Italian Driving: I was definitely worried about this aspect of the trip, but save for my own screw-up on the first day (first HOUR!) of driving, it went pretty well. I love that Italians, despite driving like insane people, really all stick to their "rules of the road" - you travel on the right and pass on the left. And if you want to pass someone, you just do it, you don't give them a dirty look or the finger or a horn. You do NOT travel in the left lane and it's ok to go as slowly as you want in the right lane. I love it. So civilized in a crazy way.
Italian Roads: they are in INCREDIBLY good condition and incredibly well signed. My first reaction was just how smooth all of the roads were - even the tiny ones in the middle of nowhere up a winding hill. Very few bumps and potholes and very impressive. The signs were also clear. At almost every intersection there were signs telling you in which direction lots of cities were, and how many kilometers away they are.
Speeding cameras: THEY. ARE. EVERYWHERE. And it's hilarious that they warn you far in advance, then people just slow down past the cameras then speed up again. Not sure what the point is and I'm sure they still catch many people (like myself, I presume), but the whole system is just so funny.
Italians love when you have perfect change for them. When you do, they respond with things like "perfecto!" and "belissima!" It's kind of funny and adorable how happy it makes them.
Italians may not take breakfast very seriously in the sense of sitting down and eating a big meal, but I love the whole "brioche and cappuccino standing at the counter" culture. For about 2-3 euros, we had so many great breakfasts of a fresh pastry and delicious cappuccino. And I miss it, badly.
Even Italian supermarkets, one of the few signs of "corporate culture" you see in a lot of these small towns, still retain Italian homey-ness. In the Coop in Castellina in Chianti, the supermarket sold locally-grown olive oil. The delis are amazing, with tons of gorgeous meats, cheeses, and salame, etc. Even the regular old supermarkets feel like a beautiful food emporium.
However, the little "alimentari" or deli-type mini-markets in the city centers are these amazing little emporiums of local products and fascinating delicacies. It's like the owner takes great pride in the way the store looks, in the fact that he or she is carrying top-quality products, and that it all looks beautiful from the outside and inside.
I want to start answering my phone "pronto!" Why? Because it's awesome, that's why.
The reason Italian food is so good is because the ingredients are high-quality. That's it. It's the only explanation for why a simple meal of steak and potatoes tastes so much freaking better there than here.
I still don't like red wine, though I didn't hate the Brunello I tried.
The sense of pride of ownership, or pride in the store they own or the products they make and/or sell is amazing. These people love what they do, are happy to have jobs, and are proud, so proud. Proud to be Italians, proud to be goldsmiths or oil producers or cheesemakers or tourguides or whatever. Perhaps it goes back to the whole "my name's the name on the wall" idea, but it's mind-blowing when you walk in a store and they start talking to you even though they know you won't be buying anything, and moreover, you get the sense they mean it, and are being sincere in their friendliness.
This is done in the US too, but the whole concept of wine in a restaurant, when they show the bottle of wine then open it and give one person (usually the man) a taste, then stand there holding the bottle waiting for the response… I just can't help but wonder, what if the guy hates this? What happens? Does the bottle get thrown away? Poured into the house wine? Or is it all just a silly formality?
I did a much better job this time of trying the local specialties of the region - tortellini in Bologna, Ham, Cheese, and Lambrusco in Parma, focaccia and troffie with pesto in Cinque Terre, the various wines in Tuscany, Pici and steak in Tuscany, torta di ceci in Volterra, etc.
The sky is bluer in Tuscany. It just is. The sky is bright clear blue in LA a lot, but in Tuscany, maybe it's being on a hill and being at a higher elevation, maybe it's the fact that it's just so quiet and clear and clean, but the sky is just so bright blue and turquoise and gorgeous.
GPS: I'm not sure what we would've done without it. In fact, it would've been nearly impossible. And it often (though not always) warned of the speed cameras, which was nice. That said, it's still a computer and sometimes it took the "Shortest" way even if it wasn't the best. The GPS leading us a strange way was a major reason of my annoyance the day we did Montepulciano, Pienza, and Montalcino because it didn't lead us on the "pretty" road where we would've hit the important abbey and whatnot. Sometimes it was hard to not trust the road signs instead of the GPS. What we should've done is map the proper routes the day before and take those roads no matter what the GPS said. Ah well, if that's the worst mistake of the trip, I'd say it's OK.
I may have more thoughts that I think of, I'll just post them when they come to me.
And finally, here's a pic of all the loot :p (click for a bigger pic if you really want)
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