A little tidbit that Jane and I forgot to tell you before this final (I promise) wrap-up. When we were having a chat with Nina we had a little stunned staring moment. Nina with wide eyes to hear that I had been to 10 concerts and me with even wider eyes to learn she had been to none!
***
After…
11 planes,
11 trains,
10 taxis’s (two of them water),
2 rental cars,
1 ferry,
2 airport shuttles,
1 bus,
1 gondola
and really tired feet, we have made these observations.
(Please remember these are our opinions only)
* Italians eat late. Most restaurants are closed until dinner at 7 o’clock all over Italy.
* Italian men and women are better looking than American men and women…by far! Honest! Jane tried to take one home in a produce store. I was going to help.
* They also dress better than us and not just in the fashion districts either.
* THEY HAVE CASTLES!
* They have got to be the worse drivers in the world! You’ve heard this before. It’s true! My newest gray hairs attests to this.
* They will go out of their way to help you and think nothing of getting in their car to lead you to where you need to go.
* Most want to visit N.Y., L.A. and Las Vegas. Some list Miami, also.
* They love their country very much!
* They show their affection for each other freely. Not just couples either. Fathers and daughters, sisters and brothers, everyone. We wish we saw that more in the U.S.
* They use a bidet.
* They put olive oil on everything except Gelato.
* There are two or three Gelato vendors on every block.
* Only Nina’s pizza is better than ours…Well, we think so.
* All of their pasta is better than ours. Marie tried most of it…for comparative research, of course. Marie also sampled a few Italian wines.
* Churches, homes, in fact most buildings were built before America was discovered!
* They put pianos in public places, people pause, sit down and play a while, then go about their business. We really loved this.
* Their coffee will surely grow hair on your chest. Jane must have some by now. (No picture here)
* They mostly live in apartments with flowers and laundry hanging over balconies.
* They have no cows and don’t drink milk. We saw about six cows our entire trip. However, they have some really tasty varieties of cheese. We can’t explain how they do that. Just some Italian magic we guess.
* Stop lights, stop signs, no passing zones, turn signals, and your car are ignored…completely.
* They have blood red orange juice that Marie fell in love with and will find it in the states…somewhere…somehow.
* There is a reason graffiti is an Italian word. It’s plentiful!
* Their pastry is huge. A croissant is bigger than your head.
* Most snacks in stores are of the sweet variety. Ask Jane, she tried most of them. Umm, research again.
* Their mountains are unbelievably magnificent! There seems to be an ancient village and church bell tower perched on top of each of them.
* There are hundreds of miles of olive groves and vineyards.
* Have we said they are insane drivers?
* Wear an Il Volo t-shirt in the boys home towns and you are certainly noticed. Everyone is either related to them, went to school with them, played ball with them or sang with them at some time.
* Outside of their home towns Il Volo is NOT very well known. We were told it’s because they sing old music or they sing mainly in English (?) Yet they fill venues all over their country.
* They have an amazing transit system. It’s electric, cheap, quiet, comfortable and is everywhere. Why don’t we have this in the U.S.?
Thank you, everyone for allowing us to share our stories and photo’s. This was the trip dreams are made of. It was hard to leave. With all our hearts we would return!
***END*** (really this time)