that´s what she said...

so the last couple of posts were Helen´s.. here´s my two cents on the last couple of weeks:

I think what I liked most about Italy were the bidets, they´re very refreshing. I could probably write several stanzas on the joy of bidets but I wont..instead I´ll simply suggest that if you haven´t already and you do get the chance to try one take it!!!

Anyway, in general Italy is fun: There´s the clash of ancient and modern in Rome, the cluttered coziness of the stacked seaside abodes in Amalfi and the romantic rollings hills of the Tuscan wine country. And then there´s the history of it all, tres fascinating: The factions of warring Etruscan townships, the maritime supremacy of the Venetian Doges, the assassination of popes and the building of a better church, the Medici´s and the Mafia, and of course Marco Polo´s and Columbus´ contributions towards pasta.

Aside from being ridiculously expensive, the only other drawback with Italy is that its a bit too Italian. Sounds weird I know but it does seem that Italy is somewhat obsessed with it´s own cliches. Perhaps this is due to us hitting several touristy areas where countless culture mongers package and sell ´la vita Italia´ on every corner, or perhaps it was simply the endless masses of lost and confused tourists who always seemed to be in our way, or maybe it was having to pay €8 for two cappuccinos because we sat down and drank them (versus drinking while standing at the bar). Either way, we ate the food and we drank the wine, fillings ourselves until the taste was burnt into our palates...we came, we saw, we conquered. We´ll come back. We´ll be older, wiser richer...and hopefully the dollar will be stronger. Fin.

We´ve now moved into Innsbruck Austria. Its a nice change of scenery and of weather. Today we hiked in the Austrian Alps. We rode aging Olympic gondolas, we pet long blond haired horses grazing in their alpine meadows, we picnic´d overlooking scenic vistas straight out of the best postcards. It was a good day.

Tschuss!