Italy... off the chart

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Really, really good: Gelato.

Made with fresh fruits and ingredients, gorgeously presented in mounds of lusciousness. I tried about 20 different kinds. The best were limone, limoncello, limone di Sorrento (do you sense a theme?), fragola (strawberry), mirtillo (blueberry), frutti di bosco (berries, "fruits of the forest" - isn't that precious??), mela verde (green apple), melone, caffe, tiramisu. Gelato is served two flavours at a time... the combinations are worth playing with, going back for more.


Really kind of unpleasant: 35+ degrees.

It's hard to look and feel amazing when sweat is dripping from your body, mixing with the grime and dirt of the road, creating mud. The fix? Gelato. Mounds of gelato.


So sweet: My guy at Caffe Pavia.

There was a bar just down from the apartment I stayed in in Pavia. I ate there often, sometimes twice a day. Carolyn loved it too, and we had many happy dinners there in front of the window after long days of traveling or sightseeing. The owner was so charming! His face would light up when we came through the door and he would jump to help us. He made great food - pastas, paninis - and cheerfully made attempts to communicate with me. The day I left Italy I went for cappucino and asked if I could take his picture. He had his whole family pose for me while the other customers cheered and made them smile. I cried when I left.


Quite entertaining: "Ciao, bella!"

Oh yes, being badgered by Italian men is quite entertaining. In walking from the Pavia train station to the main square alone these were the comments are directed at me one afternoon: "Oooh...bella figura!", "Ciao, bella!" and a wolf whistle. I wish it hadn't made me giggle so much, and I might have been able to throw back some witty responses.


Somewhat labour intensive: Tickets.

Buying bus, train, boat tickets... and then having to validate them in a yellow machine before getting on the bus, train, boat... and then having an employee also validate the ticket once on the bus, train, boat. Whew.


Incredible: Pomodoro.

Tomatoes in Italia are inexplicably, intensely, incredibly good.


Uncomfortable, liberating: The language barrier.

Sometimes I went for days without speaking English. The anonymity was invigorating. At first it was difficult to make myself understood (I cursed myself countless times for not studying harder before I left home), but as I became more used to the rhythms of the language I was able to comprehend more, speak more. I loved remembering a phrase, or figuring out a way to ask for something (even if the structure of the sentence was off). It was so satisfying to be understood.


Challenging, at first: Squat toilets.

My first thought, "Oh. Hmmm... how do I use this baby?" My second thought, "Oh. Hmmm... how do I use this baby?"


Good, clean fun: Italian TV.

I was hooked on two shows - a game show, the rules of which I could never quite figure out, and a series about a teacher helping his students through personal traumas. The best part though, was the commercials! Hilarious, risque.


Spectacular: Local wines, cheeses.

It was very cool to sip wine while looking at the grape vines up the mountain where they were harvested.


Improbable, amazing: Italian strangers.

I already knew my Italian friends were incredibly kind, but to meet strangers and have them help me, encourage me, translate for me, cook great food for me, dance in the waves with me - become my friends - was unexpected. It altered my experience of traveling alone.

(I encountered only two cranky Italians and, to be fair, I was asking for help, my Italian was confusing, irritating, I was sweating mud, and I didn't know how to use the toilet.)

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