Calabria, Italy is the place we are lucky enough to call home. We live in Scalea, Calabria, Southern Italy. In today’s episode, we present a driving video, to Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. We show the drive, from our perfect Scalea, to Cosenza, in Calabria, Italy, where we have to go to leave goods for Karen, who is currently in physical therapy, in Cosenza, Calabria. We then go to eat at McDonald’s, which is quite a different experience in Italy, than it is in America. The food in a McDonald’s in Italy is actually very good.
We are Michael and Justin.
We are American expats, living now, full time, in beautiful Calabria Italy, in wonderful Scalea. Michael is physically disabled, with mobility issues. As we vlog Italy, we do like to show in our videos, that anyone can dare to dream of life in Italy, regardless of mobility issues. The truth is, Italy mobility can, at times, be challenging. But, never impossible. So, come along with us on our adventures in Calabria, and beyond! We experience Italy living to the very fullest. And we invite you along! Join us, as we give you this Calabria Italy tour, showing you Italy lifestyle, culture, and food.
We would like to thank you for taking the time to watch our channel. And, as always, we dare you to dream. Baci Baci!
#italy #calabria #calabriaisbooming
www.prego-italia.com
39 Comments
I love when Michael is a bit cranky, lol makes me laugh, I can be the cranky Queen..what did you say was in mcds, fries..hahaha….Baci tutti..❤️🇨🇦❤️ Teri…
Hi Fellas! I didn't know that about Cosenza! Just the same problems of many larger cities in many countries. The desserts look yummy! The coastal drive does look lovely. So sorry you are not allowed to be with Mom at the Rehab facility but I am sure she sooo appreciates all you bring her to make her stay there more comfortable. I am the same way you are Justin, about long tunnels. Hoping Mom is healing well and gaining her mobility back every step she takes! 😁
i think the funniest part is the loud street-cleaner. i'm still laughing, i swear. congrats for letting this in
The different size coffee drinks are only in recent years with the huge influx of Americans. 20 years ago they would have looked at you like you were speaking alien language if you asked for a size.
I love it all! Even the messy bits.
Driving in Cosenza is a free for all, traffic laws are more optional than required. Driving through Consenza is the ultimate game of chicken
Hi guys. I asked for that drive video and you gave it to me! Love you. Now I must say I totally understand why you hate that drive. Yikes up up up and it seems no place to stop or turn around. Is there any other way to get there? Does Scalea have doctors or hospitals?
Hello Justin and Michael ! I ve seen you have a long way to go to cosenza to see your mom. I hope she is doing better and better each day. As regards the tunnels I don t like them too much I remember the Mont Blanc tunnel 11 kilometers too long and boring…I ve also eaten in a Mac Donald ‘s near Palermo and find it good. In France near the Loire s castels I ve met an American student and she eats at McDonald’s Every day and that she found the chocolate sunday better because there was peanuts on it and that the food had a French taste ! 😅. Hoping all will be going well for you and Karen I send you all mille baci
Help guys, thanks for sharing drive to Cosenza. I don’t mind driving there for shopping but definitely not to live! I’m like you two, I want to feel I’m in ITALY 🇮🇹😁. Justin, was your mom taking immediately to Cosenza when she first got hurt or local hospital then transferred to there?
I ready you stayed at a different hospital near by and I believe it was because you have the residency already is that correct?
Avete trascurato di mostrare il bel paese di San Fili. Ma tutto è perdonato😄
Love traveling with my pup 🐶. Prefer the coast as far as living and driving. That drive would make me nuts at night, especially in the winter. Thanks for taking us along. Love seeing all the different landscapes. Breakfast looks yummy.
What a drive Justine, well done. I can see why it’s not Michael favourite place but sometimes you just have do what you have to do, then get back to Scala 🤗 I do hope Karen is home with you all soon. Warmest wishes 🥂🌈🥰
I'm going to be a show off for you Justin; I used to drive the underwater Norfolk-Portsmouth tunnel while big Navy ships were navigating above.
Thanks for the drive. That McD sandwish looked good. Nothing wrong with getting that occasional American itch.
Hope Karen is doing good.
Baci baci
Thank you very much for another fantastic and informative video.
