Italy Part 7: Musings

Writer's note: This is one of a series of posts about my fabulous trip to Italy. Please scroll down or click on Archives to the right to make sure you read them in order.

I realized that in telling about our trip day by day, I omitted some overall comments I have about our trip. They are, in no particular order, as follows:

The Food

Ohhh, the food. Perfecto. We ate SO much. Amazing pastas, fantastic pizzas, gelatos and pastries and Happy Hippos (don't ask). The food was GREAT. I will say, though, that I found two things that I had been told repeatedly by many different people to prove false, at least in my opinion. I found gelato to taste pretty much like regular ice cream despite dozens of people swearing it's entirely different, and other than the extremely thin crust, I found the pizzas to be pretty much the same, too. The one thing odd I did notice about their pizzas is that if you order more than one topping, they have the annoying habit of dividing the pizza into sections and putting a different topping on each section instead of mixing them all up. What's that about?

The Music

The entire time we were there, we never heard a single Italian song. Never. Backstreet Boys, yes. Shakira, you bet your hips. But an aria? Forget it. Our gondolier did not sing, but we passed one who did. To our shock, he was serenading his boat full of Asian tourists with--wait for it--Mandy. Barry Manilow? SERIOUSLY?

You Name It, We Rode It

Kristen pointed out that we used virtually all mainstream methods of transport during this trip: airplane, automobile, train, and boat. I don't know why exactly, but this makes me feel very worldy and chic.

Italians Are Very Nice--And Not Too Shabby Looking

Because Molly knows everyone in Asolo, we were greeted like family everywhere we went there. However, we quickly learned that most Italians are like that--so helpful and friendly. They helped us when we were confused, chatted more than they had to, and really seemed glad we were visiting their country.

Of course everyone knows that Italy is supposed to have more than its fair share of good looking men, and I am here to tell you it is no myth. They are everywhere! Old, young, tall, short, whatever--they were all so...Italian! An example for you--this is the gentleman that created the oil painting I bought and brought home:

I Can Have Good Luck On A Trip!

I am never the person that gets the upgraded hotel room by accident, or just happens to have an empty seat next to her on the plane. However, I was charmed or something on this trip. Every single flight went off without a hitch, we navigated the train station and vaporettos effortlessly, we never ONCE got lost. It was scary how easy things were.

My mom is OLD!

First let me say, I wasn't going to write about this, but my mom told me to. When I say my mom is Old, I am not referring to her age. You know how when people get Old, there are certain behaviors they start to display--they're universal. For example, Old ladies clutch their purses like they are going to be snatched from them at any moment. They fret. Well, my mom has become Old. At the train station, she wanted to go wait on the platform 12 minutes before the train arrived, even though we were already sitting in the waiting area only 20 feet from the platform. She was sure the train would zip in, slow almost to a stop to allow people to dive on, and then roar off again. She also kept freaking out about riding the vaporetto, sure that some hooligan was going to mug her. It got to the point that when she would display such behavior, I would just mutter "Old..." I think she thought it was funny.

And What Does She Have To Say About All This?

My mom has agreed to comment on this post to give her own insight to our trip, so read the comments if you want to see what she has to say.

I'd Like To Thank...

This seems a bit silly, but I have several people I need to say thank you to for the trip, and what better forum than my blog? So, Acadamy Awards style, here I go:

I'd like to thank...

Molly, for being such a gracious hostess, putting up with us and putting us up, finding us great deals and meals, and making our trip so fantastic. Thanks to you, we got to see an Italy that so many people miss out on.

Molly's husband and kids, for doing such a brilliant job of pretending not to be irritated that these three women came and invaded your house.

Kristen, for being the easiest person I have ever traveled with in my entire life, and for blow drying my hair straight when the straightening irons wouldn't work (do not EVEN get me started).

Dad, for thinking this was a great idea and having as much fun as I did planning it, even though you weren't going, and for loving mom this much.

Matt, for immediately supporting my scheme, and for not holding it against me that I went to Italy while he stayed home, and for taking such good care of our babies while I was gone.

Mom, for being so completely surprised, and for being worth all the work.

Well, I think that about wraps it up for the Italy trip. Remember, if you'd like to see all the photos (there are some GREAT ones that didn't make the blog) email me or post a comment. If you take anything away from reading about my trip, let it be this: If you want to visit Italy, or anywhere for that matter, DO IT. Don't be the person that always says, "Oh, I would love to go there." Be the person who goes!