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The Trip to Italy – Season 2, Episode 5

Villa cimbrone, ravello, more like this, cast & crew.

Steve Coogan

Michael Winterbottom

Melissa Parmenter

The Trip to Italy — Season 2, Episode 5

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Years after their successful restaurant review tour of Northern Britain, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are commissioned for a new tour in Italy.

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Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon eat again and take The Trip to Italy

I t is springtime in Italy. A blur of soft rain, wild fennel, wisteria, artichokes. In Camogli, a fishing village on the Italian Riviera, the late afternoon sun has drawn the people outside: early tourists peruse the gelaterias, a small dog chases seagulls along the beach, and on a hotel terrace Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon stand looking out over the blue waters of the Golfo Paradiso.

Both wear a British approximation of a Riviera look – chinos, light blazers, inoffensive shirts and soft shoes, and are in deep discussion about how best to seduce young Italian women. "Come back to my house and have a stand-up bath," Coogan says, in an exaggerated Italian accent. "Then we will have sex."

Brydon stares out across the water. "I'd just ask what type of breakfast cereal they like," he says.

The pair are here in Italy to film the second instalment of The Trip , the BBC series directed by Michael Winterbottom that despite its unusual format – a kind of unstructured, unscripted circumnavigation of a comedy show – proved to be hugely successful with audiences and critics. Last year the writer and director Richard Curtis named it one of the greatest television programmes of all time.

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The premise of season one was that Coogan had been commissioned by the Observer to set out on a gastronomic tour of the north of England , from the Inn at Whitewell in the Trough of Bowland to the Yorke Arms in the Yorkshire Dales. For complicated reasons involving the breakdown of his relationship, he ends up inviting Brydon to join him.

It was about the food, of course – the preparation and presentation of each dish was lovingly shot. But it was also about many other things besides. Brydon and Coogan played fictionalised versions of themselves, and along the way there were hand-dived scallops, one-night stands, sticky toffee puddings, Michael Caine impersonations , much bickering, pork belly and quoting of Romantic poets . In among it all were touching ruminations on fame, success, and what it means to be male and in midlife.

Season two, The Trip to Italy , presents a similar, if sunnier, scenario: a food tour from Liguria to Capri, via Rome and Pompeii and Ravello, again on behalf of the Observer . This time, though, there has been a shift in the pair's relationship: where the first series chose Coogan as its focus, this time it is Brydon who's reviewing the restaurants and finds his life in flux – his career in ascendance, his marriage at sea.

Some while later, I spot them together in the hotel bar. The cameras are no longer rolling, yet the conversation could easily have been plucked from any episode of The Trip . Brydon is eating a Lion Bar; Coogan is inspecting the interior decor. "Look at this," he tells Brydon. "It's curved glass. Very expensive. And you know the thing is, there's no need for it." Brydon looks up and frowns. He has been busy scrolling through his iPhone, hunting for a Rod Stewart song – a rare recording of Hot Legs. "Are you ready?" he asks. "Listen to this!"

The decision to return for another series took some deliberation. "Certainly after the first one I didn't want to do another," says Brydon. "I thought that's it now, there's nothing else we can do. But then time passes …" Coogan agrees. "And Michael said he was going to do it in Italy," he says. "And I thought it sounded nice."

Without even the aid of stand-up baths or breakfast cereals, Italy has somehow quickly seduced them. "I arrived here just knackered, thinking I don't really want to do this," admits Coogan. "And then we sat down and started eating, and drinking nice wine, and I thought this is quite nice. I slowly slid into it."

Already there have been some at least semi-memorable meals: "That pasta, in that bowl," Coogan says enthusiastically. "A ravioli," he adds. "What the Italians do very well are simple foods with simple ingredients, but they have the best ingredients. They send us all the shit stuff. They hang on to the best tomatoes …"

Brydon nods. "I quite enjoy going to Carluccio's if I'm in Kingston town centre," he says. "I've nothing against Carluccio, but it puts it in perspective when you're out here." Coogan smirks. "He's a friend of yours, isn't he?" he asks, and Brydon adopts his best Ronnie Corbett tone: "He's a friend, a very dear friend, we play celebrity golf together."

"Italian was all I ate as a younger man," he continues. "Not so much nowadays. I seek out fish more now – it feels like you're putting decent things inside you're body. I used to have a massive appetite for sweets and chocolate and rubbish, but it's really dropped off."

Coogan looks surprised. "Did you?" he asks. "Mine's got more. I like tea and chocolate in the evening in front of the telly. Sometimes I'll have Sleepytime tea. But I mix it up: I play fast and loose with my tea." Brydon leans over. "That's Steve all over," he says in a conspiratorial tone. "Try and predict what he's going to be having and you're on a hiding to nothing." Coogan nods. "I try and surprise myself. Loretta'll say, 'What kind of tea'll you have?' And I say, 'You know what, I'm going to have mint.' " Brydon shakes his head. "It's Loretta I feel sorry for," he says. "It's a rollercoaster."

The success of series one surprised them. Winterbottom had cajoled them into taking part over lunch, and they had turned him down twice. "I thought it would just be self-indulgent, because a person playing himself is not an original idea. But then I said to Rob, 'Let's just do it. It's Michael doing it. The worst it can be is a noble failure.' " It was in the Lake District, around the time they shot at L'Enclume , that Coogan began to have a feeling it might be something special. "Because I couldn't think of anything it was derivative of."

