The Trip to Italy

As Rob was the one who largely wrote their Northern England restaurant piece, the Observer asks him if he and Steve would do another restaurant tour piece for them, this time in Italy. What they decide is a week long trip north to south along the western coast ending in Sicily. Much like last time, they are joined by a wide array of celebrities in the form of their impersonations, from Michael Caine to Al Pacino to Hugh Grant, but also the spirit of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron as they touch on those places in the country associated with these two British writers of the Romantic period. Beyond the nature of the food, what ends up being the other primary difference between this trip and the Northern England trip is the role reversal between the two travelers, Steve who seems more grounded than he was last time, and Rob who seems the restless one this time. This reversal is partly due to what happened the last trip, and what has happened in their lives in the intervening time, but also unplanned experiences they have along the way on this trip providing certain opportunities, for Rob a potential part in an American movie and something that happens leading out of a sailing trip early in the week, and for Steve how he reacts to two people that unexpectedly join them for part of the trip, the second which results in a slight change of direction in the latter part of the week.