I’ve only been here in Italy for a few days. It’s such a relief. Price wise I mean.
I’m convinced that now might be the best time to travel to Italy in years. Prices for flights are low. Diesel fuel for our lease car is under 1 Euro per liter, the lowest price I’ve seen in years. The villa rental companies I’ve talked to have all lowered their prices in anticipation of a poor season.
So if you’ve still got a job or some money stashed away, now might be the time to come over here.
If you want a travel experience that’s fun and comes at rock bottom prices, follow our “food shopping and ordering in a restaurant advice”:httpx://www.wanderingitaly.com/a/italian-food.htm and maybe buy some salami or other meat products and have a light dinner at night in your reduced rate vacation rental after enjoying a price fixed “pranzo di lavoro” or workers lunch at a restaurant for 9 to 12 Euros a person (here in the Lunigiana), tax and tip (and wine and coffee) included. You can’t beat that.
You know what we pay for real Parmigiano Reggiano over here? No, not the noxious chemicals in that green shaker can, I mean the real thing made by folks who care about good taste and are regulated by law to provide it without shenanigans. Real Parmigiano Reggiano I’m talkin’ about. We figure our last purchase came in at $7 a pound. The exact same stuff (except that it’s been sitting around on loading docks for a while) will run you $23-27 in the states. Heck, you can make up your plane fare if you eat enough of this stuff on your vacation.
Here’s what I like to do. I crumble some Parmigiano into crumbles the size of marbles, then set a pile of those crumbles along the edge of the cutting board when I’m chopping things for dinner. I pour a glass of wine, chop something, have a piece of Parmigiano.
It’s not a bad way to incent yourself to chop well.
Yes, Parmigiano Reggiano isn’t just for grating. You knew that, right?
You like head cheese? Maybe not your favorite, but I just paid 1 Euro for an etto of what was described to me as a type of head cheese soppressata. That’s $1.35 for almost a quarter pound (.22 pounds, actually).
Ok, so maybe you like the expensive stuff. My favorite salami cost me 22.40 Euros per kilo. Of course I didn’t buy a kilo, I bought an etto, or .22 pounds. It cost e 2.20 Euros, or about $3 for a quarter pound, enough for three or four sandwiches.
Learn more about Italian food or see what an etto of salami looks like and how to order it.
Then buy that plane ticket and get over here right now and start saving some money.