This is not to suggest that either of them entirely understands it. In lieu of scripts, Winterbottom will give them a story, a scenario, topics for discussion (in this case, anything from the Italian adventures of Byron and Shelley to the merits of Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill ), and then the pair allow the conversation to meander off at their leisure.

But the edits and the structure of each episode belong to Winterbottom, and at times his cuts have proved baffling. "It's like if anything smacks of craft, he'll kick against it," says Coogan. "He deliberately wants to deconstruct things, in a way I find a bit frustrating. You'll say: 'Why have you left all that? We're just repeating ourselves!' And then Michael says: 'Well life's repetitive.' "

We head into town for dinner, the assorted cast and crew taking over a long table in a near-deserted restaurant overlooking the beach. There is calamari, swordfish, giant prawns, baskets of focaccia, and the restaurant's silence is broken by Brydon's phone, spilling out the new Rod Stewart album through its speaker, and by a ceaseless run of impressions: Paul McCartney, Roger Moore singing Simon and Garfunkel, and an assortment of increasingly risqué tales all related in the voice of Alan Bennett. "I watched the young women swimming," runs one such story. "Their legs opening and closing beneath the water. Opening and closing. Opening and closing. Opening and closing. And then opening once again …"

I meet them in London some months later. We are lunching at Quo Vadis, the Soho institution recently revived once more by the Hart Brothers, who introduced a seasonal British menu.

Brydon is already at the table when Coogan arrives. Once again they are wearing near-identical outfits. "We do this so often," he says. "I nearly wore a blue jumper underneath my slightly tweedy jacket. And what have you got on your feet?" They are both wearing brown brogues. "Brown!" laughs Coogan. "I like to have a bit of 'whoa' on your feet."

It has been a particularly successful year for Coogan, with the success of Alpha Papa and Philomena , and the prize for outstanding achievement at the British Comedy Awards. The pair adopt their familiar dynamic in which Coogan is the feted Hollywood mingler and Brydon the aspiring star.

"I was chatting to Warren Beatty the other day …" Coogan says as they inspect the menu. "Ha ha ha!" bleats Brydon. "How is he? I haven't seen him in ages! I don't think I've seen him since last Christmas!"

Coogan, aware of quite how ludicrous his life has become, laughs a steady "chuck chuck chuck". "He invited me round to his house," he says, and Brydon frowns: "Why?" Coogan shrugs. "Because he'd heard that I was someone worth talking to."

Brydon shakes his head. "OK," he says, "let's talk about this, I want detail. Tell us everything. Take your time."

The waiter arrives and Brydon orders the shepherd's pie. "Well then I should get something different. I wanted to get that but I might have a nibble of yours. What's a coquelet?" He asks the waiter, and then looks horrified at the explanation. "REALLY?" he says. "Did you hear that? Well what's an onglet? I'm scared to ask! I'll have the lamb."

Brydon is keen to return to the matter of Warren Beatty. "Have you ever met Warren?" Coogan asks him.

"Have I ever met Warren? Has Warren ever met me?" Brydon replies. "I just bumped into Aled Jones and Lorraine Kelly in the street. They told me to tell you how much they enjoyed Philomena . Bravo, bravo, they said." Coogan laughs. "So on the one hand you've got Warren," continues Brydon, "and on the other you've got Aled and Lorraine."

It is hard to steer them on to the subject of food. Conversation with Coogan and Brydon is a little like Morecambe and Wise making breakfast: more about the perfectly synched performance than the fact they're making toast.

They will begin discussing the incredible meals they enjoyed in Italy – the seafood linguine, the-remarkable-risotto-in-that-family-restaurant-up-the-steps-that-very-hot-day, and then Brydon will go scurrying off on to the matter of Bobby Davro in a hot tub or Coogan will suddenly address the peculiar melancholy of business hotels: "One of those places that looks nice from the outside but it's got fire doors on the inside and those reinforcements they put on stairs – the rubber or brass strips on the steps. You see them and it does take a little bit of your soul."

How important, I ask, is food to The Trip ? "I was far less aware of it this time," Brydon says, part-way through his Arbroath smokie. "I was far more aware of the need to be interesting. I ate a lot less, because I was wolfing it down on the first series and I put on eight pounds. I haven't put any weight on this time. But this time the actual meals I found to be a slight inconvenience or a distraction."

They remember the conversations more clearly: "Have you seen the Ravello scene?" Brydon asks Coogan. "We are so drunk. Look at my eyes in that scene. That was so funny. We're doing Gore Vidal and you were trying to remember that quote and swearing 'cause I'm drunk, but determined to get the quote out."

Then there was the day Brydon had to eat a stuffed onion while nursing a fiendish hangover. "I was ill," he recalls. "I'd been quite excessive the night before. I was feeling deathly, and I was having to bloody eat."

Coogan laughs: "I said, 'You're going to have to act like you're not ill.' That was my acting advice."

Series two was, they say, akin to a travelling circus, moving from town to town, eating, drinking, sitting on beaches. "It was magical," Brydon says warmly. "It was a proper trip. You see us progress from the north to the south and that's what we did."

"Actually our relationship was pretty similar," says Coogan. "We went through our own little odyssey off-screen as well." Brydon agrees. "I think we became closer," he says, and Coogan hesitates, fork midway to his mouth.

