We are itinerary planners, having crafted small-town trips for travelers for over 10 years now. But we are here in Italy principally as classical muscians and organizers of cultural events.

Here’s just a little snapshot of what our lives are like in the latter identity - our alter-egos, so to speak.

We don’t have unlimited funds, so we’ve designed our business and our itinerary service around finding ways to experience luxurious travel experiences without the cost of luxury travel.

Note: This article is an update from our article from 2017, in which we outline the typical cost for a Little Roads-style trip to Europe. In five years, naturally, costs of things are expected to rise; and especially in the age of the pandemic, lodgings and restaurant prices have risen somewhat.

Here are a few tips on what you can expect to spend, and how to budget so that you have a trip that is immersive, authentic, and affordable - and you won't even notice the “budget” aspect of it.

When one moves, whether to a different neighborhood or a different country, one can never quite know what sort of people you’ll be sharing a street with.

But when it comes to our neighbors here in our little town in Italy, we feel like we won the lottery.

Our all-time winner recipe came from making a cake for our neighbor’s 11-year-old daughter a couple of years ago. When Giuseppina reported on this cake the next day, she exclaimed one word: "SQUISITO!!!"