Italian Adventure Reflections

As promised, here are the final comments by both Liz and Peter. …Baden

From Liz:

We’re finally home and have had a chance to catch up and get back into life in Vancouver. It’s taking a bit of getting used to as we find ourselves using the simple Italian words or phrases that were becoming second nature by the end of our trip. I think that I have finally passed that hurdle now as I’m not greeting people with “buon giorno” or even thinking about it.
I’ve now had a chance to read all the blog postings that Baden has written and perused our pictures a few times to refresh my memory on all that we saw. Upon reflection it was certainly an ambitious trip for us and toward the end (mainly due to having a cold and not feeling 100%) I was crankier at the end of the day than when we started our trip.

All in all the vacation was fantastic. I must say that Baden and Barb did way more homework than we did and it sure was a plus when deciding what to do. The sites were stupendous, astonishing, amazing, surprising, wonderful, awesome, breathtaking, etc. I was really surprised that most people we dealt with had some English so we could muddle our way through and I have to say that Italians weren’t shy about correcting your pronunciation.

It’s really hard to say what the highlight of our trip was. But I certainly would like to go back and spend more time in Rome, Florence, and Siena with a few days of R&R in Positano (such a marvelous place with an excellent beach).

From Peter:

Yes, it was an ambitious vacation for us, and thank goodness for Baden and Barb’s prep work and Euro-savvy as we certainly didn’t anticipate or appreciate the groundwork required for a trip such as this. Thank you two!

It was a vacation of ‘firsts’ for me. First time in Italy (actually it was the second time, but I was only six so it doesn’t count). First time going to and staying at multiple places in one trip. First time going on vacation as a group and my first time seeing places that I had read so much about, and then actually being there!

I really enjoyed Rome and the Sorrento/Capri/Positano/Ravello experience the most. That bus ride to Positano and then the ferry to Amalfi was spectacular! Looking at the pictures from there brings it all back, the memories are still fresh!

I would agree with Liz’s summary as to where to spend more time the next time; Rome, Florence, and Positano.

St Peter’s, the old Forum ruins, the Parthenon, and just about every church we ventured into were inspiring. And there were so many places that we saw that beggar description! Truly a vacation of firsts!