"I don't like that word," he says, and they laugh.

"Steve struggles with his feelings," explains Brydon, "but I know if he were a man who could express his feelings he would say that he feels closer to me as well."

Certainly there is a warmth to their relationship that seemed less evident when I visited them during the first series; then Coogan had seemed to do the bulk of the talking while Brydon sat quietly and said little. Today, they share pie and figgy pudding, divulge unrepeatable gossip, give one another career advice.

But despite best intentions they do not socialise off screen. "It's one of those things where life gets in the way," says Coogan. "Having said that, that probably lends itself very well to us working together. Because we haven't said everything already."

Brydon suddenly takes out his phone. "I've got a video of him diving off a cliff. Do you want to see it?" he says, and digs through his picture archive. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Coogan, diving from a cliff."

He shows us the footage: a warm spring day, a steep cliff, blue water and Coogan arcing into the air. "That cliff," says Brydon fondly, "was as much a metaphor as much as it was a cliff." Coogan watches it over again. "I was quite scared," he says.

"I tell you what was nice this time," Brydon continues, "was that quite often when Steve and I would stay in the nice hotel and everyone else would stay in the cheaper hotel down the road, it meant that having acted eating meals each day we would find ourselves just the two of us sharing a meal at the end of the day. And it turned out to be really lovely. We actually opened up to each other a bit. We bonded a bit."

"We did," says Coogan. "Sometimes it was more interesting than on screen." Brydon looks back at the video of Coogan, diving into the Italian sea. "And now," he says, with a tenderness that seems as genuine as it is comic, "well now we're very happy together."

Six of the restaurants Coogan and Brydon visit on their Italian tour

Cenobio dei Dogi, Camogli Ligurian cooking, famed for its use of olives, pine nuts and basil, and best summed up by the simple pesto alla genovese.

La Suvera, Pievescola The hotel's L'Oliviera restaurant, inside an old olive mill, offers signature dishes such as lobster ravioli with broccoli.

La Cantina, San Fruttuoso With its sublime setting on the edge of the sea, you'd be advised to try the seafood, particularly the fritto misto.

Il Riccio, Capri A stylish hangout, renowned for the abundance of its seafood buffet and dessert specialities such as baba and delizie al limone.

Villa Cimbrone, Salerno Won its first Michelin star last year for a menu that draws on the produce grown on site.

Oliver Glowig, Rome German chef Glowig relocated to Rome and earned two Michelin stars in the process. Expect veal fillet with peanuts and mint-flavour escargot, and spaghetti with oyster and cauliflower.

The Trip to Italy premieres at the Sundance film festival on 20 January. The TV series will be broadcast on the BBC later in the year

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More on this story

The Trip to Italy: Britain's best ever improv comedy series?

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan: 'We're not the big buddies people think we are'

The Trip to Italy: Sundance 2014 - first look review

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are reunited... to do lunch

How to do The Trip on the cheap

Sundance film festival 2014: The Battered Bastards of Baseball, The Trip to Italy and God Help the Girl – video

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's Trip to the US

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Il Riccio, Capri

• Episode aired May 9, 2014

The imminent arrival of Joe means the trip to Sicily is off but, having met Emma and Joe in a cemetery full of skulls, Rob and Steve take the ferry to Capri, where they dine at Il Riccio hot... Read all The imminent arrival of Joe means the trip to Sicily is off but, having met Emma and Joe in a cemetery full of skulls, Rob and Steve take the ferry to Capri, where they dine at Il Riccio hotel. Here Joe announces that Steve is not a cynic and that he cried at the finale of the fi... Read all The imminent arrival of Joe means the trip to Sicily is off but, having met Emma and Joe in a cemetery full of skulls, Rob and Steve take the ferry to Capri, where they dine at Il Riccio hotel. Here Joe announces that Steve is not a cynic and that he cried at the finale of the film 'Mamma Mia', which leads to impressions of Pierce Brosnan and other James Bond actors b... Read all

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• Jun 23, 2014
• May 9, 2014 (United Kingdom)
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• Sky One / BBC Two / Sky Atlantic
• 2010 - 2020
• 24 episodes (4 series)

Improvised comedy with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on a series of road trips. Also features Rebecca Johnson , Claire Keelan , Margo Stilley , Marta Barrio and Timothy Leach

Series menu

The trip to italy, 1. cenobio dei dogi, camogli.

Friday 4 th April 2014

Rob, tired from the responsibilities of being the father of a young child, is looking for some adventure. Steve has been living a life of abstinence and hard work in Los Angeles.

2. Da Giovanni, San Fruttuoso

Friday 11 th April 2014

Rob and Steve go on a boat trip, taking in a local restaurant and Percy Shelley's house for a picture before continuing their journey and arriving at another restaurant. Rob wonders aloud about what they will be remembered for in 200 years' time.

3. La Suvera, Pievescola

Friday 18 th April 2014

Steve and Rob visit Viareggio in Tuscany where Shelley's body was washed ashore. They have lunch at Trattoria Albana. Rob later gets a call from his agent saying that he needs to record himself on tape for a potential part in a film.

