Random Fun
· Italia has more than 1200 varieties of grapes, 535 kinds of olives and many varieties of tomatoes – all deliciously sweet. Grapes are picked in bunches … olives are picked one-at-a-time … and all are harvested only once-a-year.
· In almost every city we saw many of our “home brands” such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, Marriott, Holiday Inn, Foot Locker, Five Guys … and I even saw a cute, high-end boutique called “Dixie” in Cinque Terre.
· The world’s best ice cream can be purchased in San Gimignano with a variety of different and delicious flavors created by Sergio Dondoli, 3-time gelato world champion and a member of Italy’s Ice Cream World Championship team.
· Between the four of us, we pushed, pulled and in every other way, wrangled 4 very large suitcases and another 4 small “carry-on” bags through Italy on busses, taxis, trains … and if our plans didn’t work out, we simply walked for miles dragging them behind us.
· Italian food is nothing like what we think of as Italian food at home. We found most to be rather bland and unremarkable. However, we have found some quite good pastries … and have I mentioned gelato?
Italian oddities
· Filmy white blouses over black bras are a seemingly popular “look” among many Italian women, just not sure why.
· Vatican employees smoking “on campus” and shouting OMG (most often in English) to each other as they work.
· On the topic of smoking, we were continually amazed at the number of smokers and vapers we saw in both Germany and Italy – particularly among young and beautiful women!
· McDonalds in Germany is called the McCafe … in Italy it is called Moka Café but NONE of the food served is what we think of as McDonalds fare, even though the “golden arches” are prominent in every city.
· People and their dogs are EVERYWHERE, in cafés, markets and on trains.
· Many of those we talked to in our travels wanted to discuss Trump and his politics … and whether or not I like him, whether or not I think he is going to be re-elected. One lady from the UK reported he had just been to England to meet with the queen, who – it turns out – was quite taken with him. Upon his return to the States, he reported, “she hasn’t had this much fun in 25 years!” The lady on the cruise ship said, she was pleased the Queen and Trump have such a tight friendship because it means England and the US will, too!
· If you go to dinner in a nice Italian restaurant, they will serve you all the wine you can drink, but if you would prefer a glass of water, or – heaven forbid – a soda, they are offended so will charge an arm and a leg!
· Cold oatmeal with apples, raisins and nuts is delicious! And, speaking of food, at least a dozen kinds of bread and/or pasta is available at every meal.
· Restrooms (also known as water closets) in some part of our travels were co-ed! So interesting to discover a man waiting in line, stepping out a stall … or at the sink washing his hands.
· Graffiti, graffiti everywhere in some parts of every community. It makes me really happy to live in a community where the SGPD works really hard to stay on top of this social nuisance.
· We’ve heard 5 words over and over since arriving in Italy. They are (1) Michaelangelo, (2) Leonardo, (3) Napoleon, (4) Galileo … and (5) bigliettei which means “tickets” with its companion word “biglietteria” meaning ticket office. The need for tickets is ever-present in Italia … tickets to ride a bus, train or other form of transportation. Tickets for admission to basilicas, museums, historic sites and everything in between. Sometimes at the end of the day, we had 5-8 biglietteis in our pockets.
The not-so-good about Italy: there was a really odd and mildly unpleasant moldy, wet-dog smell when we got off the train in the center of Milan which either went away or I simply got used to it within 24 hours. While there were amazing structures all over the country, it was obvious many of the buildings, bridges, roads and other parts of the country’s infrastructure are dangerously in need of repair. The crowds, at times, were uncomfortably close (everyone on their way to somewhere in a hurry); and, a few loud, obnoxious drunks and an angry Italian woman on a bus added a couple of memories. Tight train connections left us anxious and perspiring; surprisingly there were lots and lots of smokers among the afore-mentioned beautiful young people; frequently there was no place to sit down in most tourist sites (in one place we were even told it was “forbidden” to sit on the steps) and/or public buildings; and, everything was VERY expensive (we blew through $800 in the first five days we were in Italy), including a city tax of $10 for each day we stayed in the Michaelangelo Hotel as well as a $2 surcharge for setting a table with napkins, utensils and tablecloths in restaurants, and in a few places, to sit at a table, we had to pay. We also had to pay to use the “public toilette” … anywhere from .50 to 1.50 euros per person. And, there were a few Italians who are undoubtedly unhappy with their current “world-at-their-doorstep” situation, as demonstrated when they waved us away when we asked for directions or information.
The good about Italy: there is something spectacularly artistic and/or historic to see in every direction, including, art we’ve only read about in history books; buildings, such as churches, houses, and seats of government - whose histories are measured in centuries; amazingly efficient transportation systems including 21 trains which annually carry 1.2 million passengers, the underground metro system, busses and about a “jillion” taxis. All the high-end fashion houses are based in this country and most of the clothes are knock-out beautiful to the point, even the average girl on the street looks like a fashion model. Another observation … I’m a pet lover, but I have been amazed the number of people traveling with dogs … in fact, when you purchase a train ticket, you are asked to designate how many adults, children or dogs you will be traveling with … and, additionally you can bring any number or size of luggage … or your bicycle! There were also many, many kind people willing to help lost tourists – most who speak some English, learned as children in elementary school; and, if I haven’t already mentioned it, gelato is pretty darned good, too!
And, I’m not sure if its good or not-so-good, but there was also a heavy police presence wherever we traveled in Italy (as well as in Germany) especially around the airport, train station and many other high-profile locations. Some were petite female officers on bicycles, but many had pistols and “billy” clubs, or heavy-duty artillery – semi-automatic rifles – no doubt, meant to do serious harm.
As with any vacation, we spent way too much money and didn’t even scratch the surface of things we wanted to do and see. And traveling like this is very, very strenuous so if you have this amazing and memorable part of the Lord’s vineyard on your “bucket list” make your plans sooner rather than later! Thanks to the Beecher’s – our wonderful traveling companions - and for all they did to plan every detail of this fabulous trip.
But, in the end, there's no place like home ... and God bless America!
No comments:
Post a Comment