Italy Vacation: Pre trip

When I told people we were going on vacation to Italy, their responses reflected their own experiences. Almost unanimously the women, or folks who had spent time there said "Ohhhhhh... Its (supposed to be) gorgeous there!" like they just saw a cute puppy play with a ball of wool. Italy inspires images of sunny beaches, sunlit villas, romance, puppies playing with balls of wool in the beach... The men typically said "Wow! Heard the pastas there are pretty good. Have some on me. " No exclamations to note. 

Folks who have never been there, or have heard of places like Capri or Rome only on TV, typically said, "Ok. Is it far from the Leaning tower of Pisa?" Or "Capri like the pants?" I admit that last one was me. What was worse was, I assumed there were shops with nothing but the shortened pants on sale all year around. Italy, for those who have neither been there, nor appreciated pastas, only elicit images of soccer, Mafia and the tower of Pisa. Then there is Vatican city; birthplace of Christianity, centuries worth of history, the playground of Michael Angelo and Leonardo daVinci, “Angels and Demons.” Then there is the language, and the people; the day to day itinerary can get filled with opportunities even if you knew nothing of the place.