I travelled all over Australia with my beautiful Maltese puppy, Asia, bless her soul! She loved road trips no matter how long they took. She stayed in some pretty gorgeous hotels too…even when they said "no dogs allowed", they would take one look at her and say " of course she can stay!" LOL 🤩😄 I totally agree with you guys when it comes to "modern cities". I suppose when you've lived in countries like the USA or Australia, we are so overdosed with modern, that we crave the ancient and authentic beauty that Italy and other European countries, have to offer. Viva la differenza! 🥰💖
Thank you both!! Really nice video today! Take care and hopefully Karen is doing well in her recovery. 👏❤️
It reminds me of down town Athens. Hope mom gets better soon so you don’t have to go there any more. All big cities are similar.
Hi Michael and Justin, Last fall my husband Bob and I (Mickey) took long time friends John and Tony (they were in our wedding 50 years ago) on a 5 week mostly road trip of Italy. It was our 9th trip over but we had never been south of the Amalfi Coast. We spent about a week in Sicily and needed a place to spend the night on the way to Naples and thought Scalea was a nice mid-point. It was a shot in the dark. We were pleasantly surprised and realized that it was worth more than just a stop for the night. When we returned home, my husband searched on Utube for further information on Scalea and came upon your Utube Channel. We've been following you every since and have been enjoying your videos. When tonight you asked for comments on tunnels and heights, I finally had to subscribe and make a comment. I was amused to hear that Justin is not only claustrophobic (especially in the long tunnels), but also acrophobic. I can certainly relate to tunnel terror (smile). I close my eyes and pretend I am elsewhere! Hate the idea of being in the bowels of a mountain in earthquake country! Our friend Tony is fearful of heights. On our trip we wound around the steep mountain roads with many tunnels of Le Marche and the Abruzzo and drove the autostrada on the rugged mountain coast of Sicily. On the Sicilian coastal autostrada, if you are not in a tunnel, you are on a massive bridge spanning a deep canyon. After I was in the tunnel with eyes closed, it was Tony's turn to close his eyes over the bridges. Although I didn't miss anything in a tunnel, he missed a lot of the scenery from the bridges! You are in good company, but never shall we let it stop us all from experiencing all that the Italian peninsula has to offer, despite our phobias! That is my pledge. Keep on living the dream you two. We love your positive and open outlook on life. Sorry for the long post.
omg im shocked that its 100km to go do administration things from your area to Cosenza. So is that 100km round trip or 200km round trip?
The unfortunate thing is most people in italy, also Spain Greece and others think of graffiti as art there is very little that gets removed. There is another YouTube pole from CA there near catanzaro it's something that it is what it is. People drive nutty but after southern California. Over the past few years people have gone nuts here. I had trash cans stolen. There stealing everything. Crime is low in cosenza despite the grittyness. If you go east on e846 there are some small quant small cities like Rovito. Celico, and others. It looks cleaner trash wise no homeless encampment. That's a nightmare here. It's gotten so bad it's depressing
I hope your mom is feeling better.
Many cities in Italy are not coastal beach towns, but given that Italy is a very large peninsula, it has a ton of coastal towns. So it's easy to prefer one experience over the other. I loved the mountains of Los Angeles as well as the beach life, but not enough to keep me from my crazy life in NYC. Cosenza's history might be interesting. What brought so many people to this area to make it a large town? Why do locals desire to live there? When you need top quality health care, it can be worthwhile to go where the masses are. A medical career is a "practice," and you need lots of people to practice on to become an expert. I still can't believe you can't visit with your mother after making that drive. That ultra-caution seems a bit outdated and extreme now. In my 30+ years of business travel to Italy, I never experienced a McDonald's. But I did try McDonald's in Tokyo, so I get the curiosity since I am American. I'm surprised Michael didn't appreciate the statue beauty behind him. The crop of the frame focused nicely on abs, groin, thighs and calves. Quite fitting for this channel. The male statuary in Italy is always fascinating. Most of the men in their culture are not gym bunnies. Just a side note, when you turn the camera towards the sea as you're driving, the fast-flying scenery closest to the lens causes motion sickness when viewing. Not easy to watch.
Lovely drive. I prefer the mountains. Hi to Karen
Oh I’m with you. Don’t like tunnels! Not crazy about some bridges too. I read about tunnels 17 miles long near or in Abruzzo. Can’t do it. Way tooooo long for me. Hope mom is feeling better and gets home soon! Abbracci
Hello Guys….First of all….how's momma coming along? Also, thank you for yet another well done video. Hugs.