4. Hotel Locarno, Rome

Friday 25 th April 2014

Rob and Steve arrive in Rome where they meet Steve's assistant Emma and the newspaper photographer Yolanda. Together they visit the Keats museum, and have lunch at Ristorante Oliver Glowig.

5. Villa Cimbrone, Ravello

Friday 2 nd May 2014

This week Steve and Rob visit Pompeii and then have lunch at Relais Blu on the Sorrento coast, overlooking the isle of Capri.

6. Il Riccio, Capri

Friday 9 th May 2014

The final episode of the series sees Steve and Rob joined by Steve's son Joe and his assistant Emma. They sail from Naples to Capri where they have lunch at Il Riccio.

Related merchandise

The trip to italy dvd.

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan return in a second series of restaurant reviews, this time venturing around Italy.

The Trip And The Trip To Italy DVD

Box set containing the complete first and second series of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan 's part improvised comic travelogue series, as originally broadcast.

The Trip And The Trip To Italy - Feature Films DVD

From acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom come two never-before-available in the UK full feature length film edits of The Trip and The Trip To Italy .

The Trip To Italy - Feature Film Blu-ray

Michael Winterbottom directs this mockumentary following entertainers Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they travel to Italy to retrace the steps of the legendary Romantic poets Byron and Shelley.

The Trip Collection DVD

The trip to italy - theatrical trailer.

A trailer for the film version of The Trip to Italy .

Featuring: Steve Coogan (Steve) & Rob Brydon (Rob).

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As Venice grapples with overtourism, the city tests a 5-euro fee for day-trippers

Willem Marx

The storied city of Venice, Italy, has begun charging fees for day trips by tourists.

Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

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Episode 70: The Italy Trip The One Girl Travel Podcast

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Have you ever felt the thrill of wandering through ancient ruins or the delight of sipping wine in a sun-drenched vineyard? Join me, Alessia Tenebruso, as I recount the enchanting escapades from One Girl Travel's maiden voyage to Italy. We're not just talking about any trip; this is a heartfelt narrative about the bonds that form when a group of intrepid women set out to explore this historic land together. I'll take you from the quiet ski lifts of Ana Capri, where we found our Zen, to the awe-inspiring ruins of Pompeii that demand your undivided attention. Laugh along as I share our impromptu vineyard visit that turned into a feast for the senses and discover why a pair of custom-made Italian sandals might just be the most cherished souvenir you can bring home from Positano. And let's not forget the allure of purchasing Ravello's fine ceramics – I've got insider tips on that, too. But it's not all about the group; there's something truly special about solo adventures, and I'll share why. Before our group rendezvous, I navigated Naples on my own, armed with nothing but a sense of adventure and a hop-on-hop-off bus ticket. Here, I'll reveal the humorous tale of my unintended hitchhiking experience, a story that's as much about laughter as it is a lesson in the art of preparation and safety. My solo journey underscores the importance of taking time for personal discovery, whether it's before the group's laughter fills the air or after the echoes have faded. So, whether you're a lone wolf or a pack traveler, this episode is your invitation to experience Italy's magic and the transformative power of travel shared. Join the One Girl Travel Mailing List to receive the monthly newsletter and my free: 10 Tips to Begin Solo Traveling Guide as a thank you!Join here: https://onegirltravel.com/freebie If you enjoyed this episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast, then I invite you to follow me on Instagram. That's where all the fun is happening! @ONE_GIRL_TRAVELFollow me here: https://www.instagram.com/one_girl_travel/ Support the Show. Join the One Girl Travel Club Grab your free copy of my 10 Tips to Begin Solo Traveling Guide

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New Anime Episodes Releasing This Week (Apr 29-May 5, 2024): One Piece Ep 1103, Kaiju No. 8 Ep 4 & More

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As most anime episodes reach a crucial point in their respective narratives, this season is every otakus’ dream. While many old titles have returned to the screens, new ones have already become viral sensations in the world of anime. To ensure that you don’t miss out on the major anime episodes, ComingSoon brings you the list of the much-awaited new anime episodes released this week, from Monday, April 29, 2024, to Sunday, May 5, 2024 .

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One Piece Episode 1103 will air on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. PDT on Crunchyroll .

After Luffy wins against Rob Lucci in the previous episode of One Piece, the plot comes to a major point in the Egghead Island Arc. Given Lucci’s involvement with CP-0, he is eager to go after Dr. Vegapunk.

Moreover, since Kuma appears on behalf of the Celestial Dragons, everyone on the island is scared of him. Additionally, according to the One Piece episode 1103 trailer, Bonney’s association with Dr. Vegapunk complicates the matter as the latter continues to corner the scientist. The upcoming episode, “Turn Back My Father! Bonney’s Futile Wish!” will continue to shed light on Bonney’s attempts at seeking the truth from Dr. Vegapunk.

Kaiju No. 8 Episode 4

◢◤ 　第3話「リベンジマッチ」 　ご視聴ありがとうございました！ ◥◣ そして23時30分より、 各種動画サービスで順次配信スタート? ▼ぜひ何度でもお楽しみください https://t.co/Odkmz4R0Ik #怪獣8号 #KaijuNo8 pic.twitter.com/H1bfvbAq4C — 怪獣８号【公式】 (@KaijuNo8_O) April 27, 2024

Kaiju No. 8 episode 4 will air on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 7 a.m. PDT on Crunchyroll .

