I loved the hourly, and in some cases half hourly, ringing of the church bells.
In Venice, I noticed the number of "ding and dongs" had no correlation to the hour--they just ring and ring and ring--even at 2:00 am! But it was such a lovely sound, I didn't mind waking up.
Sure wish I had a recording so I could hear them at home.
Gelato
Seriously good stuff. We ate gelato morning, noon and night on a few days. We even ate desert first a few times!
The best gelato we had: The dark, dark bittersweet chocolate gelato in Venice. Also high on our list: hazelnut and pistachio. And the Nutella wasn't bad. Mmmmmmmmm, good! It's a very good thing it's not on every corner here in Spudville like it is in Italy!
Italian Men & Their Colorful Jeans
Very stylish! (well, some more than others....) Green seems to be the favorite. I sure wish I'd been ready with the camera for the cute guy in a purple pair. I also missed a shot of a lavender pair!
Really I do......
That Wonderful Italian Espresso!
Well, NOT that really expensive stuff we had near the Vatican, but every other cup was delicious. It might have had something to do with the yummy pastries we had with almost every cup....
House Red Wine!
Every time we ordered the house red wine it was very good, and reasonably priced. Many times a glass of wine was less than a diet coke. There ya go--I can justify drinking wine with lunch and dinner!
Limoncello
Really, really good stuff! I bought a bottle in Venice, it's a light and refreshing drink when mixed with club soda or diet sprite.
Spritz
Another delicious, refreshing drink I discovered in Florence. It was my favorite pre-dinner, sidewalk cafe sitting, people watching drink! It's a bitter orange liquor mixed with club soda or just sparkling water, served with lots of ice. I liked it because it wasn't too sweet. I'll be looking for some of this in Spudville next summer!
OK, enough about alcohol!
A couple of things I DON'T miss about Italy:
The bread! Seriously, it was impossible to buy good bread in Italy. We were spoiled by the wonderful, delicious baguettes in France, and then there's that yummy French butter. I swear, I dream about that stuff! (BTW--we ate almost two pounds of butter in 9 days in Paris!!)
We were shocked by the price of bread in Venice--we paid almost $6.oo for about 1/3 of a round loaf of whole wheat bread--and it was so awful we threw it away! We also tried bread in Florence, not quite as expensive, but not very good either. We finally gave up!
That stinky Metro in Rome. 'Nuff said........
And I'd put up with the bread AND the Metro if I could go back tomorrow..........I LOVE Italy!
(But Paris is still my favorite!)
Would I have noticed the colorful jeans on those handsome italian men? I wonder. Loved the things you mentioned that you loved and didn't like. Gelato....I wanted some! Your alcohol drinks...sounded good. Didn't know you liked color so much Di. LOL Thanks for answering my question....thought you liked Paris the best but know you loved Italy too. Welcome home Di and David...feels good to know your in Spudville now. That the worry wart in me!
ReplyDeleteGuess what I am missing most about Italy....your posting...even though you were on the other side of the world I felt so close to you because of your writing and pictures. I could see and read as many times a day as I wanted to...now you are home...missing you and the blog...sure you can't find something to write about from Spudsville?
ReplyDeleteFirst....would I have noticed all the colorful jeans in Italy on the men? I wonder. Now that I think of it...Yep...I think I would have noticed. LOL
ReplyDeleteSecond....She could tell us what she knows about Thailand ahead of time...where she is going etc. And then we can read with an educated mind on all their adventures.....hint hint
Love Brenda
Have you ever been to Portland Brenda? Maybe a posting or two from there is needed also!
ReplyDeleteFinally I have taken the time to read your Italy blog. Di - you do have a unique style for writing. I feel like I am walking right with you in Italy. I can hardly wait to hear about your Thailand adventures. Question: Do the women also wear such colorful pants in Italy, or just the men? A couple of those butts were pretty cute.
ReplyDelete