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Hey there! We’re back for another adventure on The Red Eye, our weekly newsletter for coffee-loving travelers!
Each Sunday morning we serve up inspiring travel stories to help motivate you to plan out your next adventure! Our stories are written by well-caffeinated vagabonds who’ve traveled over 2,188,777 miles and counting. ✈️
So grab your favorite cup of joe (a pour-over of Italian roast Milan really slaps) and let’s check-in for our next flight — today we’re heading to Italy!
But first, coffee.
As in, how about some FREE coffee? ☕
Share with us how often you indulge in your coffee habit and we’ll enter you in a random drawing for a FREE Trial Roast Taster of fresh-roasted beans. We’re shipping out free bags of coffee this week to 5 lucky winners!
Winners get to pick their favorite roast style from world cities Stockholm (light roast Ethiopia Yirgacheffe), Prague (medium Guatemala), Milan (medium+ blend), and Istanbul (dark blend).
(BONUS: Find out instantly how you compare against other coffee lovers! We reveal your ranking right after you submit your answer.)
How many cups of coffee do you drink in a day? |
Ok, thanks for sharing!🙏 Now grab your boarding pass, we’re off to bella Italy!
Unlock the Italian café experience.
Ok, you survived the red eye flight and just touched down in Italy. Your brain is trashed and you desperately need a cup of coffee to beat-back the jet lag.
Once you clear Italian immigration and grab your bags, you do a bee-line for the nearest coffee shop in the airport arrivals hall.
Everything looks chaotic. How do you order a cup of coffee in Italy?
IT'S EASIER THAN IT LOOKS.
Ordering coffee in Italy looks intimidating on your first try. But learn a few simple phrases and you'll be ordering coffee like a local in no time.
It's easy, just click to this page and scroll down to what you want to order and you'll find the correct Italian pronunciation. You’ll even find audio tracks so you can practice — just click the "SAY IT" button.
Try it out. This is how you properly say to a Barista I’d like a Caffè Macchiato, please:
Discover what’s behind Italy’s 12+ coffee drinks, how Italian baristas make them properly (you may be surprised), and how to pronounce them just like a local. We cover all the biggies, including:
Postcards from Florence.
Our fellow passengers on The Red Eye Aaron & Cathy toast you from the Eternal City Rome! (that's an Aperol Spritz, btw)
Y'all may remember that Aaron & Cathy asked for Vagabond Advice on coffee and dinner recommendations in Rome and Florence a few episodes back.
They took our advice and hit up Trattoria La Casalinga in Florence for classic Tuscan home-style cooking. They're sharing a short write-up of their delicious experience to stoke your own travel dreams. Buon appetito!
Our culinary adventure: Trattoria La Casalinga
Picture a cozy, unassuming little restaurant tucked away in the heart of Florence. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but as soon as you step inside, you're transported to a labyrinth of charming, snug rooms that invite you to sit down and stay awhile.
The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and there’s a real sense of community among the patrons and staff. It's clear that this is a family-owned establishment that takes pride in its traditions.
And let's talk about the food. Oh my goodness, the food. It's hands-down the best we've had on our entire trip, and that's saying something. This is true, authentic Tuscan cuisine, with not a word of English on the menu and not a soul speaking anything other than Italian.
Feeling adventurous, we decided to take a chance on something we couldn't quite translate from the antipasti list. It turned out to be thinly sliced, aged pork fat (lardo!) served with warm toast. Now, this isn't something we would normally go for, but with the house wine, it was an absolute revelation. It melted in our mouths, leaving us craving more.
Aaron ordered the spinach-filled ravioli, sautéed in butter and garnished with sage. He couldn't resist ordering a side of steamed spinach, which turned out to be the perfect accompaniment. So simple, but the flavor was out of this world, and we both agreed that we'd never tasted anything like it before.
I went for the Penne Bolognese, and it did not disappoint. The marinated beef was so delicate and perfectly herbed, with balanced flavors that left me feeling completely satiated.
And then there was dessert. I went for the tiramisu, which turned out to be the best I’d had on this entire trip. The light, creamy texture and perfectly balanced flavor were fabulous. Aaron went for a scoop of ice cream served on a bed of sliced pineapple. It was an unexpected combination that worked surprisingly well, creating a flavor that was both interesting and delicious.
All of this, and at a very reasonable price too. We left feeling happy, full, and eager to recommend this hidden gem to anyone visiting Florence. Just make sure you time your visit carefully - this place is only open for 3 hours in the afternoon, and only on certain days of the week. But trust us, it's worth the wait.
— Cathy H. and Aaron H., Mountain View, CA.
Ok, that’s a wrap for this week’s edition of The Red Eye!
Looking to extend your trip? Here are a couple more things you can check out:
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