Impressions of Italy

We have been back from Italy since the beginning of May and I am finally feeling caught up and ready to move on. However, several people have asked about my impressions of Venice and Italy, so I thought I would pass on a few thoughts.

My main thought is that there were very few surprises on this trip. Our world has become so small, we see so much on TV and the movies, and hear so much from friends, and have become so multicultural in this country, that sometimes I think we have seen it all. That seemed particularly true in Italy.

Since both California and Italy have Mediterranean climates I noticed that the vegetation was very much like ours. There were lots of vineyards. And, the places we were were close to the ocean so we often saw the sea along with the rivers and lakes. So the countryside really reminded me of California. We saw lots of poppies and yellow flowers – so reminiscent of driving our Pacific Coast Highway.

The food was good, but not better than we get in our own Italian restaurants. Different regions in Italy have their own cuisine and our guide told us that they would never make combinations of certain things. I guess we are not so fussy here, because we do eat different pastas and other ingredients in many combinations. I missed butter on my bread!

We noticed that there are no fat Italians! All the walking and healthy food must be to blame. Our guide told us that Italians do not ascribe to the “eat everything on your plate” syndrome. They were so deprived after WWII that now they want to show their recovery by being overly generous with food. You are not expected to eat it all, just appreciate the fact that it is available and given to you. Almost every meal has a pasta course served first along with a secunda or main course.

We had some beautiful sunny days. But a lot of times it was cold and gloomy. When it rained the wind was so cold and the rain came down in buckets. The toll roads were well maintained and traffic was heavy, but calm. We didn’t see too many trucks in the small towns we visited.

One thing I noticed was there were no homeless to be seen and very few people with their hands out! I did read in one place that Italy, being a socialist country, provided everyone with a place to stay and some welfare money. The streets were basically clean and the people polite and helpful.

We saw lots of dogs and not too many cats. The people walking their dogs often had them off leash, but they followed right along. Even when they went potty, the owners seemed to notice and came back to pick it up.

I loved the canals and riding the vaporetto. It might be hard to live walking and riding in boats, but it was fun to be a tourist and travel by canals and bridges. The lack of cars, scooters, and skate boards was quite refreshing! I loved all of the old buildings and great variety of architectural styles. Can you imagine what it must have been like when they were all new and painted and fresh? However, I still felt like I had “been there, done that” since Venice is so well pictured in our media. I am not so much of a “museum” person, but Italy is certainly the place to get your fill of museums and art. Some say it is the best place in the world for that.

All in all it was a great trip – but I am glad to be home!