learning italy

there is an art to traveling. down the road or across the ocean. traveling brings new experiences, new friends and especially a whole new world of learning. whether greeting someone in german (guten tag!) for the first time or eating crab legs from a steaming bucket on a beach. . . without swallowing any sand, every trip is sure to teach.

the most i ever learned was from my trip to italy - spending time in venice, cinque terre and rome inspired me to open my mind, learn every possible thing i could and become a master of everything italian. to share the wealth of my italian education, here are the top 10 things italy taught me.



1. flying on ryanair from germany to italy is frickin scary, and you better listen to everything the stewardess tells you. they aren't there to make your flight pleasant, they are there to make sure you really do know how to use the floatation device should you go down.

2. there is no fast food in italy. sit down, get comfortable and stay awhile. eating italian food is as much an art as the mosaics in saint mark's basilica. if you start feeling a little paranoid, or totally american, just take a look around. guaranteed the only people rushing through their meals will be people like you or someone who realized they were on a seriously bad blind date.

3. it is way too easy to fall in love with a swiss guard at the vatican, even if he is wearing an orange and blue striped uniform and he never even looks you in the eyes. enough said.

4. it is possible to hike between the villages of monterosso, vernazza, corniglia, manarola and riomaggiore in cinque terre with all the hundreds of stairs and steep cliffs even though you usually lose your breath when you walk down the street to check the mail.

5. it is also possible to do all that hiking, stop to have a couple glasses of wine, then hike back. i know, crazy.

6. speaking of wine . . . you haven't really had wine until you drink italian wine, in italy.

7. venice is one of the most beautiful places in the world, with some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. remember, those in venice are proud of their city on the sea. ask, and i'm sure they will tell.

8. rome is one of those places you always see in the movies, but don't really get until you stand in the middle of the colosseum. it is also one of those cities that will bring you to tears around every corner, especially when you realize you are sitting on a stone that was placed on that spot in 80 a.d.
9. italian men are beautiful. italian women are even more beautiful.

10. in italy, you don't really have to worry about your hair being frizzy, your stomach being a little flabby or your skin being too white. there are too many other gorgeous things to look at besides you.

[photos via c. tallman]