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Only A Bag - An Italy Travel Podcast

Only A Bag - An Italy Travel Podcast

By: Darcy Melton | Nathaniel Mellor
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About this listen

New episodes every Wednesday! Your guide to Italy travel! Hosts Darcy and Nathaniel—two tourists-turned-locals—offer advice like how to get off the beaten path (such as visiting southern Italy), how order coffee like a local (at the bar), and most importantly, where to find authentic Italian food and gelato. Visit Italy with us every week from home or in the car. Whether you’re planning an Italy vacation or looking to move here, Darcy and Nathaniel guide you along the way. Follow us wherever you listen to podcasts and check out our website onlyabag.com for articles! Thanks for listening!Darcy Melton | Nathaniel Mellor Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Tips for Traveling in the Rain
    Jan 9 2026

    Traveling in the rain can often mean unforeseen hurdles, new difficulties to navigate, and the unfortunate reality that everything you own will get wet. After a recent trip up to Naples, we both realized that we've come to change our minds on some rain gear such as rain jackets, and whether they're actually better than umbrellas.


    If you'd like to support us, but you don't have the time to hunt down all of the affiliate links scattered across the website, a listener suggested (thank you!) putting them all in one place, so we have! Head over to ⁠www.onlyabag.com/affiliate-links⁠ and you can see all of the companies we have partnerships with and you can use them to support Only A Bag (which we deeply appreciate).


    If you'd like to support the podcast in other ways, you can donate to Only A Bag on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!


    If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review and follow Only a Bag wherever you listen to podcasts! If you'd like to get in touch, you can send us a message on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at onlyabagpodcast@gmail.com, or on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    For more info, check out our articles on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and read our Substack ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letters from the Balcony⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


    Thanks for listening!

    xDarcy and Nathaniel

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    34 mins
  • Tips for Traveling as a Group
    Jan 7 2026

    As a sort of "spiritual successor" to April 2nd, 2025's "Tips for Traveling With Someone Else", we wanted to sit down and discuss the common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them when traveling with a group of any type. We talk about deciding what you want to see and eat, getting clear with your budget, and clarifying expectations.


    If you'd like to support us, but you don't have the time to hunt down all of the affiliate links scattered across the website, a listener suggested (thank you!) putting them all in one place, so we have! Head over to ⁠www.onlyabag.com/affiliate-links⁠and you can see all of the companies we have partnerships with and you can use them to support Only A Bag (which we deeply appreciate).
    If you'd like to support the podcast in other ways, you can donate to Only a Bag on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!
    If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review and follow Only a Bag wherever you listen to podcasts! If you'd like to get in touch, you can send us a message on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at onlyabagpodcast@gmail.com, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
    For more info, check out our articles on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and read our Substack ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letters from the Balcony⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
    Thanks for listening!
    xDarcy and Nathaniel

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • Italy in the Headlines: Trevi Fountain Fee, Colosseum Metro Stop, and Strikes
    Jan 2 2026

    In this episode we're talking about several things that may affect your trip to Italy including January 2025 strikes, the new Trevi Fountain fee, Rome's new line C Metro stop, and (just for fun) Amazon drones.


    Here is a quick list of upcoming strikes we mention in this episode:

    - January 9 - airline/airport strike

    This includes a national ground staff strike from 1-5pm, EasyJet's flight crew will strike for 24 hours , Vueling's flight attendants will strike from 10am-6pm, there will also be a 24 hour baggage handling strike at both Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa.

    Flights should be guaranteed from 7-10am and 6-9pm

    Here is a link to a list of guaranteed flights.

    - January 12-13 (from 3am Jan 12 to 2am Jan 13) - Trenord in Lombardia (region in the north including Milan) here are links to Trenord's info for what to do in case of a strike and guaranteed train list.

    - January 13 - National Taxi strike

    - January 13 - 24 hour Bus strike in Umbria (Busitalia Sita Nord)

    - January 31 from 1pm to 5pm - Verona Villafranca Airport air traffic control strike


    If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Only a Bag wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review!

    If you'd like to get in touch, you can send us a message on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at onlyabagpodcast@gmail.com, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    For more info, check out our articles on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and read our Substack ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letters from the Balcony⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    Want to help the podcast? You can check out all of our affiliate links ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠! If you book through any of them, we receive a small commission, and it helps to keep us going! You can also donate to Only a Bag on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to keep the podcast going! As always, thank you all so much for listening.


    x Darcy and Nathaniel

    Only A Bag

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    42 mins
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