Episode 3 of Kaiju No. 8 introduced various characters anticipated to play a major role in the anime. These include the fellow Defence Force exam test takers, Haruichi Izumo and Iharu Furuhashi, and the exam proctor, Soushiro Hoshina.

The test involved the participants in neutralizing Kaiju, who were trapped for training purposes. Moreover, the proctor announced that Mina Ashiro was spectating the participants. This fueled Kafka’s motivation to perform well.

During the exam, a Kaiju cornered Kafka. However, Shinomiya killed the Kaiju before he was rescued and eliminated from the test. Kafka thanked her and decided not to give up, upgrading his combat power to 0.01 per cent from 0 per cent.

In Kaiju No. 8, episode 4, Kafka’s strength will be the main focus. Given that he did not give up due to Mina’s presence, his willpower will be a spectacle for the fandom. Finally, fans will know whether or not Kafka and Ichikawa will make it to the Defense Force.

Re: Monster Episode 5

◢◤どこよりも早く見れる！◢◤ 本日24:00からU-NEXT・アニメ放題にて TVアニメ「??:???????」 第5話「??:???」が 地上波先行配信開始‼️ #remonster_anime #リモンアニメ pic.twitter.com/6GItvNX39N — 「Re:Monster」TVアニメ公式✦4月より大好評放送中！ (@ReMonster_anime) April 29, 2024

Re: Monster episode 5 will air on Monday, April 29, 2024, at 8 a.m. PDT on Crunchyroll.

In the previous episode of Re: Monster, Gobrou wakes up to a group of notorious elves visiting the goblin cave. They sound disrespectful while offering to provide food if the goblins assist them in their war with humans.

However, Gobrou does not comply with the offer, and the elves eventually leave after a moment’s heat. Furthermore, now that the fellow goblins have evolved into higher species, including Gobukichi evolving into an ogre, Re: Monster episode 5 will shift the focus back to the elves. As such, viewers can expect to see the elves’ impending war against humans. Since they asked for the goblins’ help, Gobrou’s clan may also partake in the war.

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Season 3, Episode 5

／ 放送情報✨ ＼ #転生したらスライムだった件 第52話（第3期4話目）「それぞれの役割」 本日 AT-X にて21:00～放送！ ✅AT-X放送情報 https://t.co/Tes2hLvpXQ 宣⛩ #転スラ #tensura #いっしょに転スラ pic.twitter.com/PEax8zILvq — 【公式】アニメ『転生したらスライムだった件』 (@ten_sura_anime) April 28, 2024

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime season 3, episode 5, will air on Friday, May 3, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. PDT on Crunchyroll.

Rimuru investigates the modifications in the monster ecosystem in That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, season 3, episode 4 (episode 52). The protagonist also suggests that they should take action against the monsters, leading Kaijin and Vesta to suggest setting up an anti-magic barrier on the highways.

After asking Rigurd to get ready for the festival and following Hinata’s meeting with the Luminous allies, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime season 3 episode 5 (episode 53), “Two Sides Meeting” will shed light on Hinata Sagukachi’s intentions as she talks about Luminous’ message with her followers.

Ninja Kamui Episode 13

Lightning fists. #NinjaKamui Saturdays @ midnight | Next day @StreamOnMax #adultswim #anime #animeedits #toonami pic.twitter.com/cQo0UdIW6V — adult swim (@adultswim) April 21, 2024

Ninja Kamui episode 13 will air on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 3 a.m. EDT on Max.

The previous episode of Ninja Kamui unravels the mystery behind the identity of the old man who had been catering to Higan’s wounds since the beginning of the anime TV series. He turns out to be the chieftain of the ninja corporation, who was previously killed by Yamaji. However, he does not retain his ninja powers and requests Higan to defeat Yamaji. Moreover, elsewhere, Dilly loses her life in a battle against Yamaji, and Mike convinces the FBI to issue an arrest warrant against Joseph.

According to the Ninja Kamui episode 13 trailer, the finale episode will answer many questions about the protagonist’s fate. Moreover, since too many lives are at stake, a lot of pressure remains on Higan to eliminate Yamaji. As such, the fight between Yamaji and Higan should be the central aspect of the episode.

At the same time, Joseph’s retaliation against Mike and the rest of the FBI will also be an important event. Additionally, since it is the last episode of this season, fans can expect to witness different alliances that would play a major role in the ultimate battle.

Wind Breaker Episode 5

◤￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣ 第４話 配信情報 ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿◢ TVアニメ「WIND BREAER」 各プラットフォームにて順次配信開始✨ ▼視聴リンク https://t.co/ZKhJJvRRFL 第5話は5/2（木）24時26分より順次放送開始！ #ウィンブレ pic.twitter.com/MIJmIHiVcp — 公式『WIND BREAKER(ウィンドブレイカー)』 (@winbre_sakura) April 29, 2024

Wind Breaker episode 5 will air on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. PDT on Crunchyroll.

The Wind Breaker episode 4 entailed a confrontation between Umemiya and Choji, which was a result of settling the disagreement. Moreover, the rest of the Shishitoren arrived to help Choji, thereby making the issue more complicated.

The upcoming Wind Breaker episode 5 will showcase the aftermath of both sides agreeing to face one another in five matches. Moreover, fans will witness Sakura going against Togame and Choji against Umemiya, two of the most anticipated showdowns.

