for visiting, subscribing and reading ✌🏼

Buon venerdì a tutti 🍝

17/05/2026

We are all pasta making princesses and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise 😂
Especially those who join our Bologna food tour: https://curiousappetitetravel.com/food-tours-cooking-classes-bologna-italy

https://www.reuters.com/world/uks-princess-kate-learns-pasta-making-visit-italy-2026-05-14/

Britain's Princess of Wales learned how to make pasta on Thursday during a visit to ​a hillside community in northern Italy's so-called food ‌valley, an area globally known for products such as the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

17/05/2026

☀️ A day in our gourmet tour of Bologna life

🗼Perusing though Bologna’s streets between medieval markets, interconnected church clusters, and leaning towers with a bonafide expert guide

🍷 Lambrusco and mortadella at Bologna’s oldest osteria dating back to 1465 (!)

🍝 pasta making and twirling (more vino)

🍫 sweets and balsamic vinegar

🍨 some of Italy’s best gelato to end

We started offering a curated culinary walk of Bologna in 2017 when I tried on living in the city known as “La Grassa.” I didn’t stay but our food tours sure did stick around! And since, it’s been wild to watch Bologna grow from an underrated destination to be a secondary city to usual hotspots like Firenze!

Given it’s only a 30min fast train from Florence, I love I can still live in the city of my heart and have an excuse to eat all the mortadella and ragù…
“for work” 😉

Have you been to Bologna? Curious to visit? Let’s chat about your Italy travel qs in the comments or send us a DM if you’d like more personalized intel