Enjoyed the video – thanks! FYI, for me the videos to the side of the car don’t affect me negatively (as another viewer reported they do for them), so long as your pans to the side and back are slow (as they usually are). I’d rather see those views than miss them altogether since you really can’t avoid seeing the close-by things whizzing by! (And I’m one of the weird ones who likes heights and tunnels, to answer your question about what we thought of those things….) Glad to have the continuing report of Karen getting better steadily! Hope she has enough books and things to not be too horribly bored! Regarding the traffic and parking weirdnesses in the busy areas of Cosenza, it reminded me of San Francisco, but without the added complication of steep hills, LOL!! But that’s nothing compared to what I saw in Napoli decades ago…LOVED Napoli, but never wanted to drive or try to park there!!! Was very grateful for the excellent train system! Grandi abbracci virtualità to you both, and to Karen, too!
Hi guy's great to see you. Cosenza looks pretty good to me. The drive also looked very pleasant. In fact everything looked great 👍. Even though I don't eat at Macdonalds that chicken breast sure did look meaty. I hope your mum is getting better I bet she sure can't wait to get home. 😊 All the best with much love ❤️
Hello, sorry I haven’t seen you recently, too long. I’ll explain whenever I see you. So sorry to learn Karen is still in the hospital. Is she in the rehabilitation wing now? As you know I’ve had my sweet Giano for almost 5 weeks now. He is a joy. I would love to introduce him to your menagerie. He had to be treated for giardia, was not symptomatic but positive so we gave the treatment. I truly miss you two but can at least stay in touch via your fun videos. Take care, Karen is in my prayers for health and healing.
Last time I was in Italy I had a lovely little grilled cheese type sandwich… I think it was called ‘mctoast’ – It’s not much to look at but appearances can be deceiving- very tasty, wish they sold them everywhere. If you ever find yourself back at McDonald’s again, give it a try!
Ciao from Canada
Very interesting, thanks for showing us the “big city”. Not a Mcdonalds fan, but it did seem more advanced with the screen ordering.
Just wondering, would it be more
or less time / cost effective to take the train to Cosenza when you need to go there? Assuming the train even goes from Scalea. Best wishes guys! Cat
Someone was a little cranky —- lol
Enjoying watching you – hoping to meet you one day – you guys are adorable!! All the best to your mom!! Is Your Dad MIA?? Lol
Un Grande Bacio e Abbraccio!!
Hi Justin and Michael thank you for showing me Cosenza it’s the city where I lived for twenty years and actually the white building beyond you guys is where my brother works.
Anyway thank you again and I hope your Mom it’s doing better, Misasi it’s a very good clinic.
Many Kisses to Mom .
Hi Justin and Michael! We had similar experience in Cosenza. My cousin went to the University of Calabria in Cosenza, and we saw some of the old part of the city (very quiet in August) and the newer areas. She also took us to a mall, which was very much like any old suburban mall in America. There was a food court and it also had a McDonald's! My cousin ate there and we bought food from a place that was similar to a McDonalds but apparently it used local products and had more traditional foods, even though it was a fast foot joint (don't recall the name).
Not the most picturesque city by Italian standards but glad we visited!
Thank you for your honest opinion of the city. I was looking at some places and your description is not what we’re looking for. We’re currently in Sanremo, slowly making our way down south, and I am not a fan of the city life. Hope to meet y’all soon!!
I don’t like tunnels!! I got stuck in one during a car accident. It was not good!
I Love you two and you make me laugh! Thank you! I am a subscriber!
Much love!
I can't believe the irony of this video. My dad was born in Cosenza but came over to the US as a child. I've been binge watching your videos for about 2 weeks now because I am really thinking about moving to Italy. Not sure my husband is convinced yet. He doesn't like the big cities (nor do I) but he thought Calabria was all farm land since that's what my dad always said about Cosenza – I guess it's changed in 90 years. I told my husband I was going to ask you to visit Cosenza because I wanted to see what it was like. Now I know it's not for us. I'm loving the area you live in. Maybe I can get my husband to watch a few of your videos and convince him to at least take a trip to check it all out. Thank you so much for doing all of these and warm wishes to your mom! 😊
Hi Justin and Michael thanks for showing McDonald's in Cosenza I am also American born I've been living in Siderno Marina Reggio Calabria for 24 years now to tell you the truth I prefer the Italian McDonald's better then the American McDonald's you can go there at 11am and have lunch and I noticed the burgers taste better then the American McDonald's burgers
Glad you guys like Calabria I'm also American born but I've been living in Calabria for 24 years and I love it I have no intention of going back to the United States .I live in Siderno Marina it's not that far from Cosenza I don't know if you guys know where Siderno Marina is
Cosengeles!