Mission: Yozakura Family Episode 5

?毎週(日)17:30見放題《最速》配信? 『 #夜桜さんちの大作戦 』 作戦4「嫌五/辛三」 嫌五の報告書の不備を発見した六美。 再提出を免れようとする嫌五に お灸を据えようとするが逃げられてしまう。 六美と嫌五のスパイスキルを駆使した 鬼ごっこがスタートする…！ #アニメ夜桜さん pic.twitter.com/VT9d95E8CJ — Prime Video Anime(プライムビデオアニメ) (@PrimeVideoAnime) April 28, 2024

Mission: Yozakura Family episode 5 will air on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 1:30 a.m. PDT on Disney Plus.

Given Taiyo’s reputation of being practically invisible to others, he earned the title of ‘Ninja’ in Mission: Yozakura Family episode 4. Moreover, Mutsumi and Kengo play an intense game of hide and seek, which becomes a perfect opportunity for Kengo to show how he is the master of disguise.

Additionally, Asano rescues Shinzo, who was trapped in the enemy’s base. However, after Asano gets shot in the leg, Shinzo uses a fork to defeat the sniper. In Mission: Yozakura Family, episode 5, will shed light on the mysterious figure who marked Asano as his next assignment.

With a master's in Philosophy, she can be found geeking out over anime at one instance, and Emily Dickinson at another!

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New Anime Episodes Releasing This Week (Apr 22-28, 2024): Kaiju No. 8 Ep 3, Ninja Kamui Ep 12 & More

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Travel from Naples to Pisticci to Rome - Italy Forum

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Travel from Naples to Pisticci to Rome

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My first stop is Naples , where I’ll be for a few days. From there, my thought is to rent a car and drive 3 1/2 hours (estimated) to Pisticci where I’ll be staying for a week. I’ll want to have my rental car to explore the area while I’m in the Pisticci area. Afterwards, I plan to go to Rome for a few days.

My biggest concern is traveling from Pisticci to Rome.

My questions:

Is it best/quickest to rent a car in Naples, and drive to Pisticci, and subsequently drive to Rome and return the car in Rome? Or is there a train option I am overlooking?

My goal is to minimize my travel time and connections between cities/regions (wanting to travel as direct as possible in the least amount of time).

My (likely flawed) thought process:

-The drive from Pisticci to Rome looks about 5 1/2 hours, which looks comparable in time to taking a train.

-Looking at train options around Pisticci, I think options would take anywhere from 4 hours 45 minutes to 5 1/2 hours. However, I’m am wholly unfamiliar with how best to book train transit within Italy, so please forgive my ignorance and lack of knowledge here.

Are there other options I’m missing? I’m hoping to have a shorter trip from Pisticci to Rome, but I’m unsure if there are any other methods I’m missing, aside from just driving about 5 1/2 hours.

Thank you in advance for any advice and input! I appreciate any guidance.

6 replies to this topic

Sounds wonderful.

You could conceivably do the same thing out of Naples, but you have to be very careful driving out of the city and I always choose easy.

See train times on the Trenitalia or Italotren website.

I drove through Pisticci once. I was leaving Matera for Lecce , and stopped for a tour in Craco (highly recommend). We drove up into Pisticci to grab some lunch and sit out a torrrential downpour.

Just to ask, is there a comparable city to Salerno that might be an even closer drive to Pisticci, and also has a short train route to Rome? Checking Google Maps, driving from Salerno to Pisticci looks about 2.5 hours, which is 100% achievable, but I’m just trying to gather all information possible to make the best decision. Salerno may very well be our solution here though! Thank you again for all your valuable insights!

Hi Elstravels, thank you for that bit of knowledge and awareness regarding Sundays! I will absolutely plan around it.

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The Rick Steves guide to life

Travel mogul. philanthropist. legal weed champion. the real rick steves is so much more complex than who you see on tv..

EDMONDS, Wash. — At first glance, it is hard to tell that Rick Steves is protesting.

In the center of his hometown, America’s favorite travel host is perched on the edge of a fountain roundabout engaging in some friendly civil disobedience. As cars circle the intersection, Steves smiles and waves, looking more like an Elf on a Shelf than an angry picketer. This is his way of reminding people he wishes they’d stop driving here.

Steves’s family moved to Edmonds when he was 12, and the 68-year-old is still happy to call it home. Rather than relocate to his beloved Europe, he dreams of bringing some European sensibilities to the edge of the Puget Sound, less than 20 miles north of Seattle.

When he’s not traveling around Europe, writing about Europe or running his multimillion dollar European tour company, the prolific TV host and author likes to squeeze in some local activism. The roundabout routine is his push to block off Edmonds’s very American Main Street for pedestrians. If you squint at it, you can see what Steves sees: this would be the perfect place for a lively town square.

“I like a lot of things about Europe but I love the urban energy of Europe. I love the piazza,” Steves said in a wistful tone you might recognize from PBS. “We don’t have a piazza.”

Unfortunately for Steves, the voting majority of the city does not love the idea of parking their SUVs farther away to shop. So despite his Boy Scout enthusiasm, the most famous man in Edmonds must keep up the perch-and-wave. This is not his only crusade.

Spend any amount of time with Steves, and you’ll encounter a total ham who loves a zany bit. But if you ask him about serious issues like car-free zones, he’ll bring up other causes that are dear to him: affordable housing, supporting the arts, creating senior centers for the elderly to age with dignity.

