Europalooza Part 4 - The Italian Job

Italy was definitely different from the other places we had been. The people in Germany, Switzerland and Austria were very orderly and precise people. In comparison, Italy was chaos. Interesting, passionate and entertaining chaos, but chaos nonetheless. Italians love talking on their cell phones, especially when driving and cutting across four lanes of traffic. Our tour bus almost smacked into the same car not once but twice when the idiot behind the wheel suddenly cut in front of us.

At highway rest stops with restaurants, our tour guide explained to us the procedure for getting something to eat was you go to the counter where the food is, memorize the name of what it is you want, go over to the cashier in a different part of the shop, tell them what you want and pay for it, then take your receipt, go back to the counter where the food is, hand them your receipt and get your food. Plus, Italians don't believe in queueing. When you get to the front of the so-called "line", if you don't place your hands on the counter in a blocking position, don't be surprised if a grandmother cuts in front of you. That being said, the food was normally worth the wait. I love prosciutto, which is an aged, dry-cured, spiced Italian ham that is usually sliced thin and served without cooking, and it was available in abundance in this country.

Our tour guide also warned the girls in our group that they can expect to be hassled by Italian men asking to marry them or go out on a date with them. Our guide told them to simply agree to go out on a date with them on Sunday. He said they'll make up some excuse for why Sunday is no good for them and wander off. The reason for this is Sunday is the day they spend with their wife.

Our first stop in Italy was in the canal city of Venice. We had a few hours to wander around the city on our own and then we got back together and went on a gondola tour, viewing Venice in all of its decaying splendour while drinking champagne. In the evening, we went for a five course Venetian meal complete with muscians around our tables. It was at this dinner that some of the girls should have had a t-shirt saying, "Instant Pary! Just add alcohol and stir." I hadn't even been sure if these girls had teeth, because up until now I hadn't seen them smile. Once they had a few glasses of vino in them, it was time for them to par-tay! Then it was to the hotel for the next leg of our journey. Roma!