Thanks to the Oxford trip group (see blogs below), I now have a tradition of making superlative lists, yearbook-style, for every major trip I go on. This helps me remember what I have/haven’t seen and what I thought about it at the time. My parents and sister contributed to these about Italy, so in a way, this was a decision by committee, not just my own opinions like usual. J

Most Valuable Players

1.       Trevii Fountain (night and day)

2.       Colusseum/Forum (even though they were “ruined”) 😉

3.       Seeing the pope give the blessing at The Vatican (even though it was entirely in Italian)

4.       The pretty water around Venice

5.       Gelato

Most Legit Complaints

1.       Smoking. Everywhere. (I’m an asthmatic, so this is particularly a big deal to me, but the rest of this allergy-prone family was adamant about this one too)

2.       No air conditioning (it was broken in our hotel room in Rome, but it was still a relevant complaint about the rest of the city as well.)

3.       Italian hotel beds tend to just be harder than American hotel beds. I don’t know why.

4.       Crowds were a problem.

5.       Rome smelled like a sewer at times, but I guess that is just city life anywhere. We are so spoiled in Texas!

Didn’t see but want to

1.       Leaning Tower of Pisa

2.       Florence

3.       Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

4.       Italian Alps

5.       Cinque Terra and/or a Tuscan villa (just because of all the photos I have seen)

Most missed about the U.S. while in Italy

1.       Comfy beds

2.       Ice

3.       English everywhere (sorry, but it is true. More on this to come later)

4.       Clean air

5.       Communication (cell phone/internet/real life conversations) with friends

Most likely to be missed about Italy after leaving

 

1.       Gelato

2.       Well-preserved history

3.       Venetian boats

4.       Naps/relaxed vacation schedule

5.       Natural beauty of water and trees, plus beauty of old buildings and other surroundings

Alright, well, these are the short lists, but we are working on one more that deserves its own blog so more later!

Jenna