Lo stracchino is a soft, mild but flavorful cheese that's spreadable, and we find it in supermarkets all over Italy. But the kind Francesca's family produces in the mountains, with traditional tools, is on a whole other level. Why is this cheese called stracchino? There is a fascinating reason. Watch the video.

The fine white mold that forms on the cheese helps give it its characteristic flavor, but it is also painstakingly scraped off each round. Before the high-altitude pastures are ready for grazing, humans take advantage of the snow and the trails.

Here and there in the small villages of the valley, there are interesting frescos hearalding back to earlier times. Two local recipes are offered: stuffed curly cabbage leaves and Taragna polenta, a kind of cornmeal with the addition of buckwheat.

In the Brembana Valley, the river reigns supreme. In fact, there is still a functioning water mill for grinding corn, as well as people passionate about maintaining centuries-old traditions.

We meet some very charming donkeys and hear about how Francantonio and his sons developed a passion for them.

The ancient via Priula leads us to the mountains where we visit a herbal laboratory, in which flowers and plants are transformed into beauty products using historical recipes.

We move on to Valtorta a spot where cheese is king. Here, they produce a special little cylindrical cheese called an agrì, exclusive to this spot. In fact, Slow Food, an organization that's become international but which began in Italy, has it as one of its special products.

Everything you need to know about buying a used car! Join Francesca as she talks to the dealer, and get up to speed on your automobile vocabulary.

Join Francesca for her first driving lesson! She learns the various important things to do before starting off, like putting on her seat belt, checking the mirrors, and putting the car into gear.

Francesca and her travelling companion have just gotten a flat tire. Learn the steps for changing a tire along with Francesca.

Francesca finds a note on the windshield of her car. Her driving instructor has to explain that it's not a note, but a parking ticket.

It's a late September day and Francesca takes advantage of the sun and warm temperatures to spend a day on the beach near Rome.

Francesca has a relaxing day at the beach, buys some cheap earrings from a beach vendor, then tries the water.

Capocotta is the name of the Latium beach where Francesca is spending the last day of summer. This stretch of shore became a nature preserve in the '80s at the behest of President Sandro Pertini.

We follow Francesca along to a riding stable for lessons. The place is called Ciampacavallo and its peculiarity is that its horses would have ended their lives badly, had it not been for this charitable organization.