Program 524: First Timers Italy; Duck Season in Gascony

Hear from two Roman tour guides about what to expect on a first-time trip to Italy, and how to make it the adventure of a lifetime. Then get a taste of life in France’s rural southwest as author David McAninch explains how spending the better part of a year in Gascony taught his American family to slow down and savor their time together.

• Susannah Perrucchini, tour guide based in Rome  
• Nina Bernardo, tour guide based in Rome
• David McAninch, author of "Duck Season" (Harper Collins)

• Places in or near Rome that the guides recommend include the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, the Ostia-Antica old port ruins, and the trendy Testaccio neighborhood.  They also recommend   the unspoiled and uncrowded beaches on the island of Sardinia.
• Nina Bernardo recommends the websites for TrenItalia and ItaloTreno for reserving high-speed train tickets in Italy.
• David McAninch is featured editor at Chicago magazine.  He wrote "Duck Season" about his family's experience, living in the Gers region of Gascony. 
• David writes about Gascony in a cover story for the travel section of the New York Times. 
• Some of David's articles about food and cuisine are archived at Saveur magazine.