Italy

The first experience I had with the Italian fear of wind came after a gym workout with the host mom for whom I was au pairing. We both took showers, and she emerged with her hair dry. I knew we were tight for time, but I had a case of grease-head so I had done a thorough wash. I'm accustomed to walking outside while my hair air-dries, so I grabbed my stuff and met my mamma at the door. She looked at my wet hair with a horrified face. "Go blow-dry your hair, the wind will make you sick!" So I did.

One of the best parts of a Backroads trip is the connection with a place and its locals, and one of the best parts of being a Backroads leader is creating our own connections and facilitating them for our guests. At the beginning of my first season leading trips in Italy, I was unsure about my ability to provide this connection.

If you’re lucky enough to visit Italy, then you undoubtedly need to experience one of Italy’s great initiatives, agriturismos. If you’re lucky enough to travel to Italy with Backroads, we’ll take you there. For lunch! Agriturismos are farms with lodging for travelers.

Located in the north-west corner of Italy, surrounded by the frosted great Alps, Torino has a great cultural and historical heritage that dates back to the Romans. It was founded in 28 B.C., initially as a camp...