As our Little Roads readers know, we typically avoid large towns and big tourist hot-spots. But for the past two years we’ve made an exception to this “rule”: We’ve taken a room at a hotel in Florence with a balcony right on the main Piazza Duomo, to enjoy the chaos and celebrations of New Year’s Eve – but from high above it all.

My old friend John was visiting Italy this week, and we carved out a good chunk of time for the two of us to explore a few ancient places near our home town of Soriano nel Cimino. We went to a few places that Zeneba doesn’t want to go to - either because it’s a scramble up and down muddy paths, or it’s a tunnel so far underground that she fears imminent collapse - despite having held up for millennia.

We are not big shoppers. Our kitchen isn’t exactly adorned with Waterford crystal and Williams-Sonoma; we don’t wear or carry Gucci or Prada; and the entire combined cost of our wardrobe between the two of us probably barely breaks three digits.

But when we travel, one of our favorite things to do is discover artisan shops. Some of our most treasured possessions are purchases from single-artist studios – leather workers, ceramic artists, weavers and knitters – that we’ve either sought out or stumbled upon in our travels. Besides being good for the local economy, buying from these artisans lets us feel connected to the places we’ve visited. Especially when they’re in out-of-the-way places (as they usually are, given our “Little Roads” style of travel), we often have the chance to chat with and get to know the artists, sometimes right there in their work studio.

Our research trips in Italy and Ireland and elsewhere help us keep current with the information that we share with our clients – restaurants, shops, sightseeing spots – as well as being a nice excuse to revisit some of our favorite places. We’ve just returned from a 10-day trip – with our cats and all! – to one of the most beautiful and iconic areas of Italy: The Val d’Orcia.