He’s anti-Trump and pro-cannabis. He does not care if that is bad for business.

The average Rick Steves fan has likely missed this side of him. On TV they see an always-sunny history lover who makes going abroad feel approachable for the average American. That’s an incomplete picture, like thinking you know Paris because you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower on YouTube.

Meet him in Edmonds, and he’ll fill in the rest.

It may look like a lot of gallivanting, but being Rick Steves takes a lot of work.

He spends three months of the year overseas, researching, writing, recording, refining tours, updating guidebooks. If he’s not planning or producing content, he’s often doing promotional events across the United States. This year Steves is celebrating the 40th edition of his first book, “Europe Through the Back Door.” Over the course of his career, he’s built a privately held company that generates $120 million in revenue a year, published 110 books, filmed 12 seasons of “Rick Steves’ Europe” and produced more than 750 podcast episodes.

“It’s just like coordinating a three-ring circus,” Steves said.

That is: really fun, sort of exhilarating and extremely complicated. To pull this off, Steves does not observe the French 35-hour workweek. He’s a workhorse with a reputation for keeping a frenetic pace year-round.

“It’s more of an American work culture,” Amy Duncan, Steves’s communications director, told me. “He’s an unapologetic capitalist but he is also a socialist.”

He makes enough money to fly first class, but he only sits in economy, claiming he doesn’t mind being cramped.

“It never occurred to me that I’m suffering,” he said. “As long as I’ve got an aisle and a seat that reclines, I’m happy.”

Actually, Steves believes airlines should only have one class. It’s part of his egalitarian worldview. He’s also anti-points and anti-miles, refusing to sign up for airline loyalty programs because he believes they bully us into complicating our lives.

Steves also enforces a self-imposed “ carbon tax ” on his tour company, which takes more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. For every customer, Steves invests $30 to atone for emissions created by their flights between the United States and Europe. Last year, that added up to $1 million donated to a portfolio of organizations, Steves said.

“I don’t need to be a slave to the quarterly profit statement. I want to be around and profitable in 10 years from now in a world that you can travel in that’s stable,” Steves said. “This is a smart investment and it’s an ethical expense that I should pay for.”

Rick Steves will tell you he’s motivated by making money; the more he can earn, the more good he can do with it.

“Vicarious consumption, that’s one of my things,” Steves said.

After amassing a windfall from the 2001 George W. Bush tax cuts for high earners, Rick Steves donated $1 million to support the local symphony and performing arts center. In 2005, he used retirement savings to buy a 24-unit apartment complex for the local YWCA’s use as transitional housing for women and children. He figured he’d eventually sell the complex and live on the earnings. About a decade later, he changed his mind and donated the complex valued at $4 million.

He also gave more than $4 million to help build the Edmonds Waterfront Center, a vibrant gathering place for seniors where his daughter had her wedding in 2021. And he gave another $2 million for a similar center in the nearby city of Lynnwood, which broke ground in mid-April .

“Rick puts his money where his mouth is,” said Nancy Leson, a former Seattle Times food critic who used to let Steves’s daughter babysit her son. She’s appreciated his regular presence in the community, like hosting events for local politics at his house and shopping at the farmers market .

“He changed travel,” local resident Karen Howe said on her way into the Waterfront Center with a friend. She’s used Steves’s guidebooks for years. “He’s introduced us to places that most of us would never think of going.”

Rick Steves hasn’t won his piazza battle, but he has brought European touches to Edmonds. At the Rick Steves’ Europe headquarters, there’s an E.U. flag hanging from the mocha brick facade. And gargoyles that drain rainwater, just like at the Notre Dame cathedral.

“Gargoyles scare away evil spirits,” Steves points out, unable to suppress his inner tour guide.

Here Steves employs more than 100 people: editors, audio producers, tour specialists and cartographers such as Dave Hoerlein, his first employee. That’s excluding the fleet of guides and drivers he contracts across the pond to shepherd tour customers.

Inside, he bounds through a maze of cubicles, his neck craned forward, always at an eager pace. His 6-foot frame appears leaner than previous seasons of his life, but his signature look is familiar. No, not khakis and a button-down. That’s vintage Rick. These days, he wears dark jeans and a button-down, plus a thin scarf and leather sneakers.

During a day of meetings, Steves’s fjord-blue eyes lit up at the minutia of the business. He went over new maps with Hoerlein. He and longtime co-author Cameron Hewitt addressed problems like finding a “less glitzy” stop on the Amalfi Coast that’s not Sorrento. They discussed whether a place is worth visiting after it’s gotten too popular, and Steves indulged in some gallows humor.

“It’s going to be like holding the corpse of a loved one who just died,” he said.

His critics argue the “Rick Steves Effect” can turn a charming village, restaurant or museum into a tourist magnet. Matthew Kepnes, the travel writer behind the blog Nomadic Matt , points to the Swiss town Zermatt, which he says Steves put on the map, and has since dealt with overtourism . You’re bound to bump into groups with Rick Steves guidebooks in Italy’s increasingly crowded Cinque Terre.

Whether Steves is actually to blame for changing a place is up for debate. There are plenty of destinations he’s covered that haven’t been inundated with swarms of Americans (see also: Gdańsk).

