About Just Go Italy

What are we about? Um. You’ll have to look, read, and decide.

Ok, it’s what we aren’t about. We aren’t about to regale you with the “ten best” of anything. We aren’t going to shame you to go to a place that doesn’t fit you. I am not “the soup/travel Nazi” and I won’t play one on my website.

If you’ve even thought about buying a selfie stick, this site probably isn’t for you. The travelers should recognize that cities and culture deserve to be more than just a blurry background.

We will introduce you to little treasures found in Italy. There’s a lot of them. We’ll give you a map to find them. If one doesn’t interest you, fine. You’re not abnormal. You’re just you. There will be other treasures along presently. Wait for them. You’ll find some you like. I’m pretty sure of this. When you’ve seen enough to make you think that Italy is a place you would find interesting, then you can plan a vacation. You can string together your microadventures into a chain that will light your life—or at least that’s the theory. We’ll try to give you the microguides you need.

Or—Just Go. To Italy. You don’t need explicit directions. Desire, willingness to look and learn, and, foremost, the ability to approach travel like a child: fearless and without baked-in prejudice. Well, that and some adultish wine…

Oh, and the same goes for recipes. You see, our recipes convey a different spirit than American recipes usually do. If you cook “Italian” in the US, you have never used an Italian recipe. That’s because they get lost in translation. The Italian recipe will say, “Add a glass of wine and a little salt.” The American editor will thrash around in the chair and scream, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” while tugging at her hair. After the spasms subside, the recipe will read, “ In a glass measuring cup, carefully measure 3 1/2 ounces of a dry white wine that has been stored at room temperature and let it trickle into the pot ever so gently. Then get out your matched set of measuring spoons and select the one with 3/8 of a teaspoon written on the handle. Fill that with salt, carefully leveling the measure with your silver salt leveler ($29.95 at good gourmet shops everywhere) and gently let it stream into the pot, all the while stirring with a wooden spoon.”

That’s why Italians cook and you don’t.

Our recipes are Italian. They are simple. They require few ingredients and even fewer specialty salt levelers and are perfect if you’ve rented an apartment on your Italian vacation and want to whip up something using the plethora of crap kitchen items you’ll find in many rentals.

Happy traveling. Happy cooking.

—james