Italy=Heaven

We recently spent two and half weeks driving through Italy.

Put another way: we recently spent two and a half weeks in heaven.

Not that I even have a definitive stance on what "heaven" may or may not mean to me, but since we are talking about a country where catholocism reigns, I think the analogy is apt. And if one possibility for "heaven" is to imagine it as being synonomous with delicious food, stunning landscapes, extremely friendly people, and way too much limoncello, then the analogy works quite swimmingly.

So I love Italy, and I have thus been enthusiastically singing its praises for the ten or so days since we have been back in France. Hence, the following question has been posed by a few people, in varying forms: how does your opinion on/love affair with Italy compare with your feelings about Paris?

I think I detect, when this question is posed, the tiniest insinuation that I may have fickle tendencies when assigning geographical "favorites". Since I have admitted as much on this here blog, I suppose the insinuation is warranted. That said, I feel confident asserting that Italy is my favorite European country.

For the moment.

Of course I continue to be obsessed with France in general, and Paris in particular. I adore Paris' sense of propriety, its committment to aesthetics, its abundance of cultural offerings, its superior butter. Yet a juxtaposition was a lovely thing to experience. Thus the chaotically cheerful energy of Italy really drew me in. It may have helped that every morsel of food or drink I ingested was beyond beyond, as they say. And it is also somewhat flattering to have men complimenting you all day long--even if they do so in a slightly creepy manner and even though they are utterly undiscriminatory with regards to their appreciation of females and thus there is no real feeling of "specialness" that is ever imparted. It is still nice to be acknowledged with a (leering) smile and have a door held open for you--as opposed to being shoved out of a metro car as though you are an inanimate nuisance.

But I mean we all have different ways of being "friendly", I suppose.

In Italy in general, I just felt very welcomed and at home in the entire country. By contrast, in France I find I often feel like a houseguest in one of those homes that is less home and more museum. Have you ever gone to someone's house and find that you are afraid to use the hand towels in the bathroom because you might mess up the decor? That is how I frequently feel in France: like a "normal" gesture on my part will actually turn out to be some sort of aggregious insult and I will subsequently be forever shunned by the country at large due to the inadvertent error I may at any moment accidentally commit.

At least my feet are becoming more flexible. You know, because I am constantly on my toes.

In case you are wondering what we actually did in Italy: we flew to Milan, rented a car and drove to Lake Como. From there, we basically ate our way south for 17 days. We stayed in Pescallo, a tiny village near Bellagio on Lake Como, then went on to Venice, then Corniglia in the Cinque Terre, through Tuscany and Umbria, over to Spoleto, down through Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and then back up to Rome to stay with friends before flying out of FCO.

I recommend you borrowing our itinerary if you like, but it seems pretentious and not in the spirit of this blog to list out our trip in a step-by-step way. There is so much to see in Italy, and while I feel our vacation was the best ever, part of what made it so amazing were the last-minute discoveries and what we experienced when we strayed from our "plan." Thus, you could follow what we did, but then you might miss out on what would make your Italian trip the best ever for you. Because, you know, we are different people after all. But if you are interested in actual towns we saw, restaurants at which we ate, or places where we stayed, I could email you some names. And some might make it into subsequent blog entries too, so stay tuned.

Whose on their toes now, huh?

Or you could just buy "Rick Steves Italy" because his "Italy in 21 Days" plan basically served as my prototype when planning our Italian adventure.

Not that I lack imagination, and not that we actually stuck with his program on many accounts, but I must say his guidance in terms of fantastic local restos and in terms of providing us with fabulous summaries and background information on a myriad of sights really enriched our experience. I like that guys Italy book, I must say.

I also like limoncello, and our friends in Rome taught us how to make it. I am tickled (pickled?) at the prospect of having a dinner party back in the states and ending the evening with homemade limoncello (sorry Dr. Gray, no tequila that night). As an added perk to that party, I can guarantee our guests that the towels in our powder room are user-friendly.