Steves says he assesses whether a place wants tourism, if it can handle it gracefully. If they don’t or can’t, he may mention it but not promote it.

He has faith — maybe too much — that his clients share his values.

“Does [my work] change the personality of a town? It can. Am I a dramatic impact on Europe? No,” he said.

“There’s a handful of places I really promote aggressively that I’ve had a serious impact on, but otherwise ... my travelers are the kind of people that take only pictures and leave only footprints ... they’re good travelers.”

You don’t have to spend much time in Edmonds to see why Rick Steves never considered leaving.

The city — population roughly 42,000 — sits on a majestic inlet. You can get to a major international airport in about an hour. The community is so courteous, it has an “umbrella share” program in case people forget their own on a rainy day. As Steves walks around town, he greets people by name. He lives within walking distance to both his favorite diner and a pétanque court, the French answer to Italian bocce. He plays bongos at his church on Sundays.

In 1967, Richard “Dick” Steves moved the family here because he was worried about Rick Junior.

“I was hanging out with dangerous kids and going down the wrong trail,” Steves said. Seriously.

His dad, an Army veteran, got by in the upscale suburb as a piano technician and importer. When Steves was 14, his parents dragged him on a work trip to Europe to visit piano factories; it was a radical experience that sparked his lifelong passion for travel.

Back in Edmonds, Steves started teaching piano, eventually turning his savings into trips abroad of his own — not only to Europe, but Turkey, Nepal, Afghanistan. He went to college nearby, earning degrees in European history and business from the University of Washington, where he played in the Husky Marching Band.

After graduation, Steves figured he could keep up his routine: give piano lessons during the school year, then travel during the summer. He started teaching travel classes in the same recital hall where his piano students performed. This was back when there was no internet and few guidebooks to consult for trip planning.

The classes were a hit. At 25, Steves turned his lecture materials into a 180-page book, and self-published “Europe Through the Back Door,” in 1980.

Four years later, he hosted his first European minibus tour group, serving as both bus driver and guide.

His businesses have evolved — his bus tours now take up to 28 travelers, a number Steves says is a sweet spot between making the tour more affordable yet enjoyable for customers and profitable for the company. But his mission has remained the same: to be the best resource for European travel and help Americans travel better.

“I just focus on that and I love it,” he said. “It takes my life out of balance — which is not good — but it lets me do a lot of stuff that I believe in and that’s good.”

Steves has been open about the challenges of being a travel mogul. As he built his empire, he was also raising a family. Being “married” to both took a toll. In 2010, Steves and his wife, Anne, divorced after 25 years of marriage.

Up the hill from his junior high, Rick Steves’s modest beige home offers a window into his many lives. There are family photos on the walls, from older relatives to his baby grandson, Atlas. He hosts political fundraisers on the sprawling deck. A painting of Kerala, India, nods to one of his favorite countries (people forget Steves did four editions of “Asia Through the Back Door”).

Next to his grand piano, there’s a stuffed creature that Steves calls his “Silver Fox” baring its teeth and wearing novelty sunglasses with cannabis leaves on the lenses — a nod to two of his interests: taxidermy and marijuana activism.

“It’s the civil liberties … it’s the racism … everything about it is wrong,” he said of keeping weed illegal.

As for the toothy fox, Steves doesn’t do typical souvenirs anymore, but he makes an exception for stuffed animals.

“The wooden shoes and the pewter Viking ships are so obvious,” he said. “I like to do something a little more organic and a little more striking and it takes me back there — I like it.”

He’s a very good piano player. He can also play the sousaphone and the trumpet — which he did regularly during the pandemic, performing taps for his neighbors at sunset.

Covid-19 was a nightmare for the travel business, but a miracle for Rick Steves’s love life.

After running in the same social circles for years, he and Shelley Bryan Wee, a prominent local bishop, started dating at the end of 2019. They had a lot in common. Both are progressive Lutherans. Both are divorced with adult children. But neither worked a typical 9-to-5, and one of them spent three months of the year in Europe.

Then lockdown happened. Steves, who couldn’t remember if he’d ever had dinner in the same place 10 nights in a row, spent 100 nights at the same table with Wee. It solidified their relationship.

“Shelley is a constant,” Steves said. He still struggles with the balancing act between work and love.

When the stars align and they’re both in Edmonds, Wee cooks, and Steves plays sous chef. They walk Jackson, Wee’s labradoodle, creating their own version of the passeggiata, Italy’s traditional evening stroll. They play table tennis before dinner.

When the world reopened, they started traveling together. They’ve made time for a few big vacations: a trip to Morocco, where they were caught in a windstorm that blew the windows out of their car; a luxury barge cruise through Burgundy, France, “that was embarrassingly expensive,” Steves confessed, followed by a week hiking in the Swiss Alps; and another hiking trip between remote lodges on Mont Blanc.

Before their first trip, Steves edited the contents of Wee’s suitcase, because packing light is part of his philosophy.

“What do you say?” she asked. “You’re talking to Rick Steves.”

Editing by Gabe Hiatt. Additional editing by Amanda Finnegan. Design editing by Christine Ashack. Photo editing by Lauren Bulbin. Videos by Monica Rodman. Senior video producer: Nicki DeMarco. Design by Katty Huertas. Copy editing by Jamie Zega.

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